Search

Background: Physical Literacy (PL) is a concept enduring controversy. Based on Actor-Network Theory and Venturini's definition, PL is considered a controversy because it is a 'situation' in which actors disagree and there is 'shared uncertainty' around what it is and is not. Given the increasing expectation, in some countries, that PL becomes a feature of health and/physical education (H/PE) it is important that the profession is aware of and understands the multiple versions that exist, the actors who have assembled them and in the name of what. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to map in unprecedented detail the controversial state of PL as presented by different actors on the scholarly web (i.e. peer-reviewed, scholarly literature). This is important, as actors assemble to create territories and these territories describe bounded spaces. This research helps to better understand what territories are being marked out on the scholarly web, defined by actors that work together to produce different PL 'modes of ordering' and the implications this has for further research, policy and ultimately, how PL is made to act in H/PE. Method: Utilising Venturini's 'cartography of controversies', 77 PL scholarly articles were analysed to observe and describe the network of heterogeneous actors involved in the PL controversy, along with viewpoints, relations and ideologies. Finding/discussion: Analysis of the scholarly articles revealed that four clusters of actors have formed, each of which is invested in certain ideologies as to what PL should be. These clusters serve to restrict alternative perspectives of PL through a process of framing and deletion. As a result, a mix of overlapping yet contested PL framings that render PL ontologically unstable are present on the scholarly web. This instability can be attributed, at least in part, to actors who reshape their relations and bridge ideas across clusters and disciplinary boundaries. This has enabled porous boundaries and fluid 'forms of knowledge' of what PL should be. The implication is that the different versions of PL flow in many directions. Consequently, PL appears to be an attractive, all-encompassing concept, albeit understood/utilised differently across clusters of actors, that does everything from combating non-communicable diseases to fostering individuals' embodied potential, with the possibility of addressing little in reality. Conclusion:As expectations rise for H/PE teachers and coaches to engage with PL, an awareness of PL's various compositions, interests and logics should be informative. The solidity of each version of PL is highly contingent, and their influence will rise and fall with the fluctuation of alliances. The reforming and fluid nature of the PL actor-network(s) means that there is no single, grand narrative for PL, but rather multiple, and partial possibilities. We conclude by drawing on the findings to share four possible futures for PL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how various ideological positions or 'cosmoses' associated with physical literacy (PL) have come to be and, in doing so, extends scholarship by examining and presenting PL as a multiplicity of physical literacies. Drawing on Stengers' notion of 'cosmopolitics' and Venturini's 'cartography of controversies' method, 167 scholarly articles and 23 non-scholarly texts were analysed to observe and describe how PL has been framed over time as a result of dynamic political factors. Findings reveal that three 'waves' of PL cosmoses have unfolded over time (PL as health-promoting physical activity, PL as motor competence and PL as phenomenological embodiment). Whilst all three seek to promote engagement in physical activity and have loose ties to 'health', each PL cosmos is bound by different objectives, actors and obligations and is orientated towards solving a different problem. Rather than continued confusion and controversy, we propose that PL be understood as a multiverse wherein the three different PL cosmoses are held apart as physical literacies that play co-existing roles based on the problem that each cosmos is trying to solve. While understanding PL as a multiverse is not a solution to the controversy and uncertainty surrounding PL, it provides those who are interested in or tasked with enacting PL an opportunity to become aware of and understand what the different PL cosmoses or physical literacies constitute and thus make possible (or not) on the basis of their ontological differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How physical literacy (PL) is presented on 'the web' (i.e. Google) has implications for how health and/ physical education (H/PE) teachers and coaches engage with and understand the concept, and ultimately how it is made to act in practice. This research sheds light on the type of PL content they are likely to encounter in their search via the web. Utilising Venturini's 'cartography of controversies' method, the top 100 Google search results for PL were analysed to observe and describe how PL is presented on the web, by whom and in the name of what. Findings show that PL has been 'framed' on the web by a heterogeneous network of actors who present different viewpoints, ideologies and suggested practices for PL within and across the contextual 'spheres' of education, sport and health. Further, the findings highlight how Google's algorithms prioritise and privilege particular PL viewpoints and ideologies. Consequently, variations in understanding and practices will be evident between H/PE teachers and coaches who only engage with the first page of Google results (top one to 10 URLs) and those who read more broadly. Rather than relying on Google's algorithms or policymakers' interpretations of PL that commonly serve the interests of the sport and health 'spheres' we suggest that H/PE teachers and coaches need to act as 'knowledge brokers' and thus be reflexive and aware of the multiple versions of PL that are presented on the web. This is especially important if they use the web as a form of professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shares a unique approach to primary Health and Physical Education (HPE) whereby students learn about personal, social and community health through intergenerational arts-led pedagogies. Drawing on socio-critical, socio-cultural and salutongenic perspectives, the unit of work that the students engaged with was underpinned by an assumption that health is complex, socially constructed and should be problematised. We share a case study of one Grade 5/6 class (age 10-12) that participated in a unit of work where they connected with senior citizens from the same geographical community to learn about personal, social and community health. The unit of work served to problematise the potholes of traditional HPE where health is typically politicised, moralised, risk-focused and individualised. Data collection consisted of artwork, observations, field notes, and semi-structured focus-group interviews with 23 students (mean age=11) and 18 seniors (mean age=73). The findings suggest that the intergenerational arts-led pedagogies, allowed for more nuanced understandings of health and health assets to develop, which made visible in practice a combination of socio-critical, socio-cultural and salutogenic approaches in practice. The findings also offered a novel insight into how people from different generations can link together and co-construct shared meanings of personal, social and community health. In the case study presented here, the intergenerational linking and connection led to preconceptions and stereotypes of each other to be challenged, and for traditional power balances to loosen and shift over time and context. We can see these changes as pedagogical possibilities whereby students have the opportunity to further develop their knowledge and understanding of personal, social and community health. These possibilities can only come to fruition, however, if teachers are supported to experiment and be creative in their pedagogical work. We conclude that there is rich potential for intergenerational arts-led HPE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artefacts are an important part of policy work, and a means of representation, translation, re-negotiation, and resistance of policy. While research has established their integral role in policy enactment, little research has examined the production and/or dissemination of artefacts by teacher educators. This paper reports and analyses the production and re-production of a specific set of artefacts, arising from the policy work of four teacher educators seeking to influence the interpretation and enactment of the Australian Curriculum in Health and Physical Education (AC HPE). Analysis and discussion pursue: the rationale for producing a set of artefacts focusing on a particular feature of the AC HPE; the processes of artefact production; actions designed to activate and re-present the artefacts; and emerging evidence of uptake and impact. The relationship of artefacts to policy work is shown to be strategically significant for teacher educators, teachers and others invested in new curriculum developments, and is characterised as both fluid and generative. We argue that artefacts have important performative policy potential and play a key role in supporting and shaping curriculum policy enactment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Contemporary scholarship calls for the Health and Physical Education (HPE) profession to pay attention to the practical translation of the critical agenda. Whilst invitations to criticality have featured in HPE scholarship for decades, there have been limited attempts to explore how the critical agenda translates into practice in HPE. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the nuance and liminality that characterises the inherently messy and complex process of curriculum transformation and enactment. Methods: We draw on teachers' perspectives, researcher observations, field notes and planning documents from an ongoing and longitudinal exemplifying case-study. The case-study focuses on one Australian Secondary School within the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The HPE department is relatively large (n = 20), with six being involved in the first three phases of the ongoing research (planning, pilot of curriculum enactment, and roll-out of curriculum enactment). Findings: The HPE teachers we worked with are becoming more critical practitioners. Three practices which they felt were sustained and had the most impact were: (i) questioning and critical dialogue as a focus in every lesson; (ii) student choice related to assessment; (iii) opportunity for critical reflection and creative thought and movement. The process of transformation could begin because the teachers had a range of resources available to them over time (e.g. clear vision, structural support, and strong leadership). Secondary data from the teachers suggest that student participation has increased from 75% to 100% since the new curriculum was introduced. Discussion: This paper offers a unique insight into the nuances of the liminal space between traditional and transformed ways of seeing and doing HPE. The multi-directional process of transformation was characterised by teachers crossing a threshold into a liminal space where they oscillated between traditional and more critical approaches, at times engaging in mimicry and 'getting stuck'. Transformation will never be linear, it takes time, and requires sustained resources. That said, our findings suggest that curriculum transformation as part of a broader critical agenda, can transform teachers' philosophies and practices, as well as increase student participation in HPE. Conclusion: Any attempt to transform curriculum, pedagogy and assessment will be characterised by periods of time where teachers experience tension as their philosophies on HPE are disturbed and potentially shifted, and thus liminality should be both expected and embraced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How teacher educators respond as policy actors from inside spaces where multiple policies and discourses collide provides insights into the ways in which policy plays out in educational contexts. By engaging and working within the uncertain space of our own contextual ‘policy storm’ we provide a narrative of enactment highlighting the roles and actions of policy actors simultaneously constrained and inspired by policy. We use the policy actor framework [Ball, S.J., Maguire, M., Braun, A., & Hoskins, K. (2011a). Policy actors: Doing policy work in schools, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 32(4), 625-639] to unpack policy meaning-making within university and faculty climates, teacher education, and curriculum reform in Health and Physical Education (HPE) in Australia. This paper has three tasks. Firstly, we set-up the conditions of uncertainty and possibility as a ‘policy storm’ and place where four disparate policies converged. Secondly, we provide an empirical and theoretical account of policy interpretation and enactment from the actors perspective. Finally, we test the policy actor framework to determine if it adequately describes our insider policy work. In moving beyond reductionist policy narratives we provide policy possibilities that illustrate enactment, are innovative, and explore the productive potential inside policy reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Greater understandings about how progressive pedagogies are interpreted and practiced within schools will be required if international calls to enhance relevance and meaning in Health and Physical Education (HPE) are to be realised. Little is understood about how inquiry-based units of work connected to real-life issues are enacted, engaged with, and generate deeper knowledge within a HPE context. Purpose: This study explores learner outcomes and perceptions of engagement with an inquiry-based unit of work, Take Action, that aimed to provide young people with an opportunity to critically reflect on movement, investigate an issue important to them, and enhance their capacity to enact positive change for themselves and others. Participants and setting: Forty-four students and three teachers from two secondary school settings participated in the research. Both schools were located in relatively low socio-economic status areas in southern metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Data collection and analysis: An exploratory and evaluative study design that employed naturalistic inquiry, using qualitative semi-structured interview data, observational data, and analysis of learner-produced artefacts were used. Analysis drew upon authentic learning frames to explore elements of knowledge construction through disciplined inquiry and real-life application. Findings: Take Action provided a unique experience of HPE for the students and teachers who engaged with it. It was a collaborative, learner-centred inquiry-based experience that most learners found to be engaging and authentic. Both teachers and learners lacked the foundational knowledge of the discipline and a sound understanding of a critical-inquiry process that would have allowed them to deconstruct and reconstruct new ideas in deep interconnected ways. Conclusions: More support for teachers and students is needed to legitimate these types of approaches within broader curriculum contexts to support student learning. Specifically, foundational understandings of: socially critical approaches to critical inquiry that serve to enhance knowledge relating to learner-identified topics; learning intentions and authentic assessment and how these might align with inquiry-based learning; forming connections with external experts to support learners early in an inquiry process; and how to extend explorations and elaborations within the constraints of a congested and contested curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health and physical education (HPE) profession needs to find alternatives to its individualistic and performative focus if it is to remain relevant and meaningful for all learners. This paper presents a way of framing HPE that helps to shift the focus from the individual as autonomous decision-maker, and goes beyond sport and fitness testing as the main contexts for learning. To do this we present the socio-ecological action research (SEAR) frame for unit development that was co-created and enacted over a six-month period involving dialogue between teachers, students, parents, researchers and community. This paper presents findings from semi-structured interviews, student artefacts and field notes collected as one component of a broader three-phase study which spanned three years. The data describe how generalist primary teachers (n=4) from a small Victorian community and their students (aged 8–10 years) tackled a unit of work that positioned centrally the everyday physical experiences of active school travel (AST). Teachers supported students in exploring barriers to their AST, and developing strategies that would counteract some of the negative perceptions that had limited their AST in the past. The findings suggest that the unit of work evolved from an exploration of AST into a much broader exploration of the whole community. This paper does not provide evidence for an alternative way to view HPE, rather it represents an embryonic exploration of how a SEAR frame might support teachers in applying inquiry-based pedagogies that extend beyond the individual as autonomous decision-maker, and promote opportunities for exploration and understanding of environmental, social and personal factors that influence our health and everyday physically active lives. Despite students being positioned as central actors within the SEAR frame, obtaining genuine student voice throughout the process proved challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]