Coming to know about the body in Human Movement Studies programmes

For preservice teachers, inclusive education practices are daunting, highlighting concerns around confidence, individualisation, and student behaviour. To explore this issue further, this study examined the perceptions of preservice Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers on inclusion using a sequential, explanatory mixed-methods research design. Preservice HPE teachers (n = 44) completed a compulsory course on inclusion and a 10-week school internship. Sentiments, attitudes, and concerns were examined using the Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns about Inclusive Education-Revised Scale (SACIE-R) and reported a Total Scale Score (TSS) and respective Sub-Scale Scores (SSS) for Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns across three time points. Linear mixed models showed a significant improvement in TSS (p = 0.005) over time from course participation to internship. In addition, the SSS for Concerns was significant over time (p < 0.001) resulting in reduced Concerns about inclusion as time progressed. Qualitatively, six students participated in semi-structured interviews that examined views of inclusive education practices. Findings suggest an improvement in attitudes towards inclusive practices through participation in specific courses that provide direct opportunities for preservice teachers to practice inclusion. Implications for preservice teacher education programmes include the importance of direct experience with and without the pressure of school environments.

Focusing largely on the Australian context, this chapter explores the role of health and physical education (HPE) teachers' philosophies and pedagogies of health. We draw upon research findings and existing literature to provide insight into how health is often conceptualised by both generalist and specialist HPE teachers, and the implications this might have for student learning. After making reference to the Australian policy and education contexts, we introduce the concept of ‘philosophies’ as a means to understand teachers' perspectives and pedagogies as they relate to ‘health’ in HPE. We next illuminate three key ‘problems’ that characterise the ways in which HPE teachers come to understand and teach about health, including: (i) valued knowledge in HPE; (ii) the contested purpose of HPE; and (iii) privileged and marginalised bodies in HPE. Finally, we make suggestions about how teachers and teacher educators can respond to these problems, and thus find small and nuanced ways in their teaching practice to challenge dominant discourses of health and the body. We finish with some concluding thoughts and reflection points for consideration.

Background: The relationship between sport and exercise science (SES) and health and physical education (HPE) has been of interest to those of us involved in the general field of human movement studies in higher education for at least the last four decades. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to determine how the proposed merging of the health and physical education teacher education practices within a university department of SES impacted on the teacher educators and then why they fought to retain their place in the Faculty of Education. Participants: The research participants included a group of five HPE teacher educators from a College of Education, the Dean and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Education, and the Director of Teacher Education. Research design: The research employed ethnographic case-study methods involving participant interviews and daily monitoring and journaling of the participants’ involvement and position-taking during the period of the research. Data gathering also included document analysis of all the related documentation available to the researcher relating to the research topic during the period of the investigation. Research themes were then analysed using Bourdieu's sociological lens, which is reported in this paper. Findings: Although the HPE teacher educators and sports scientists recognised the different ‘logics of practice’ underpinning their respective fields, the faculty leaders did not share their views. Consequently, while the teacher educators argued to retain the existing logics underpinning the two fields, the faculty leaders sought to redraw the boundaries seeking some degree of collaboration between the two fields. Conclusion: The relationship between HPE and SES is determined by the externally structured and internally embodied logics of practice underpinning the respective fields in higher education, and this in turn is important in determining how people engage in sport, physical activity, and physical education.

Relationship between Critical Thinking Levels and Attitudes towards Reading Habits among Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers.

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 to gauge what the baseline of knowledge and understanding of CCE amongst beginning teachers might be. Shared learning opportunities between HPE and CCE are discussed in different parts of the paper in relation to fair play; ethical debates and dilemmas; community involvement; identity; and respect for inclusivity. Linking to the pre-service teacher responses, the paper provides suggestions for some practical ways in which Australian HPE educators might make connections between the CCE curriculum and inter-connected HPE learning contexts for Year 3 to Year 8 students, the years for which a Civics and Citizenship curriculum is specified in the Australian Curriculum.

The study aimed to examine pre-service physical education and science education teachers' health-promoting lifestyle profiles, nutrition habits, knowledge of nutrition levels, and their relationships with some demographic variables (gender, department, smoking, physical activity level). The study is a descriptive study conducted in a government university in Türkiye. The samples consisted of fourth-year pre-service physical teachers (N=37) and pre-service science teachers (N=32). Nutrition Habits Assessment Form, Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II instrument (HPLP II), and Nutrition Knowledge Level for Adults Scale, which consisted of two parts, "Basic Nutrition Scale" and "Food Preference Scale," were used as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics and parametric tests analyzed data. Considering differences in the physical activity subscale between different departments, a significantly higher score was recorded among pre-service physical education teachers compared to pre-service science teachers. A significantly higher score was observed in the subscales on interpersonal relations and stress management and Basic Nutrition Scale Score among pre-service science teachers compared to pre-service physical education teachers. A significantly higher score was observed in the subscales on physical activity and interpersonal relations among male compared to female students. The HPLP II scores of the pre-service teachers, which exercised three times more than three times a week, were higher than those who egzersize once a week and didn't exercise.

The aim of the research was to determine the effectiveness of teaching physical and health education in the fourth grade of primary school in relation to the teachers? professional competence. The sample of 242 subjects, aged 10, consisted of male and female students of the fourth grade of elementary schools in Nis, Serbia. The sample included two subsamples, one consisting of 124 respondents who attended classes under the guidance of physical and health education teacher (experimental group) and the other of 118 respondents who attended classes under the guidance of generalist teacher (control group). The teaching content, intended for both groups of students, was taught during one semester based on the physical and health education curriculum for the fourth grade of elementary school, and the concept of the experiment is that one group was guided by a physical and health education teacher, and the other by a generalist teacher. The sample of variables included six situational-motor and seven motor tests. The abilities monitored in this paper (explosive leg strength, speed, flexibility, balance and situational motor abilities) were tested by initial and final testing. The results showed that there was a statistically significant effectiveness of teaching physical and health education on the development of motor and situational-motor abilities under the guidance of physical and health education teacher in comparison to classes taught by generalist teacher.

Self-efficacy of pre-service physical education (PE) teachers is an effective predictor of successful inclusion of students with disabilities. However, physical disability is one of the most challenging disabilities to include in PE settings. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a 6-week intervention program on the self-efficacy of Saudi pre-service PE teachers towards including students with physical disabilities in general PE classes. Two groups of pre-service PE teachers (35 each in the experimental and control groups; mean age: 22.69 ± 1.17 years) enrolled in two universities in Saudi Arabia were recruited into this study. Self-efficacy was measured before and after the intervention program using the Arabic version of the Self-Efficacy Scale for Physical Education Teacher Education Majors toward Children with Disabilities (SE-PETE-D). One-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed that a significant improvement in self-efficacy was demonstrated for the experimental group after participation in the intervention program compared to the control group (p &lt; 0.001, ηp2 = 0.53, large). The results support the systematic implementation of this type of intervention program as an integral part of physical education teacher education programs.

This self-study approaches the complexity of the internationalisation of the academic workforce in Health and Physical Education Teacher Education (HPETE), particularly in early career stages. Although scholars have been exploring the transition from Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers toHPE teacher educators, less is known about the journeys of graduating doctoral students with no substantive teaching experience in K-12 settings entering teacher education. Moreover, as the HPETE labour market continues to globalise, and as increasing numbers of early-career academics accept international roles in countries other than those in which they completed their doctoral studies or their own HPETE, in-depth explorations of how these academics develop their professional identities are critical. The present self-study addresses these two important gaps in the literature by exploring an early-career HPE teacher educator’s process of identity construction while navigating the complexity of working in an international context and doing so without school teaching experience. This work utilises critical moments to explore perceptions of professional self-worth, understandings of competence and efforts in relation to approaching teaching through distinct pedagogies, relationships inside and outside the institution, and the impact of the doctoral training focused on the research component. This self-study contributes to the development of insights that can support international early-career teacher educators to engage in the exploration of their individual journeys towards identity development with the collaborative support of critical friends. Additionally, this paper aims to call out to a broader discussion on how to support international early-career teacher educators navigating change and adaptation in the HPETE space.

The purpose of this article is to join in the debate around who is best prepared to provide quality Health and Physical Education lessons (HPE) in primary schools. Christina Curry’s article ‘Why public primary schools need specialist PE teachers’ (in July 2012) advocated for specialist PE teachers and Natalie McMaster’s article ‘Generalist Teachers; Ideal candidates for providing developmentally appropriate, best practice instruction in physical education in early childhood and primary settings’ advocated for generalist classroom teachers. Both articles published in the Active and Healthy Magazine raise pertinent issues surrounding Health and Physical Education and lifelong wellness.

There has been a recent surge in the popularity of school gardening programmes with different models claiming to address learning outcomes within the curriculum. For example, the ‘kitchen garden’ concept has had a rapid uptake across many Australian schools, promoted by both government curriculum support documents, and private organisations. Research points to the ‘use’ of school gardens as an initiative that predominantly draws on discourses of health, wellbeing and sustainability – sometimes together but also often quite separately. Despite the rapid uptake of gardening initiatives in schools, and the explicit mention of ‘gardening’ in State based variations of the Australian National Curriculum, we know very little about how school gardens are being conceptualised by Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers as part of their teaching – either in primary or secondary contexts. This paper utilises data from a larger study which investigated how 24 generalist primary and secondary specialist HPE teachers talked about ‘environmental health’ within Health and Physical Education. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first it examines the range of discourses, that is, the different meanings and values, the teachers in the study associated with gardening as a practice expected of environmentally healthy citizens. Second, we draw on material and embodied knowledge to demonstrate how the very diverse ways the teachers talked about gardening, provide ‘conditions of possibility’ for thinking critically about gardening, and how school gardens might be positioned within the context of HPE.

Background In recent years, the number of Japanese Language Learner (JLL) students, or children who speak a language other than Japanese and require Japanese language instruction, has been rapidly increasing in Japanese schools. Successful inclusion of students who use Japanese as a second language in the classroom creates opportunities for all students to engage with multiple languages and learn new cultures, backgrounds, history, and aspects of diversity that help them strengthen their overall cognitive abilities [Sato, T., and S. R. Hodge. 2009. “Asian International Doctoral Students’ Experiences at Two American University: Assimilation, Accommodation, and Resistance.” Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 2(3): 136-148]. In particular, physical education (PE) is considered an academic subject that can be a powerful tool to promote peace, tolerance, and understanding by bringing people together across boundaries, cultures, and religions by promoting the concepts of teamwork, fairness, discipline, and respect for the opponent in a game or activity [Beutler, I. 2008. “Sport Serving Development and Peace: Achieving the Goals of the United Nations Through Sport.” Sport in Society 11 (4): 359–369]. The purpose of this study is to describe and explain Japanese high school health and physical education (HPE) teachers’ positioning of themselves and others, as shown through a storyline, when they teach and assist Japanese Language Learner (JLL) students in academic and social contexts. Participants and setting Seven HPE teachers participated in this study by sharing their thoughts, opinions, and experiences related to teaching JLL students in PE. The teachers had between 3 and 23 years of experience teaching PE, and 2–9 years of experience teaching JLL students in high school PE. Research design This study utilized a descriptive-qualitative design using an in-depth, semi-structured interview approach [Seidman, I. 2019. Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences. 5th ed. New York: Teacher College Press]. A constant comparative analysis method was used to analyze the data. In this study, the process of constantly comparing data from several sources led to tentative categories that were compared to each other and to other data in order to construct categories. In this study, meaningful narrative phrases were those related to PE pedagogical content and teacher development. Findings Explainable by concepts in positioning theory [Harré, R., and L. van Langenhove. 1999. “The Dynamics of Social Episodes.” In Positioning Theory: Moral Contexts of Intentional Action, edited by R. Harré, and L. van Langenhove, 1–13. Oxford: Blackwell], three major interrelated and complex themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) teachers’ positioning in securing a safe learning environment for JLL students in PE, (b) teachers’ dilemma in assessing JLL students’ learning outcomes based on performance assessments and written exams in PE, and (c) teachers’ positioning in their responsibilities as both teacher and host parent. To enhance the quality of PE classes, school districts need clear and focused goals related to assessment and evaluation, instructional planning, and responsibilities involved in teaching JLL students.

Professional learning is critical for teachers to enhance teaching quality and student learning and deal with uncertainty and challenges in modern education environments. Recently, the complexity of teacher professional learning has attracted the attention of many scholars, which has stimulated a rethinking of the nature of teacher professional learning. However, there is a shortage of empirical research focused on the complexity of professional learning for health and physical education (HPE) teachers. Thus, this study explores the nature of professional learning for HPE teachers by examining the professional learning journeys of two HPE teachers from a secondary school in New Zealand. Using an ethnographic approach, the lead researcher collected data through participant observations over 20 weeks, semi-structured interviews, and analysis of relevant artefacts and documents about teacher learning. Data analysis via thematic analysis was conducted during and after the data collection. Informed by complexity thinking as a theoretical framework, the findings suggest that professional learning for HPE teachers can occur in different spaces that afford them various professional learning opportunities and possibilities. In addition, participants’ learning experiences reveal that the professional learning of HPE teachers is non-linear, unpredictable, multifaceted, and self-organised due to individual experiences, roles, needs, preferences, backgrounds, and people and environments they interact with. This study provides empirical evidence to understand the nuanced and complex nature of professional learning for HPE teachers.

The ways in which people understand disability can influence how disabled people are treated and taught. As such, and grounded in critical disability theory, the purpose of this study was to explore Colombian pre-service physical education (PE) teachers’ conceptualizations of disability when teaching disabled students in integrated PE. This study used a story completion method and participants were 29 pre-service teachers (12 females; 17 males) from a public university in central Colombia. Pre-service teachers were randomly presented with one of two versions of a hypothetical story stem representing the presence of a disabled child in an integrated PE class and asked to complete the rest of the story. All data collected were subjected to thematic analysis which informed the construction of three themes: (a) understandings of disability based on deficit, (b) disabled students as inspirational role models, and (c) pedagogical practice informed by the individuality of disabled students. This study contributes to further understand cultural conceptualizations of disability within South American PE, and how these conceptualizations and understandings contribute, or not, to the wellbeing of disabled students in the Global South.

Health and Physical Education (HPE) as an Australian curriculum learning area is associated with holistic lifelong health and wellbeing. Research suggests that the optimum time for children to learn and refine their motor skills and to be introduced to positive HPE experiences is during preschool and early primary school years. This report presents the key findings of an investigation into primary school principals’ perceptions of a university pre-service teacher education course where the graduate teacher is qualified as both a generalist primary classroom teacher and a HPE specialist.