Learning theories provide philosophically informed, basic principles for understanding the mechanisms through which people learn based on a combination of field or laboratory studies. Unfortunately, however, there are several clear conflicts between theoretical approaches and common methods in teaching. Consequently, key challenges among teachers…

Employing the ideal type of "The Physical Education System," in this analysis I explore the import of systems frameworks for new institutional designs which hold promise for better outcomes. The inherited idea of a system is restricted to the relationship between teacher education and school programs. It draws on the developmental…

Workforce initiatives are timely as physical education confronts multiple challenges, some of which can be reframed as opportunities. The operational research and development approach provided herewith builds on a companion analysis focused on agenda-setting. A systems framework identifies relationships among specialized components such as teacher…

While more developed in the general education literature, research on teacher emotions represents an understudied area in physical education (PE) literature. Understanding the idiosyncrasies of PE teacher emotions represents an important direction for future research as teacher emotions have been linked to teaching effectiveness, job satisfaction,…

The International Charter for Physical Education, Physical Activity, and Sport clearly states that vested agencies must participate in creating a strategic vision and identify policy options and priorities that enable the fundamental right for all people to participate in meaningful physical activity across their life course. Physical literacy is…

Amy Morris Homans was a great champion for women's pursuit of leadership in physical education and sport. In honor of her legacy, the purpose of this article is to: (a) discuss some defining leadership characteristics of Amy Morris Homans; (b) examine leadership issues related to gender; (c) examine leadership issues related to kinesiology;…

Scholars have sought to identify the complexity and multidimensionality of the phenomenon of sexual identity formation since the American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973 (Bayer, 1981). This article addresses the manner in which the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer [LGBTQ]…

How we learn motor skills has always been of interest to physical educators. Contemporary conceptual frameworks about motor skill learning draw from earlier behavioral and cognitive psychology learning theories. As a point of departure this paper foregrounds complexity theorizing, arguing that skill is contingent upon the performer's physical and…

The latter half of the 20th century witnessed the dramatic rise of specialization in the subdisciplines of kinesiology, which resulted in scholarly development, but fragmentation. A need is articulated herein for an "issues-based" approach to research that will attract scholars from multiple subdisciplines, address compelling challenges of social…

This article explicates the "inconvenient truth" that is at the core of the crisis currently facing the field of kinesiology. Namely, the instantiation of an epistemological hierarchy that privileges positivist over postpositivist, quantitative over qualitative, and predictive over interpretive ways of knowing. The discussion outlines…

Some have argued that the field of kinesiology is losing its vitality because of overspecialization and fragmentation; exercise science scholars are no longer able to find points of convergence with those in kinesiology subdisciplines other than their own. I contend, however, that this is not an accurate portrayal of every subdiscipline.…

The purpose of this discussion is to explore assumptions that have informed constructions of disability and to challenge these as socially constituted judgments that influence the way teachers think and act in general physical education. A secondary purpose is to introduce social constructionism as a discourse that potentially reshapes…

Aging is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon subject to a continual redefining of the physical, social, psychological, and cultural self. The collective of these subtleties poses a number of challenges for policy makers, program and community leaders, health professionals, and researchers when trying to enhance quality of life for older…

While there is sufficient evidence to suggest that physical activity is inversely related to lifestyle diseases, researchers are far from being certain that this evidence extends to children. Nevertheless, the school physical education curriculum has been targeted as an institutional agency that could have a significant impact on health during…

The relationship between sport and juvenile delinquency has been submitted to empirical evaluation only recently. The social facts, social definition, social behavior, and Marxian paradigms have all been used to explore this relationship. Future directions for research are explored. (Author/DF)