When students feel alienated, they develop various avoidance strategies, such as becoming spectators, blending into the background, faking participation, pretending to be sick or have an injury, or simply not attending class. Consequently, students lose out on opportunities to improve their skills and interact with others, which alienates them…

Background: Since 1982 many student-centred physical education teaching approaches have been proposed as viable alternatives to the traditional teacher-centred methodology. However, research indicates that their uptake by physical education practitioners has been limited. This is concerning, particularly given the prominence of alternative…

Purpose: Fitness testing is common within physical education, but there has been considerable debate about the pedagogical purpose and potential psychological implications of this practice. The aim of this study was to conduct a pilot experimental study to determine the impact of traditional fitness testing approaches on the body image,…

This paper explores Health and Physical Education (HPE) students' understanding of Civics and Citizenship Education (CCE) and discusses some of the links that connect HPE, sport and CCE in Australia. A brief overview of CCE key features is provided. Second- and third-year HPE pre-service teachers at an Australian regional university were surveyed…

This study investigated the perception of role model attributes of women and men sport professors, how these attributes influence the choice of academic role models, and how such role models affect career objectives. The study draws on social cognitive (career) theory. Data were collected with a quantitative online survey (N = 792) targeted at…

This research aimed to explore student perceptions of teacher-related factors that may influence academic achievement in the context of Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) Physical Education. This qualitative study involved 23 VCE Physical Education students from three government and one independent secondary school in Victoria, Australia.…

Background: Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers are in a unique position to act as role models to their students. Purpose: To explore the expectations, beliefs and attitudes towards role modelling of health behaviours by pre-service teachers who were specialising in HPE, and those who were not. Study design: Cross-sectional, Survey…

Purpose: The forced shift to online teaching delivery during COVID-19 suppression measures in 2020 was a complex challenge for Australian teachers. Teachers were given very little time to prepare online content and very little professional development to teach online. Their experiences prompted discussion about the abilities of pre-service…

Whilst Initial Teacher Education (ITE) is only one leverage point for teacher professional learning and development, it is of vital importance that ITE supports pre-service teachers (PSTs) in developing knowledge and skills necessary to promote inclusion of students with a disability in their class-spaces. Whilst 'inclusion' is a key feature of…

In this research, we show how a quality teaching framework can be used with psychology, specifically self-determination theory (SDT), and a Game Sense Approach (GSA) to plan and teach a unit of work as a context-specific version of quality Physical Education. This unit of work using Buroinjin, an Australian Aboriginal traditional game, was taught…

Background: In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the evolution of physical education teaching practice from a traditional "teacher-centred approach" to a "student-centred approach." Consequently, research has focused on questions about the changing conceptions of the teaching and learning process, that is,…

Predisposing factors of perceived Physical Education (PE) Ability and perceived PE Worth within the Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model are positively associated with young people's daily physical activity. Given the importance of the HPE curriculum (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2017). In promoting physical activity and its…

In this paper we report on a teacher education co-design project that explored Australian pre-service primary generalist teachers' ideations of the pedagogical links between health education and nature. As part of their coursework in a Master of Teaching degree at an Australian University, students were invited to design a Victorian Curriculum:…

Changes to the purpose and scope of health and physical education (HPE) in schools have prompted revisions in teacher education degrees within Australia. Using a qualitative approach, this study explored HPE teachers' perceptions of these changes. Of particular interest was pre-service HPE teachers' reflections on the importance of skill…

Widening access to higher education is a key aspiration of Australian educational policy. Drawing on a sample of non-traditional undergraduate Health and Physical Education (HPE) students, this study argues that an inclusive curriculum recognises and builds on the resources represented by students from various socio-cultural backgrounds. Aligned…