Negotiating a Critical Agenda in Middle Years Physical Education

In this research a number of strategies including physical experiences, physical stories and lab school with guided reflection were used with pre-service physical education teachers in an attempt to foster more critical and inclusive approaches to teaching physical education in the middle years. The strategies were used to illustrate the complex processes that inhibit or enhance an individual's relationship to physical activity. They served to identify discursive, social and institutional practices, which supported the development of a physical identity for some young people while powerfully denying it to others. Pre-service physical education teachers were asked to respond to these strategies in multiple ways as well as constructing their own knowledge around teaching and learning in physical education. It was concluded that a more complete understanding of young people's physicality could develop from recognition of the complex interrelationships that occur between school, culture and physical experiences. The strategies used allowed insights into these complexities and worked to develop a deeper appreciation of "lived" experiences, around physical education. Opportunities to explore and critically reflect on teaching and student learning were also found to be significant in considering broadened understandings of pedagogies of physical education.