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The goal of physical education is to instill physical literacy within students. As an important motivation framework, achievement goal theory has been widely used to understand and explain students' cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes. In this paper, we reviewed studies examining achievement goals and outcomes in K-12 physical education settings. First, we provide a brief review of the historical development of the achievement goal theoretical models (the dichotomous model, the trichotomous model, the 2 × 2 model, and the 3 × 2 model). Then, we synthesize consequences, antecedents, and interactive factors of each achievement goal construct as well as the influences of gender, age, and culture on students' achievement goals. Finally, we discuss implications for practice and future research. We hope our review can inform physical educators and researchers and assist the application of achievement goal theory into practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programming (CSPAP) has the potential to increase physical activity (PA) in children over time. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of CSPAP on school day step counts in children. Methods: Participants were 327 fourth and fifth grade children recruited from 4 elementary schools. The study was conducted within an Interrupted Time-Series Design framework. School day step counts were collected for 5 days across preintervention and postintervention time-points (10 days total) using NL-1000 piezoelectric pedometers. Robust piecewise regression examined pre- and postintervention intercepts and slopes, and the change in these parameters using postestimation statistics. Results: The slope coefficient was statistically significant across preintervention (β = -105.23, P < .001) but not postintervention time-points (β = -63.23, P = .347), suggesting decreases in steps counts across preintervention and stability of step counts across postintervention school days. Postestimation statistics yielded increases in school day step counts from the end of preintervention (day 5) to the start of postintervention (day 6; f(319) = -4.72, P c . 001, Cohen's d = 4.72). Conclusions: The CSPAP intervention increased average school day step counts and attenuated decreases in step counts throughout the school week in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I analyze a set of narratives about, and memorials to, Philip Ashton Smithells, the founder of physical education in New Zealand and a pantheon figure within the discipline. Rather than analyzing these narratives and memorials as stories and artifacts that accurately reconstruct Smithells and his ideas and practices, I conceptualize them as choices that create representations or interpretations that are independent of the truth. I also conceptualize the memorials to Smithells, which include a building, painting, photograph, lecture, and scholarship, as triggers for personal and collective memories. But neither narratives nor memorials can guarantee what individuals or communities remember and, in this sense, history, as representations of the past, is always fluid. Notions of choice and representation may unsettle those who regard history as synonymous with facts and truths and who seek the clarity of a definitive past. However, conceptualizing history as representations reminds us that our understanding of physical education, its origins and its founders, will continually shift with new reflections and as fresh ideas emerge, material conditions change, and events unfold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health organisations such as the United Nations continue to place an expectation on school physical education (PE) programmes and wider school strategies to ensure students develop physical literacy and receive the well-established benefits of meeting physical activity guidelines. Barriers to meet this expectation such as lack of trained PE teachers, lack of time and greater emphasis on academic achievement are ongoing challenges to schools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the multi-component Physical Education Physical Literacy (PEPL) intervention, designed to improve students' fundamental movement skill, perceived physical abilities and level of physical activity. Method: A qualified PE teacher implemented the PEPL intervention across seven schools, and another seven schools formed a control group as part of a randomised cluster-based trial. Grade 5 students (N = 318, age 10.4 years ± SD 0.4) completed assessments of physical activity, fundamental movement skill, attitudes towards PE, and self-perceptions of physical abilities before and after a 33-week intervention. Intervention effects were examined using general linear mixed models. Post-intervention focus groups with students were used to develop insights into experiences and outcomes. Results: With no significant gender interactions, the PEPL approach led to enhanced object control skills (β = 1.62; SE = 0.61; p = 0.008), with little evidence of any other fundamental movement skill improvements in excess of those in the control group. There was also modest evidence for an effect on accelerometer measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during school time (β = 4.50; SE = 2.39; p = 0.058), but this was not accompanied by any significant intervention effect over the entire week. Questionnaires indicated students in the PEPL programme became less satisfied with their own sporting ability (β = −0.20; SE = 0.08; p = 0.013) but qualitative data analyses suggested that they enjoyed the PEPL approach experience, becoming more motivated and confident in their physical abilities. Conclusions: Evidence of enhanced object control skill, increased confidence and motivation to be physically active, and moderate evidence of more MVPA during school time, indicate that the introduction of the PEPL approach contributed to the development of student physical literacy. A decrease in perceived sporting competence warrants greater attention on student's self-perceptions in future iterations of the intervention. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry identifier: ACTRN12615000066583. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: School-based physical education has been associated with a multitude of potential learning outcomes. Representatives of a public health perspective suggest that promoting physical activity in and outside the context of school is an important endeavour. While the importance of behavioural skill training to improve (motor) learning is well documented in both general and physical education, the promotion of behavioural skills to foster physically active lifestyles constitutes a rather neglected area in physical education research. Purpose: To examine whether a standardized physical education-based behavioural skill training program has the potential to positively impact on adolescents' self-reported exercise and sport participation, as well as cognitive antecedents involved in the regulation of exercise and sport behaviour. Research design: Cluster-randomized controlled trial. Methods: A sample of 143 secondary school students (50% girls, aged 14–18 years) attending academic high schools in German-speaking Switzerland were assigned class-wise to the intervention (behavioural skill training) and control condition (conventional physical education lessons). Data were assessed prior and after completion of the 7-week intervention program, which was composed of four 20-min lessons and two reflection phases. Exercise and sport behaviour and cognitive antecedents (exercise/sport intention, motivation, implementation intentions, coping planning, self-efficacy) were assessed via self-reports. A multilevel mixed effects linear regression procedure was used to test the main hypotheses. The regression analyses were adjusted for clustering of school classes, and controlled for baseline levels of the outcome measure and potential confounders. Results: Compared to a control condition, the intervention program resulted in significant improvements with regard to introjected motivation (p <.05), coping planning (p <.001) and self-efficacy (p <.01). The intervention also had a positive impact on adolescents' self-reported sport/exercise behaviour (p <.001). Improvements in exercise/sport intention (p <.05), coping planning (p <.01), and self-efficacy (p <.01) were associated with increased levels of self-reported exercise/sport participation. Conclusion: Behavioural skill training as part of compulsory physical education has the potential to improve cognitive antecedents of exercise and sport behaviour and to foster adolescents' exercise and sport participation. Enhancing behavioural skills might be one way in which school physical education can contribute to the creation of more physically active lifestyles among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical education (PE) can be considered the centrepiece of school physical literacy (PL) programs, but ineffective lessons or an absence of PE across the public primary school system has raised concern. This study aimed to evaluate the implementation, acceptability and impact of teacher delivery of PE as part of a multicomponent Physical Education Physical Literacy (PEPL) approach, designed to improve classroom teachers' provision of PE and PL opportunities within a cluster of suburban primary schools. Method: Within a pragmatic randomised cluster-based trial with mixed methods, a PEPL coach was appointed to seven schools for one school year, with another seven schools continuing their usual practice as the control group. The coach's role was to support and professionally develop classroom teachers to teach PE and to create opportunities that develop PL inside and outside the school environment. Focusing on Grade 5 teachers, the implementation, acceptability and teacher impact were assessed using direct observations of PE teaching style, a daily log kept by the coach and interviews with principals and teachers. Results: The PEPL coach visited each school on average once a week for the 33 available weeks of the school year. There were several positive effects for teachers and schools. With no classroom teacher initially taking PE or classroom physical activity breaks, all seven teachers regularly introduced a PE lesson and activity breaks into their weekly schedule. PE class instructional time increased (intervention; +4.8 vs. control; −3.5 min/lesson; β = 1.69; SE = 0.76; p =.05), with lessons of greater duration (intervention; +8.6 vs. control +1.9 min/lesson; β = 1.14, SE = 0.58, p =.05) and moderate and vigorous physical activity increased 5.7 min in intervention classes (p <.05). The PEPL coach introduced regular physical activities before and after school and linked the schools with a national sports coaching scheme. Interviews indicated that the PEPL approach was both valued and well-accepted by staff, that classroom teacher confidence to teach PE increased and that principals perceived a shift toward a school 'culture' of physical activity. Conclusions: Well-received by classroom teachers and principals, the PEPL approach resulted in classroom teachers introducing both PE and activity breaks into their weekly teaching program and schools were linked to external sport coaching programs. These effects suggest that the PEPL approach enhanced opportunities for the development of physical literacy in this suburban primary school setting. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry identifier: ACTRN12615000066583. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a brief and personal account of the historical background, implementation and principal findings from the Trois-Rivières regional project, a large-scale quasi-experimental intervention that tested the impact of providing a daily hour of specialist-taught quality physical education upon the physical and mental development of primary school students. The intervention continued in grades one through six, and it enhanced maximal aerobic power, physical working capacity, muscle strength and physical performance in both boys and girls in both an urban and a rural setting. However, the programme had little influence upon the immediate health, growth, maturation or prevalence of obesity in the experimental group. A follow-up study was carried out when the students had become adults; this showed positive effects upon attitudes towards physical activity, but only limited long-term effects upon habitual physical activity and other aspects of health behaviour. Strengths and limitations of the Trois-Rivières regional project are considered, and suggestions are offered for those planning future studies of this type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mind-body dualism has likely influenced how many view human beings and their behavior—mind (i.e., thinking) is elevated over body (i.e., performing)—even in Physical Education Teacher Education. The problem is that such a perspective makes physical education content (i.e., dance, games, play, and sport) subsidiary to more “intellectual” or “academic” content. This article invites Physical Education Teacher Education faculty to consider how to effectively “send the message” to future physical educators that physical education content is valuable and respectable and in many ways epitomizes intelligent human behavior. Specifically, Physical Education Teacher Education faculty are invited to (a) challenge traditional definitions of intelligence and introduce alternative definitions, (b) participate regularly in their own playgrounds, (c) provide a sufficient dose of activity courses in their curricula, (d) teach activity courses, (e) establish a performance-oriented culture, and (f) administer performance and/or game play evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In physical education (PE) and sports there is little theoretical and empirical knowledge about transgender people, and particularly, on how they are and can be imagined within this context. In this paper, we present and analyze a pedagogical activity based on the reading and discussion of a fictional representation of a transgender person within a group of undergraduate students of Sport Sciences. Our theoretical frame situatesabjectionandalterityas opposing concepts on a continuum. Results show several ways in which a transgender person is imagined by students, as well as constraints and possibilities for the pedagogical proposal to promote moral imagining of transgender. Students situated in abjection justify their rejection of transgender persons, bringing up compassion (such as pity),genitalization,symbolic violence and stigmatization of transgender persons. The realm between abjection and alterity is characterized by tolerance of different normalities, as well as linguistic constraints hindering the acceptance of transgender people. In alterity, students acknowledge their limited ability tototallyimagine what it is like to be transgender, and also, their will to encounter transgender personsface-to-face.Although results of this experience should not be interpreted in a prescriptive way, they show different ways to imagine transgender people in the domain of PE and sports, as well as the importance of considering the ethics of alterity as a means to advance in the moral imagining of transgender persons and, in general, of the distant Other. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this commentary, I consider each of the papers in this special issue in regard to their contribution to a debate on the nature of learning in physical education (PE). I also discuss how we might take this aspiration further by moving beyond a ‘mere’ debate over learning theories to a knowledge building process in which knowledge claims are ‘tested’ against their compatibility (or non-compatibility) with other ‘knowings’. In this regard, I introduce the idea ofvertical integrationorcompatibilityas a consideration for building a more mature field of study of learning in PE. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Based on a socio-cultural perspective on learning, the aim of this article is to examine how aims and learning goals are communicated in physical education (PE) practice. A special focus is on scrutinising how teaching practices are framed in terms of whether and how the aims and learning goals are made explicit or not to students. The aim is also to relate these kinds of communications to different movement cultures. The result shows that many of the students taking part in the study do not understand what they are supposed to learn in PE. However, if the goals are well articulated by teachers, the students are more likely to both understand and be aware of the learning outcomes and what to learn in PE. The opposite is also true. If the goals and objectives are not clarified, students find it difficult to state the learning objectives and know what they are supposed to learn. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper aims to understand how pupils and teachers actions-in-context constitute being-a-pupil and being-a-teacher within a primary school physical education (PE) movement culture. Dewey and Bentley's theory of transaction, which views organism-in-environment-as-a-whole, enables the researcher to explore how actions-in-ongoing activities constitute and negotiate PE movement culture. Video footage from seven primary school PE lessons from a school in the West Midlands in the UK was analysed by focusing upon the ends-in-view of actions as they appeared through the educational content (what) and pedagogy (how) of the recorded PE experiences. Findings indicated that the movement culture within the school was a monoculture of looks-like-sport characterised by the privileging of the functional coordination of cooperative action. Three themes of pupils' and teachers' negotiation of the movement culture emergedU-turning, Knowing the game and Moving into and out of games.This movement culture required teachers to ensure pupils looked busy and reproduced cooperative looks-like-sport actions. In fulfilling this role, they struggled to negotiate between their knowledge of sport-for-real and directing pupils towards educational ends-in-view within games activities. Simply being good at sports was not a prerequisite for pupils' success in this movement culture. In order to re-actualise their knowledge of sport, pupils were required to negotiate the teacher's ‘how’ and ‘what’ by exploring what constituted cooperative actions within the spatial and social dimensions of the activities they were set. These findings suggest that if PE is to be more than just the reproduction of codified sport, careful adjustment and consideration of ends-in-view is of great importance. Without regard for the latter there is potential to create significant complexity for both teachers and pupils beyond that required by learning and performing sport. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The international agenda for assessment continues to convey a growing interest in assessment for learning (AfL) as a tool to support learning and enhance teaching. Complementing this, the recent literature on assessment in physical education acknowledges the need for physical educators to integrate AfL into their teaching and assessment practice as an important part of the future development of the subject. Appreciating that physical education must be recognized as part of the larger movement culture in society and is a place to learn about movement culture, this study explores how AfL is understood and enacted by physical education teachers and the extent to which such enactment complements or challenges learning movement cultures within physical education. This study shares how three Norwegian physical education teachers used AfL to term what they were practicing with respect to assessment in physical education. We follow the interactions of the selected teachers throughout focus groups, using the empirical data as our ‘dialogue partner’ in reconstructing and discussing their assessment stories. We conclude that the need of embedding AfL in learning theory may well be one of the strongest challenges to enacting AfL in physical education. We acknowledge that not only are most existing theories of learning defined cognitively, but also that learning connected to physical education and activity is, to a large extent, practical and embodied, and also linked to the powerful discourses of sport and related areas such as health. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In line with contemporary constructivist pedagogies, students are frequently expected to learn through interaction in physical education (PE). There is a relatively sophisticated body of literature focusing on learning in groups, peer teaching, and cooperative learning. Current research has not, however, focused on how the body is implicated in interactional learning. This is surprising given that much learning in PE is expected to take place in the physical domain. The aim of this paper is to contribute to current theorizing by examining social interactions in PE practice. By drawing on symbolic interactionist theory, we put forward a framework for considering how inter-student interactions occur in a multimodal sense. Key ideas relate to (1) the sequential organization of interactions; (2) the ways in which semiotic resources in different fields are used to elaborate each other; (3) the importance of interpretation as a driver of interaction; (4) the creation of local environments in which participants attend to and work together within a shared world of perception; and (5) the influence of material environments on social interaction. The specific concepts employed areepistemic ecology,epistemic position, andlearning trajectory. The paper includes observational data from an investigation of learning in Swedish PE to demonstrate the explanatory power and limitations of the theoretical tenets presented. The paper is concluded with practical implications of understanding group work in a multimodal manner. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

TheEscuela Internacional de Educación Física y Deporte(EIEFD) is a university-level sport school near Havana, Cuba that provides scholarships for international students to obtain a degree in physical education, coaching and sports sciences. The mandate of the school is to prepare graduates to return to their home countries in order to work towards sustainable and transformational development in and through sport. In this paper, we examine the historical and political forces that have shaped this particular practice of Cuban foreign policy and compare it to current trends in international sport policy, particularly sport for development. Drawing on fieldwork in Cuba, we explore the reasons why a resource-poor country like Cuba would continue to invest in a programme like the EIEFD. Our main argument is that when considered against trends in the nascent Sport for Development and Peace sector, the EIEFD suggests an alternative approach based largely on cooperation and distinct from the practice of sport for development as aid or stewardship. It also stands as a notable example of a state-backed initiative that positions sport as aformof rights-based development rather than the more instrumental notion of sport as atoolfor development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The current educational reform movement in the United States is focused on measuring the effectiveness of teachers. One component of teacher effectiveness is student achievement. The effectiveness of using PE Metrics as a measure of student achievement in a physical activity setting with a low socioeconomic, culturally diverse population was examined in this study. Two raters scored second and fifth grade children (N = 90) on skills using the PE Metrics system. Skills assessed included skipping, galloping, dribble with hand jog, basketball, soccer, and overhand throw. An item analysis showed that teachers could use the majority of the items to discriminate skill level. Strengths and weaknesses of the PE Metrics system were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field experiences are often conceptualized as integral to teacher education programming. However, there are often inconsistencies between the beliefs and values espoused in teacher education and those pre-service teachers encounter in schools that they must navigate to be successful. Among other strategies, writing case studies about their experiences may help pre-service teachers critically reflect on their time in schools. To illustrate the utility of student-authored case studies, data are presented from an investigation involving students in a teacher education seminar course. Results indicate that students believed they benefited from the structure of the writing assignment and thought that writing case studies helped them to prepare more completely for issues they would face in their future careers. A case study written by a student teacher is also presented and discussed. Finally, strategies for introducing and implementing student-authored case studies in PE teacher education programs are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After critically analyzing some of the Spanish physical education's (PE) main justifications and pointing out their problematic effects on teachers and students, the paper proposes an alternative orientation to teaching and learning PE that fosters consciousness, centeredness and transformation. Drawing from arguments and examples taken from ‘Eastern’ martial arts, the paper introduces the Conscious System for the Movement Technique (CSMT)—a ‘Western,’ ontological, and holistic approach whose purpose is to help people find paths that may allow them to transcend present paradigms, become interpreters of themselves, and acquire knowledge about the use of their body as a totality that, essentially, is ‘the reflection of a complex and mysterious functioning.’ Following this introduction to the CSMT, the paper explains its methodological principles, process, practical applications and transformative effects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of the study is to determine the effects of teacher's positive and negative feedback on high school students' perceived motivational climate and achievement goals in a physical education setting. Forty seven ninth grade students participated in the study. The design was a 2 x 2 between subjects factorial crossing feedback condition (positive, negative) with test condition (pre-test, post-test). A six week intervention program was applied to positive and negative feedback intervention groups by a pre-service PE teacher during 6 weeks, 90 minutes per week in PE lessons. Results indicated that mastery and performance approach achievement goals increased and performance avoidance achievement goal decreased in the positive feedback group, while the results were opposite in the negative feedback setting. Perceptions of mastery motivational climate increased and performance avoidance motivational climate decreased in the positive feedback group, while perceptions of performance approach achievement goal and performance approach motivational climate increased in the negative feedback group. Overall, the type of teacher feedback changes the students' achievement goals and perceptions of motivational climate in PE lessons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study was grounded in the differentiated instructional model where teachers tailor content, process/support, and product in response to their students' levels of readiness and interest. The value of differentiated teaching is well established; however, the implementation of such a technique is difficult due to differences in student skills and preferences. Purpose: In this study, we sought to explore physical education (PE) teachers' perceptions about the need for differentiation in their swimming programs (i.e. the differentiation ‘rhetoric’), along with their actual use of  differentiation strategies (i.e. the differentiation ‘reality’) in their swimming lessons. Participants: Three Western Australian high school Year 8 and Year 9 PE teachers (two from a non-government school and one from a government school), ranging in age from 25 to 39 years and with 5 to 15 years of PE teaching experience, participated in this study. The study involved four classes, totaling 103 students. Data collection: Teachers' perceptions about the need for differentiation, along with their actual use of  differentiation strategies, were recorded using class observations (i.e. 36 lessons) and questionnaires and were supported by in-depth teacher interviews. Students from these classes were also targeted for observation and interview during a single school term. Data analysis: Observation data were inductively analyzed according to Tomlinson's model of differentiation. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim, before transcripts were coded in order to identify recurring themes. Percentage yes/no scores were calculated for student questionnaire data. Findings: While successfully differentiating content and process/support in the swimming classroom, teachers infrequently differentiated for product (e.g. different forms of assessment). Moreover, the limitations of space/numbers, time, and student readiness impacted on the differentiation strategies and student learning opportunities and outcomes. Conclusion: Implementing a differentiated approach to swimming teaching appears to represent a significant challenge, though these data provide evidence of differentiated pedagogy that facilitated student learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: The aim of this article is to show a need for explicating ‘what’ there is to learn in physical education (PE) with a particular focus on learning to move with the meaning potential seen as integral to moving. Further, the aim is to provide an example of exploring ‘bodily knowing’ from the perspective of practical epistemology as outlined by researchers such as Michael Polanyi, Allan Janik and Gilbert Ryle. Background: Learning has been a prominent issue within the PE research for quite some time. Overviews of research show that the object of learning, the ‘what-aspect’ within the didactic triangle, has been taken into account, though the obvious focus is the ‘how-aspect’, as in how learning occurs. In PE, the ‘what-aspect’, according to teachers as well as pupils, is vague, and the aim of the subject is expressed in terms of ‘fun-aspects’ rather than ‘what-aspects’. Taking a standpoint from research concerning aims, content and important knowledge in PE in Sweden, with reference to international research, this article will shed light upon physical activity as a taken-for-granted content, conceptualized either as an instrument for fulfilling the demands of the contemporary health-discourse or an instrument for performing well in sports. In doing this, the article will argue for the urgent need of explicating what capabilities students are supposed to develop in PE. Key concepts: The concept of knowledge in relation to PE will be discussed. Drawing on Janik's discussion of the epistemological structure of practical professional knowledge, emphasizing the importance of making the base of knowledge explicit, capability to move will be regarded as an object of learning, a possible ‘what-aspect’, in PE. To overcome the boundaries between practical and theoretical knowledge, Polanyi's concept knowing will be used. Conceiving knowings as embracing several aspects of knowledge as well as comprising both mental and physical processes, knowings in human movement will be elaborated. Conclusion: As our initial overview of research about ways of reasoning about knowledge and learning in PE suggested, there is an imminent need to systematically develop a language for learning in PE where what to learn, the specific knowings that PE is nurturing, is paramount, and where this ‘what’ is not reduced to superficial knowledge about health issues or physical skills. We believe that exploring the ‘knowing how’ aspect of learning will highlight potential ‘knowings’ in human movement. Following the concept ‘knowing’ as in line with Ryle's ‘knowing how’, not separating mental and physical skills, can serve as an analytical tool and a starting point for articulating examples of ‘knowings’ as objects of learning and thus providing opportunities to conceptualize human movement in terms of knowing and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Over 30 years ago the original teaching games for understanding (TGfU) proposition was published in a special edition of the Bulletin of Physical Education (Bunker and Thorpe, 1982). In that time TGfU has attracted significant attention from a theoretical and pedagogical perspective as an improved approach to games and sport teaching in physical education (PE). It has been particularly championed as a superior alternative to what Kirk (2010) and Metzler (2011) described as a traditional method. Recently, however, one of the TGfU authors suggested that the TGfU premise needs to be revisited in order to explore and rethink its relevance so that pedagogy in PE again becomes a central and practical issue for PE (Almond, 2010), as it has not been as well accepted by PE teachers as it has by academics. In order to review and revisit TGfU and consider its relevance to games and sport teaching in PE this paper outlines two areas of the TGfU proposition: (1) the basis for the conceptualisation of TGfU; (2) advocacy of TGfU as nuanced versions. The empirical-scientific research surrounding TGfU and student learning in PE contexts is reviewed and analysed. This comprehensive review has not been undertaken before. The data-driven research will facilitate a consideration as to how TGfU practically assists the physical educator improve games and sport teaching. The review of the research literature highlighted the inconclusive nature of the TGfU proposition and brought to attention the disparity between researcher as theory generator and teacher practitioner as theory applier. If TGfU is to have improved relevance for teachers of PE more of an emphasis needs to be placed on the normative characteristics of pedagogy that drive this practice within curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this paper is to explore and develop ways to describe what there is to know, from the perspective of the one who knows, when knowing how to carry out a complex movement. The paper will challenge the distinction between mental and physical skills, drawing on theories of tacit knowing (Polanyi, 1969), knowing how (Ryle, 1949) and knowing-in-action (Schön, 1991), together with empirical data from the context of elite sport. One assumption is that exploring knowing in movement, in this context, can contribute to developing students’ movement education in physical education (PE). Pole-vaulting provides examples of what there is to know, in terms of embodied capabilities possible to explicate and develop as an educational objective in PE, irrespective of the context of competitive sports. Explicating the knowing (or capabilities) involved in the “capability to move,” as exemplified in this study, could emphasize an educational aim concerning practical knowledge, such as knowing in movement, and not necessarily specific skills related to competitive sport activities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses professional teaching demeanor in urban physical education teachers. It references the articles "Urban physical education: Instructional practices and cultural activities" by R.L. Clements & A.M. Rady in the 2012 issue of "Champaign: Human Kinetics," "Attitudes toward physical education among urban middle school children" in the 2013 issue of "The Chronicle of Kinesiology in Higher Education," and the Denver, Colorado Education Commission of the States report "In pursuit of quality teaching: Five key strategies for policymakers" published in 2000.

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The article presents a study which examines the classification of objectives in physical education teaching in elementary and middle schools in China. It notes that the study found that classification of objectives such as perception, affection, and skill were not made for the curriculum in physical education and were lacking for promoting the body development of students. Moreover, the study derived a clearer classification of objectives for promoting movement, body, and spirit development.

In this article we try to think in new ways about the educational relevance of physical exercise at school, revisiting a concrete practice that is mostly seen as superseded, namely Swedish gymnastics. A phenomenological analysis of this ‘forgotten’ discipline will show that physical education might be taken in a very literal sense as the exercising of the body properly. Going against the criticism that this kind of gymnastics necessarily implies the subordination of corporeity to biopolitical regimes, we argue (referring to the work of Canetti and Agamben) that this practice might set physical activity free of any meaning whatsoever, and that it therefore might grant an experience of corporeal democracy. We argue furthermore that on this point Swedish gymnastics is opposed to other activities and especially sport, which have become dominant today. We hope that our analysis can stimulate the debate concerning the activities physical education-curricula should comprise. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present two-wave longitudinal study examined the extent to which physical education (PE) teachers' democratic and socially supportive behavior, pupils' goal orientations, and the perceived motivational climate in PE explained differences in pupils' intended helping behavior by gender in PE classes. The results of 105 boys and 109 girls based on structural equation modeling revealed at both time points that the PE teachers' democratic and socially supportive behavior was positively related to pupils' concurrent perceptions of the motivational climate as task-involving as well as their higher concurrent intended helping behavior in PE. Pupils' prior perceptions of the motivational climate of PE as ego-involving were negatively related to their later perceptions of their PE teacher as behaving democratically and socially supportively. The study variables explained 50% (in boys) and 77% (in girls) of the variance of intended helping behavior at Time 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Physical activity of children and adults is considered an essential health determinant. Nowadays a considerable number of children and adolescents live sedentary lifestyles, and, as a result, more frequently suffer from the metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, overweight and obesity. It is generally believed that a significant number of children abstain from exercising at school. However, representative research results are still unavailable. The aim of the present study was to estimate the extent of exercise avoidance at physical education lessons in primary schools, and to identify the factors increasing the proportion of nonexercisers. Material and methods. The investigations were carried out in 42 primary schools of the Province of Silesia; 1333 physical education lessons were surveyed (classes 4-6). Results. The mean percentage of nonexercisers was 9.2%. The proportion of girls abstaining from exercise was significantly higher and amounted to 13.7%. A lower percentage of non exercising pupils, i.e., 8.5%, was noted in mixed schools. The most common excuses from active participation in physical education lessons were leaving exercise clothes at home (45%) and excuse notes from parents (33.5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined the relative impact of school and classroom goal structures on students' affective responses and the mediating role of motivation. The sample of the study consisted of 368 high school students, who completed measures of school and classroom goal structures, motivational regulations in physical education, boredom, and enjoyment. The results of the study indicated that school goal structures significantly predict the respective classroom structures. When tested simultaneously, classroom goal structures had stronger ability in predicting affective outcomes compared to school structures. Mastery goal structures predicted enjoyment, whereas performance goal structures boredom. Furthermore, autonomous forms of motivation predicted enjoyment, whereas less autonomous forms boredom. The findings of the present study suggest that physical education teachers should promote a mastery-oriented motivational climate to foster students' positive affective responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate what influences the transfer of responsibility-based physical activity program goals into classrooms. Participants were the two boys and three girls (age range 9-11) who had participated in the program one to three semesters, with at least an 80% attendance rate. Data were collected from individual interviews with the participants, the participants' classroom teachers, and the physical activity program leader. In addition, the researcher observed the program sessions and the participants' school life for eight weeks. Findings revealed the following three themes: (a) the effect of program structures and atmospheres, (b) youth as critical transfer agents, and (c) school climates as bridges and walls to transference. These findings reveal that transferring responsibility-based program values can be influenced by a complex interplay among individuals, the school, and program-related factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of Chinese state policy on physical education in the context of Chinese History, from 1949 to 2010. It demonstrates the origin and continuity of state policy, and addresses the strong effect of politics and social and economic transformation in shaping state policy on physical education in China. It considers that the formation and development of state policy on physical education in China has always been shaped by political, cultural and ideological requirements. From the 1950s to the 1970s, for ideological reasons, China imported the Soviet Union's physical education techniques, which emphasised physique-oriented sporting skill learning, and abandoned American physical education concepts that was focused on cultivating students' personalities. Since the beginning of the reform and the opening-up of China in the late 1970s, physical education in China not only was de-militarised, but it also generally realised a transformation from a physique-oriented national interest requirement to serving multi-objectives and being student-oriented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communicating how class content can satisfy students' personal interests and goals--referred to as content relevance is an important teaching behavior that has been linked to numerous indices of student success in school. However, no known studies haw examined teachers' communication of content relevance in K-12 physical education. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to determine the extent to which physical education teachers report communicating content relevance, based on their status as either elementary or secondary teachers, years of teaching experience (5 years vs. 10 years and level of expertise (expert vs. novice), and (b) to identify ways in which the teachers apply this communication behavior when teaching. One hundred and three K-12 physical education teachers attending a state physical education convention were sun-eyed using an established scale from classroom research. Additionally, participants provided written examples of how they communicated content relevance in their physical education classes. Between-group differences in self-reported communication behavior were analyzed using three separate one-way Analyses of Variance (ANOVA). The teachers' examples were categorized and organized into themes. Results indicated the only factor accounting for significant differences in teacher communication was teacher expertise, with experts reporting higher frequency of using content relevance strategies than novices. Themes identified in the teachers' examples served to illustrate multiple ways relevance can be infused into physical education instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many adolescent girls are not participating in the recommended levels of physical activity (PA) and are at risk for unhealthy lifestyles (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Helping girls understand the importance of PA and giving them positive experiences in physical education classes, including fitness testing, may help to increase girls' PA. The purpose of this study was to determine: if girls understand the purpose of cardiovascular (CV) fitness testing, which CV test they prefer, which CV test they try harder on, and their likes and dislikes concerning CV fitness testing. Results showed girls preferred the PACER test (χ²2=11.31, p=.001). Themes that became apparent from qualitative analysis indicate several reasons for test preference. Results also indicate there are a number of girls who prefer each CV test for a variety of reasons. Researchers recommend that girls be allowed to choose which CV test to participate in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relatively little is known about the use of structured physical education curricular models in physical education settings. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perspectives of various physical education curricular models. Teacher participants ranged from those involved in very structured curricular programs, to teachers that chose their own curricular content within a National and State standards based framework. Seventeen teachers with varying degrees of experience from elementary, junior high, and high schools, in two western USA states participated. Teachers were interviewed about their level of expertise within their field, self-efficacy issues, and various challenges faced within their profession, with attention placed upon perception of their physical education curricula. Two themes emerged: (a) teacher reaction to structured physical education curricula was varied and those with more experience had more positive perceptions, and (b) teacher fidelity to their adopted curricular model was influenced by training, accountability, and content efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of the iPad tablet computer within the context of seventh and eighth grade sports education (SE) and in the teaching of volleyball in particular. The author comments on the iPad's use in a 20-lesson SE season to reinforce SE objectives such as game strategy, rules, and skills competency. Topics include the ways in which the iPad was integrated in various team roles including warm-up leader, coach, manager, and equity sports board representative.

The article discusses dance education in the national curriculum of South Korea. The author looks at creative dance in particular as part of the physical education curriculum, focusing on the encouragement of expressive and rhythmic movements. Topics include the importance of creative dance in the development of creativity and imagination, comments by two creative dance teachers on the importance of creative dance education, and changes in the national curriculum.

This paper investigates the basic knowledge needed by the sports practitioner who wishes to have a healthy physical education. To determine the necessary basic knowledge, we used a methodology of standard expertise, delving further into the subject by means of a semistructured interview. The interview was taped, transcribed and analyzed through the program Nudist NVivo. We have grouped the common responses emerging from the analysis into different categories, thus obtaining a total of 9 basic considerations which should be habitually transmitted to Physical Education students, so that they may achieve adequate self-management in the practice of physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research has been carried out to determine on what level physical education and sport lesson, carried out in elementary schools, reaches its aims. A survey has been developed in accordance with the aim. The comprehensibility, content validity and reliability of the research have been tested. The Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient of the survey has been found as 0,84. According to researchers, this is a valid coefficient, too. The survey scope includes Physical Education and Sport lesson teachers working in elementary schools in Ankara, Çorum and Kİrşehir city-centrums. The survey has been tried to be applied for all Physical Education and Sport lesson teachers within whole scope. So, a total of 276 participators, 198 of whom are males and 78 of whom are females, have been reached. To the data obtained, as statistical operation; frequency (f), percentage (%), cross table (crosstab), and to distinguish the differences; chi Square (X2) operations have been applied. After the operation, (%) distribution has been shown for each question and to differences between views, interpretations have been made taking 0,05 as confidence interval. As result of evaluation of the data, the curriculum program of Physical Education and Sport lesson, carried out in primary schools, generally reaches its aims on medium level and female participators are more positive in inter-gender views when they are compared to male participators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilateral physical training at gymnasium pupils level is a priority objective of education since it ensures a balanced and harmonious development of all motor qualities. The formation of a wide background of motor skills that are specific to athletics by assimilating the techniques of running, jumping, tossing as well as by participating in competitions in both individual events and polyathlons creates the pre-conditions of orientation toward performance athletics practices of an increased number of pupils. The deficiencies ascertained regarding the level of physical preparation as well as in assimilating the athletics motor skills can be corrected through adequate action instruments during both physical education at school as well as in athletics class. By means of a multi-lateral physical training with a focus on speed and take-off, we will provide improved sports results at the athletics polyathlon events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines the trends of physical education classroom teaching based on the analysis of the 5th Session of Demonstration and Observation of Physical Education Teaching in Elementary and Middle Schools in China. It notes that the study found that physical education classroom teaching had changed and objectives were set more accurately and expressed in a clear way. Furthermore, the study determined that classroom teaching strategies were more diversified.

Previews are presented of multiple conferences on educational psychology. Information is offered on November 21-23, 2013 conference on educational science in Luxembourg, an October 3-5, 2013 conference in Potsdam, Germany on the quality of pedagogical relationships, and November 7-9, 2013 conference in Mainz, Germany on the philosophy of sports education.

The article announces several symposiums to be held in Auckland, New Zealand on physical education and sport among youth including the 2014 International Association for Physical Education in Higher Education (AIESEP) World Congress on February 10-13, a Pre-Congress Symposium to be held on February 9, and the International Symposium on Physical Education & Sport Studies to be held on February 16-17.

The article offers sports news briefs of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) as of September 2013. The 5th International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS) was held in Berlin, Germany in May 2013 to promote integrity in international sport. The ICSSPE has received European Union (EU) grant for its Psycho-social disability (PID) project. The ICSSPE Bulletin issue no. 64 discusses sports law.

The article offers sports news briefs of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) as of September 2013. The 5th International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS) was held in Berlin, Germany in May 2013 to promote integrity in international sport. The ICSSPE has received European Union (EU) grant for its Psycho-social disability (PID) project. The ICSSPE Bulletin issue no. 64 discusses sports law.

The article presents three reflections by graduate students training to become physical education teachers, discussing their views of the importance of communicating the historical, social and philosophical aspects of physical education. Comments include discussion of the dynamics of teacher-parent communication in physical education, the historical tradition of physical education since the 1800s, and the importance of learning from lessons of the past.