This Fritz Duras lecture argues for the importance of physical educators' critical engagement with issues of race and ethnic diversity. Despite its colonial history and close relationship to sport--where racialised discourses about the body contribute to shaping commonsense ideas about race--we have yet to engage in any sustained way with issues…

A habitually active environment is a feature of past times, and in stark contrast with that experienced by our children today. Consequently, twenty-first century physical education (PE) assumes a position of great responsibility. This is especially true in primary schools; a premise recently strongly supported by published evidence from the…

This paper was developed at the request of the Organising Committee for the 27th Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation International Conference, in Melbourne, 2013. Its genesis was as a feature forum, wherein a panel of curriculum experts were bought together to discuss the emergence of the Australian Health and Physical…

There is still much to be learnt about best practices in leveraging digital resources for learning in higher education. Research on student interactions with online video indicates such practices are as minimal as setting passive-receptive viewing through to teacher-structured purposeful engagement. This position paper focuses on teacher-set…

This paper explores the participation of Muslim girls in Health, Physical Education (HPE) and Sports in Brisbane Muslim and non-Muslim schools. The debate of Muslim women's' participation in sports is strongly entwined with firmly held beliefs inherited through culture, religion, politics and tradition regarding the female body. Specifically, this…

This article presents a transcript of the 21st Fritz Duras Memorial Lecture, presented at the 27th ACHPER International Conference on Tuesday April 19 2011, at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, South Australia. In this lecture, the author focuses on Physical Education, rather than the broader field comprising all those areas that, at least in…

The "National Numeracy Review" recognised that numeracy development requires an across the curriculum commitment. To explore the nature of this commitment we conducted a numeracy audit of the South Australian Middle Years curriculum, using a numeracy model that incorporates mathematical knowledge, dispositions, tools, contexts, and a…

Developments in the New South Wales (Australia) secondary school curriculum have led to a number of former home economics teachers being allocated to teach in the area of Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE). The New South Wales Department of School Education in conjunction with the University of New England (New South…

This paper describes several key issues which are shaping the profession of Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE). The issues include tertiary education, teacher education and schooling, and deprofessionalization. Drawing from data at an Australian case site, the paper argues that these key issues shape the profession's knowledge, values,…

This paper draws on the findings of a recent study of the Daily Physical Education Program in Queensland, Australia. A number of proposals are made concerning the future of daily physical education in schools. Two points in particular are emphasized. The first is that the quality and appropriateness of the research that has underpinned the…

This study focuses on problems that students from predominantly Muslim backgrounds had in completing practical components of tertiary Personal Development, Health, and Physical Education (PDHPE) courses in Australian schools. The research investigated the PDHPE programs in western Sydney high schools with high Arabic speaking populations. The…

Scientization is a process that refers to the mythologies that are generated around the practices of working scientists. This paper discusses how science works on popular consciousness and how particular occupational groups use science to legitimatize their discipline, specifically in physical education. Two examples are presented to illustrate…

A study investigated students' reactions to the addition of nontraditional games (played in and traditional to another country) to the physical education curriculum. Seventh grade students in Australia were introduced to game development, skills, and present status of two sports, 'Midget' Hockey, a modified version of Canadian ice hockey, and…

This paper examines the self-concept of urban Western Australian Aboriginal school children, aged 11-12, in school sports settings. Most students were from the Nyoongar Aboriginal community of southwestern Western Australia. Data were collected from interviews with Aboriginal students and parents, class teachers, and sports teachers, and from…

This paper outlines the rationale for the development of several sports programs for Australia's children, their main features, and evidence of the extent to which they are achieving their goals. The programs include AUSSIE SPORT: Sport for Kids, a modified sports program for the senior grades of primary schools; Sportsfun, an after school program…