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This paper is a reflection, a critique, and, hopefully, an inspiration to think about how future generations can reshape physical education in the United States. To do so, we first pay homage to our pioneers, who, we argue, were transformative leaders because they used research to respond to the sociopolitical issues of their time. In saying this, we reflect on how these ideas from that time were critically important but have also been developed for a different time, place, and demographic of people. We then trace the social justice research in the United States by highlighting the promises and pitfalls of current scholarship because it often asks "tough questions" but provides "weak solutions." To conclude, we believe that the future of physical education needs to be about allowing those "new voices" to become the future leaders of our field. In so doing, they will change the landscape of physical education knowledge, movement, and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this critical reflection, we consider physical education policy research in the United States (U.S.) using a sociocritical lens. Our aim is to extend the discussion and critiques of physical education policy research by exploring how it is conducted in the U.S. Instead of asking 'What is physical education policy research?', we are more concerned with the complex, imbalanced, and unpredictable affects of physical education policy research in the U.S. Thus, we ask questions like, 'How is physical education policy research working in different contexts?', 'What counts as policy research?' and 'Who is doing policy research?' We examine how physical education policy research is being taken up across the U.S. and the orientation – or direction – those studies take. As such, we conclude by considering what directions, people, and elements are not included in the current orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on two separate research projects, one with Black and Latinx youth in the United States and another with LGBTQ+ youth in New Zealand, to explore the affective experiences of young people with the FitnessGram® assessment. We specifically use affect theory through poetic inquiry to entangle interview data from young participants about their experiences with FitnessGram®. We then (re)present the data through poetic forms. We argue the turn to affect and poetic inquiry allows us, as researchers, to respond to dominant discourses around FitnessGram® (and young bodies) in critical and creative ways. And, we embrace the experimental, open-ended potential of poetic (re)presentation to bring awareness to the youths' experiences and to encourage others (researchers, educators, practitioners, policymakers) to engage differently as well. We hope, through such aesthetic forms, we can start to value the affects of FitnessGram® on youth and think divergently about this popular practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]