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Millions of high school student-athletes in North America practice sport, and national federations communicate through their mission statements that this fosters student-athletes’ positive development. The purpose of the current study was to review the recent literature to examine whether the educational claims made for youth development in the context of high school sport are substantiated by empirical evidence. The review indicates that recent research efforts have focused primarily on the positive outcomes and that much less is known of the possible negative outcomes of participation in high school sport. Researchers have examined stakeholders’ perspectives on development, but studies are scarce that objectively measure the actual developmental outcomes of participation in high school sport. The little available evidence indicates that adult stakeholders seldom interact and do not collaborate to foster student-athlete development. This narrative review provides insights on the current status of research on high school sport, and recommendations are provided to further facilitate youth development in this setting. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is substantial scientific research suggesting the physical and psychological health benefits of a physically active lifestyle. Consequently, governments worldwide prioritize policies, finances, and resources in healthcare, education, and sports sectors to increase mass participation in physical activity. However, practices in physical activity promotion are often not underpinned by evidence-based standardization that is requisite in other domains of epidemiology. The aim of this article is to examine critically the available scientific research on promoting life-long physical activity participation and to propose an evidence-based model for implementation in school physical education. Reasons are discussed as to why programs that integrate physical, psychological, and behavioral skills have been long acknowledged in physical education and physical activity domains but remain lacking in empirical validation. Finally, future directions are suggested that are required to examine the application of this approach to practice in primary-level physical education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Code switching is primarily a linguistic term that refers to the use of two or more languages within the same conversation, or same sentence, to convey a single message. One field of linguistics, sociocultural linguistics, is broad and interdisciplinary, a mixture of language, culture, and society. In sociocultural linguistics, the code, or language that is selected, can be triggered by a social situation or setting in which the speaker is placed. Code-switching can also apply to behavior. In physical education, teachers may communicate in the language of sport. When teaching a competitive activity in physical education class, the environment changes, becomes competitive, and the teachers often code switch and switch instructional choices unconsciously. This article examines the occurrence of code-switching during competitive activities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this article is to describe a theoretical model and practice examples of judgment and decision making bias within the context of inclusion in physical education and sports. After presenting the context of adapting for inclusion, the theoretical roots of judgment and decision are described, and are linked to the practice of physical education and sports. The specific concepts of judgment and decision making are then imported into selected examples of inclusive contexts, where events and processes of interest are reconceptualized in judgment and decision making terminology. Intervention strategies for reducing bias among practitioners while engaging in judgment and decision making during inclusive practice are recommended, and research studies aiming at validating and quantifying the distribution of decision making bias in physical education and sports are suggested. Finally, an ecological model is proposed, as well as a framework for identifying biases within professional preparation and service delivery in physical education and sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociology of Sport Journal is the property of Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Historically the individual and society pendulum has swung back and forth between individuals and conformity and individuals and community. Individuals and society are mutually dependent yet conflicts of interest have shown how one has sometimes flourished at the expense of the other. As the world and society changes, learning must follow so individuals or groups can participate in society. And because participation in society inherently involves learning physical educators and kinesiologists (among others) need to address how we can assist students to be engaged learners who transform experiences into fruitful knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and beliefs and give meaning to their lives. The paper will situate learning and in particular, student engagement, as a vector for the pervasive change and the associated profound challenges that will be presented to individuals and society this century. Student engagement, particularly at a philosophic level, has essentially been ignored within our field. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this paper is to outline why physical activity policy is important in terms of promoting population based increases in physical activity. The promotion of physical activity through public policy happens globally and nationally, however to be successful it should also happen at state and local levels. We outline the rationale for the promotion of physical activity and the decrease of inactivity from a public health perspective. The World Health Organization guidelines for physical activity are then presented, followed by current physical activity prevalence rates in Europe and the US. We offer a description of what physical activity policy is and the key criteria for inclusion in order to increase the likelihood of its success. Finally, we present two case studies in relation to physical activity policy from Scotland and Ireland. Throughout we discuss how education and physical education could benefit from such policies, or be hindered by lack of relevant policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As numerous Homans' lecturers have attested, Amy Morris Homans was a significant and visionary leader who set the foundation for women's physical education for the first half of the 20th century. Her reign at the Boston Normal School for Gymnastics (BNSG) was ironclad, and through the BNSG she controlled her student's lives, including their physical appearance. This notion of appropriate vs. inappropriate physical appearance continues to play out in American society today. One of the most significant debates within the profession of physical education, and throughout the nation, is on the topic of obesity. This essay examines how physical education has been cognizant of body weight more than almost any other profession—except for perhaps medicine—over the past 120 years, but appears to have only in recent years jumped on the bandwagon and is joining the chorus of professions who claim that there is a crisis in contemporary America. In addition, it examines the pedagogy of overweight/obesity. That is, how has the American physical education profession instructed its professional members about issues to do with body weight and size over the first half of the 20th century? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociology of Sport Journal is the property of Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The purpose was to examine 9 adult activity settings in 25 community parks to determine the most and least frequently used by gender, physical-activity (PA) intensity, and ethnicity. Methods: All activity settings were identified, measured, and cataloged with GIS measures using the SOPARC direct observation instrument. Each setting was assessed 4 times a day for 7 consecutive days. Results: Significantly more male adults were observed at the 25 parks (1598 versus 946; 63% versus 37%). Nine hundred fifty-eight (60%) male adults and 771 (81.1%) female adults used the paved trails. The second most heavily used activity setting for male adults was the softball and baseball fields (n = 239, 14.9%), and female adults chose to use the swimming pools (n = 45, 4.5%). Whites participated in considerably more vigorous PA than minorities. Conclusions: Paved trails were only in 5 of the 25 parks but were the most frequently used activity setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While certain patterns of masculinity can assume hegemonic status to operate at an unquestioned, common sense level use of the concept of hegemonic masculinity runs the risk of missing multiple patterns of masculinity operating within and in relation to hegemonic masculinity in and around sport. Drawing on research conducted on rugby in an Australian Greater Public School (GPS) school, this article examines the ways in which variation, diversity, and resistance can be found operating within a particular form of hegemonic masculinity. Through critical re-examination of data from a study conducted in 1997, it peels back a layer of apparent compliance with a hegemonic form of masculinity among the boys in the 1st XV rugby team to identify a form of embodied resistance in the desire of the boys in the team to adopt a style of rugby that challenged the school's traditional approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most significant concern within the US educational community is the academic achievement gap. Investigation of the achievement gap reveals that minority students across all levels of education are not meeting the same academic measures as their non-Hispanic White peers. In addition, a disproportionate number of minority children are identified as overweight. Physical activity has been identified as an influence on the reduction and prevention of overweight and obesity. In addition, physical activity has been recognized as beneficial to cognitive performance in children. The current review provides a stimulus to recognize the links between overweight and academic achievement in minority youth and the importance of physical activity in addressing these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at physical activity and youth development in refugee youth. According to the article, in light of the demographic trends in the U.S., there is a need to develop teaching strategies and classroom environments that are inclusive of various cultures. The author states that inclusion of youth from around the world can lead to greater cultural awareness and tolerance. The article details the author's experience with refugee children in a physical education setting and discusses the Islamic holiday of Ramadan and African refugee youths' struggle with competing identities.

This study investigated undergraduate students' study habits and learning experiences in an online lifespan motor development course. The study was based on the theory of transactional distance. Seven undergraduate physical education majors enrolled in an online course at a Midwestern public university in the United States participated in this study. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews, e-mail communication, bulletin board discussion logs, computer-based quizzes and exams, and a research writing project. Four interrelated themes underpinned by the theory of transactional distance emerged. Data were interpreted through a constant comparative method including (a) transition from experiential to visual learning, (b) how to use a textbook in an online course, (c) computer-based test anxieties, and (d) social justice and diversity sensitivity. The ideal online course puts a set of student tasks (i.e., lectures, projects, and assignments) at the center of the course to constitute the learning experiences of students either independently or collaboratively. Although the study was conducted in the context of the lifespan motor development online course, the recommendations can be applied across different content areas in the kinesiology field., In the past decade, online learning has grown in popularity as a form of education being embraced at undergraduate and graduate levels. In the United States, approximately 5.5 million students [...]

Comments on the issues concerning the social justice and diversity of physical education in the U.S. Method in the creation of egalitarian profession and discipline; Role of professionals and scholars in creating a pluralistic and egalitarian world; Form and substance of physical education scholarship.

Examines socially critical work that has articulated a theoretical base for curriculum development in physical education that is too narrow. Outline of achievements; Ethic of justice and emancipation serving as the underlying moral basis for criticism; Equal emphasis to an ethic of care and responsibility; Process by which children experience physical education.

Future directions of professional services in special physical education and therapeutic recreation are explored in light of past and present perspectives. Emphasis is given to fostering interdisciplinary approaches in the delivery of these services. Further discussion centers on the need for influencing advocacy in the determination of policy at the local, state, national, and international level. The importance of maintaining a perspective of equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities is emphasized in the context of a changing society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the positive effects of sports education upon alienated youth. The author explores the concept of alienation within youth culture and then links it to relevant sports' programs. The author also examines sports as a movement of play, and uses this perception as a baseline for the development of sports programs in response to alienation. He suggests that sports need not be entirely focused on the mitigation of alienation among youth, and notes the importance of personal growth and reflection communicated during the instruction of sports.

This research examined content and task decisions of 11 urban secondary physical educators who placed a high priority on social curriculum goals. Transcript data from a stimulated-recall protocol were analyzed using constant comparison to determine the extent to which content and task decisions represented social justice and reform goals of social reconstruction or of citizenship and positive interaction more consistent with social responsibility. Results suggested that teachers' content decisions were consistent with the goals of cooperation, teamwork, and involvement within the social responsibility value orientation. Task structures for middle school programs involved large group activities, while high school tasks focused on individual activities performed as a member of a small group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of female high school students toward PE in selected North Carolina schools. The high schools were conveniently selected to include the Northeast Piedmont urban region of North Carolina. Participants consisted of 102 female students aged 14 to 18 years old who were enrolled in ninth to 12th grade PE classes. The instrument used in the study (High School Students' Attitudes Towards Physical Education) was a 19item questionnaire developed by Bibik, Goodwin, and Omega-Smith (2007). Data were analyzed with the independent samples t test (p < .05) level of significance. The results of this study show the attitudes toward PE, the grade averages in PE, the importance of PE in their lives, and the preference for single-gender versus coeducational among female students were significantly different (p < .05). Additionally, within the coeducational PE class, 14.5% of the female students preferred being taught in a single-gender PE class, and approximately 24.4% of the female students enrolled in the single-gender PE class preferred a coeducational PE class. This study indicates the importance of creating positive learning environments at the high school level for female students, developing informed teacher strategies, and understanding female students' attitudes toward PE., Physical education (PE) is an important factor in the lives of youth. Through it, they have the opportunity to participate in physical activity (PA), acquire the developmental skills to participate [...]

Kirk warns that physical education (PE) exists in a precarious situation as the dominance of the multi-activity sport-techniques model, and its associated problems, threatens the long-term educational survival of PE. Yet he also notes that although the model is problematic it is highly resistant to change. In this paper, we draw on the results of a year-long visual ethnography at an all-boys secondary school in Aotearoa New Zealand to examine the workings of power that legitimate this model of PE. Our findings illustrate that the school conflates PE and sport, to position PE as an appropriate masculine endeavour and valued source of enjoyment, as it articulates with good health, social development and competitiveness. We argue that student experiences of pleasure within PE—as co-constitutive with discourses of fitness, health, sport and masculinity—(re)produce the multi-activity sport-based form of PE as educationally appropriate and socioculturally relevant, thus making the model somewhat resistant to change. We stress that our study should not be read as a vindication of this PE model. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The bulk of interest in the role that interaction plays in learning in sport and physical education (PE) has focused on peer interaction at the expense of teacher–student interaction. This article redresses this imbalance in the literature by reporting on a study that inquired into the nature of teacher–student interaction and its effect on learning in PE swimming lessons in a French secondary school. Informed by an enactivist conceptualisation of learning, it emphasises the subjective dynamics of interaction to suggest that patterns of coordination should not be seen as being predetermined and determining student learning but, instead, as forms of engagement that influence, and are influenced by, the dynamics of interaction. In doing so it suggests the pivotal importance of teacher empathy for student learning through interaction in PE. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Previous research shows that some pupils find physical education (PE) demanding and difficult. Some pupils use strategies to avoid participation in PE when it is demanding and difficult. The present study aims to illuminate and describe strategies used by pupils to avoid negative self-perception in difficult situations and activities in PE classes. This behavior, called hiding techniques, arises out of the need to protect self-perception and save academic or social face in the PE subject. Interviews and focus groups have been used with six PE teachers in Norwegian primary and lower secondary school to illuminate hiding techniques. Ten former pupils have also been interviewed about their experience of PE classes in primary/lower secondary school and upper secondary school for the same purpose. The results show that hiding techniques are experienced and practised in many different ways, and that there is a wide range of causes behind hiding techniques. Pupils' hiding techniques are categorized into main types, and the causes underlying the hiding techniques are summarized. This study provides insight into educational challenges that need to be highlighted to help all pupils in school, not just those who complete the PE subject without any real problems, to realize an important aim of the subject and to experience the joy of movement and lasting physical activity. It also highlights hiding techniques that are sophisticated, clever and deliberate actions pupils use to take control over the social setting in PE through the covert act of resistance rather than passively allowing the oppressive social setting to overpower them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As much as the principle of co-education may appear to make sense in physical education (PE) lessons, trends in its development have emerged over the past years, especially in secondary schools, which were certainly not intended by the pedagogical programme of ‘reflective co-education’, which stands for respect for equalityanddifference in co-educational PE classes. Although this programme has been anchored in the curricula of various federal states in Germany for around 15 years, the prevailing practice even today, and documented in many empirical studies, is that so-called ‘male-oriented’ activities (e.g. games) predominate in PE classes while ‘female-oriented’ activities (e.g. dance, aerobics, gymnastics or health-related exercises) are scarcely ever taught. The purpose of this contribution is to examine (1) the extent to which male (as well as female) PE teachers actually make such a one-sided selection of activities; (2) the reasons they give for this practice and the way they perceive and judge it; and (3) how they communicate this selection to each other and to their pupils. Seventy-one PE teachers (of both sexes) were asked about these questions in problem-centred interviews. The main result of the study is that both male and female PE teachers almost exclusively do ‘male-oriented’ activities (like games and other competitive activities) in mixed-gender classes, although they give different reasons for doing so. By contrast, so-called ‘female activities’ are avoided. The observable implications are that PE lessons have increasingly become dominated by male patterns of physical activity and that a hierarchy is constructed between so-called ‘male activities’ and ‘female activities’ in PE. As a result, a key objective of ‘reflective co-education’ has not been achieved. Female PE teachers suffer considerably under these conditions. It can be observed that many of them are either planning to reduce their hours in, or even give up, teaching PE (or have already done so). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the relationship between sport, science and national identity during the 19th century, including through referencing the American long-distance pedestrian Edward Payson Weston's participation in the 1876 Royal Agricultural Hall race in Islington, London, England. The role the physical education played in the development of national human bodies is discussed.

Drawing on interpretations of Foucault's techniques of power, we explored the discourses and power relations operative between groups of girls that appeared to influence their participation in Physical Education (PE) and outside of school in sport and physical activity (PA) in rural and regional communities. Interviews and focus groups were conducted in eight secondary schools with female students from Year 9 (n= 22) and 10 (n= 116). Dominant gendered and performance discourses were active in shaping girls’ construction of what it means to be active or ‘sporty’, and these identity positions were normalised and valued. The perceived and real threat of their peer's gaze as a form of surveillance acted to further perpetuate the power of performance discourses; whereby girls measured and (self) regulated their participation. Community settings were normalised as being exclusively for skilled performers and girls self-regulated their non-participation according to judgements made about their own physical abilities. These findings raise questions about the ways in which power relations, as forged in broader sociocultural and institutional discourse–power relations, can infiltrate the level of the PE classroom to regulate and normalise practices in relation to their, and others, PA participation. [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]

This essay aimed to construct a theoretical framework on violence in physical education classes. Based on a literature, the essay shows the distinction between aggression and violence and analyzes the violence in society, the family and the school, concluding with references about physical education classes and violence. It is evident the need for political education regarding school violence and the commitment of teachers and teachers to develop awareness of their role in the formation and development of the personality of their students through the development of socialization, cooperation, construction limits, urging for dialogue for the formation of critical students and responsible for their actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport as a phenomenon of modern civilization is not complete in its own operations, but is a part of international culture and ethics and will always follow their development. The sport activities management within a country is influenced by many external factors, organizational structure, priorities, etc. The structure of sport and physical education in the Republic of Macedonia, is determined by the government and social organizations, private associations and institutions with special status, as well as in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores socio-ecological factors and their interplay that emerge from a qualitative study and influence adolescents' physical activity and sport participation. A total of 13 boys and 7 girls active and inactive adolescents, from years 12 and 13 and different types of school (state and private), participated in semi-structured interviews. It followed a purposeful sampling selection from participants who participated in a previous larger study on physical activity levels. Findings highlight the influence of personal and social interplay, such as perceived competence, obesity and teasing from peers, and new social demands and personal preferences in adolescents' (dis)engagement in physical activity and sport. They also stand out how social and environmental factors affect their participation, such as family, boy/girlfriends, physical education and rural/urban places of residence. These factors appear to have an important impact on the construction of (in)active identities during late adolescence. Policy makers, exercise professionals and educators should be aware of these factors in order to improve health promotion strategies and social policies. Some recommendations are also indicated in the paper. [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 article presents an introduction in which the editors discusses articles contained within the issue on the relationship between physical education (PE), privatisation, and social justice, including case studies of PE programs in Great Britain, New Zealand, and Australia.

The article discusses the need for physical education teachers to recognize their role in the community. Topics discussed include the importance of social marketing to physical education teachers who want to sell physical activity to their audiences, steps to social marketing, and the formation of a team at a university in the Southeastern U.S. to bring an effective community-based physical activity promotion program to local schools.

Background: Physicality in human movement characteristic of indigenous sporting forms in Africa is grounded in a multitude of cultures. During the period of colonial Africa, there was the introduction of British sporting forms, policies, and practices in schools and society. It was through schools and missions that the colonists introduced sport activities, with colonial administrators and officers prioritizing athleticism over other activities, evident in after-school sports and games. Thus, schools along with Christian missions served as the instruments of colonial education, culture, and sport, with resources allocated selectively to advance racialized and classist education. Purpose: This paper explores how colonialism, particularly British forms of sport physicality, impacted African people and deconstructs how curriculum and teaching in physical education (PE) during the post-colonial era is lost to the politics of knowledge in the school–society nexus, revealing how the school curriculum serves as a contested terrain. This contestation discloses how colonial and post-colonial narratives intertwine to influence public policy and school practices in the development and implementation of PE curriculum. Themes: Examination of the literature produced themes associated with stratification of school subjects and marginalization of PE in particular – the exam-oriented and elitist-oriented education – which characterized British Africa, and made British education part and parcel of policy development and implementation, influencing the nature of education, and PE in particular. The elitist education influenced public policy initiatives, frameworks, and corresponding reforms resulting in stratification of school subjects, the use of public school expenditure, and in the type of teacher training followed. In addition, negative school-wide practices became apparent with public policy, rules, and regulations being loosely coupled with school realities, leading PE to be considered as a ‘toothless subject' in the school curriculum. Besides physicality and learning in PE are not distinguishable from sporting forms and practices, bringing out the emphasis on competitive school sport that has been used to promote nation's prestige, social engineering, and economic development. Conclusion: A development of way forward for PE in British Africa is considered critical and warranted for adequate development of children and youth and for promotion of the health welfare of society. PE plays a critical part in the nexus between education and development; including meeting individual and social welfare goals of post-colonial British Africa; and as such the needs of all children should be at the forefront of policy development and implementation. What is warranted is a development of a standard-based reform that is grounded in a strong formulated public policy that acknowledges diversity in the centralized system of education; with its implementation showing a balance of PE with after-school sport programs and incorporation of indigenous sporting forms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Timisoara Physical Education & Rehabilitation Journal is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Within physical education (PE) research in England, the focus on gender issues has predominantly been concerned with White, middle class, non-disabled girls' experiences, marginalizing girls falling outside these parameters. Purpose: Drawing on ‘middle ground’ thinking, using Hill Collins' matrix of domination and intersectionality, this paper reports on part of a larger study exploring how South Asian, Muslim girls experience, give meaning to, and negotiate physical activity in their daily lives. Specifically, this paper focuses on what the girls have to say about school-based PE and how this relates to their involvement in physical activity away from school. Research setting: The study is situated in one large, urban, co-educational, local authority school in Yorkshire, England. The school caters for 1850 11–18-year-old students; 95% of students are from minority ethnic communities; 76% classed as British Asian of Pakistani origin; 91% are Muslim; and 63% live in the top 10% most deprived neighborhoods in England. Data generation: Data were generated in three phases over two years including (a) in-depth observations of all girls in PE lessons, (b) the creation of research artifacts with 23 girls within four focus groups and (c) in-depth individual and paired interviews with 14 girls. Data analysis: Data analysis involved two levels. At the first level a ‘storyteller’ position was adopted. Here, each girl's multiple data sources were analyzed to craft a narrative for each of the 14 girls involved in all three phases of data generation. At the second level a ‘story analyst’ position was assumed. This involved analyzing all of the narratives in combination, following the constant comparison method to identify recurring themes. Findings: In analyzing across the girls' narratives key issues emerge including: (1) the girls as active agents, (2) the importance of social relations in girls' enjoyment and involvement in PE and (3) the PE–physical activity nexus. In combination, these findings illustrate diversity within the group. In demonstrating differences a number of the girls reveal some similar kinds of experiences to those of White girls from previous studies. For other girls, their positioning at the intersections of gender and ethnicity reflects some qualitatively different kinds of experiences. Conclusions: The findings challenge previous constructions of South Asian girls as different and ‘other’ from White girls. Moreover, they trouble stereotypes of these girls as passive, frail and oppressed. Many of the girls show themselves to be active agents in negotiating PE and physical activity opportunities. For some girls these negotiations had influenced after school provision. However, the school had not listened to girls' concerns regarding practices within the curriculum. Through collaboration, the school and its teachers could learn from the girls who repeatedly demonstrate their ability to be resourceful in negotiating challenges in their endeavors to be physically active. In valuing and acting upon their insights, South Asian, Muslim girls can become known for who they actually are, rather than who we think they should be. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research analyses images of the female body shown in Revista Educação Physica, the first scientific journal of Physical Education published in Brazil, from 1932 to 1945. All the published issues were examined as primary sources, considering texts and images related to women, particularly those concerning their body education by means of Physical Education and sports. By crossing the empirical sources, it was possible to identify a remarkable defence of the female body constructed by eugenics, whose scientific assumptions took into account body shape and appearance. By regarding the body as an art object to be sculpted through the practice of physical activities, Revista da Educação Physica spread images and discourses favouring a clean, beautiful, healthy, white body whose construction should comprise things that were conventionally assigned as imperatives for women: beauty, motherhood and femininity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between psychological needs satisfaction, motivational regulations in physical education and physical activity intention among elementary school students. A total of 291 elementary school students in grades 3–6 voluntarily completed the three measures. This study indicated that satisfaction of three basic psychological needs powerfully enhanced self-determined motivation, moderately contributed to introjected regulation and negatively impacted external regulation and amotivation among elementary school students. Having fun, gaining specific benefits and making social connections with their friends all positively influenced elementary school students’ physical activity intentions outside of school. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses current methodological trends in social research on physical education (PE), physical activity (PA) and sport in research presented on AIESEP scientific meetings. Special attention was paid to the dissemination of qualitative research approach applied independently or parallel to the qualitative measurements. Such a mixed methodological compositions allow to obtain more comprehensive and in-depth view of many scientific issues of PE, PA and sport. The article presents up-to-date research examples and some practical recommendations for further investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines a method for exploring learning in educational practice. The suggested method combines an explicit learning theory with robust methodological steps in order to explore aspects of learning in school physical education. The design of the study is based on sociocultural learning theory, and the approach adds to previous research within the field, both in terms of the combination of methods used and the claims made in our studies. The paper describes a way of collecting and analysing the retrieved data and discusses and illustrates the results of a study using this combination of explicit learning theory and robust methodological steps. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Increasingly, the academic and popular press have begun to identify males, particularly young males, as experiencing body-image problems (Drummond, 1999, 2001; Garner & Kearney-Cooke, 1997; Morgan, 2002; Pope, Phillips, & [...], Boys who are highly skilled in sports and physical activity generally have a positive body-identity. Conversely, boys perceived to be less skilled in these areas can feel disassociated from their bodies and consequently develop a poor body concept. This paper is based on in-depth interviews with boys whom physical education teachers identified as either being highly skilled or less skilled in sports and physical activities. The paper highlights the importance of physicality in boys' lives. The paper also identifies important issues that physical educators and other health professionals should appreciate. Key Words: male identity, male body, physical education classes, physical skill levels, men's health

This commentary details a news event in which Carrie Weber Middle School in Port Washington, NY, supposedly banned students from using balls, playing tag, and doing cartwheels during recess. Public reaction in the form of news items, tweets, blogs, and commentary is sampled, and news releases from the Weber Middle School that were barely covered by the media and explain their decision to ban hardballs from 20-min recess are brought to light. The commentary then goes on to argue that such trending news events can be interpreted in terms of complex cultural histories, including in the case of Weber Middle School, much intellectual thought pioneered by human movement scholarship. Ideas about social nostalgia and memory, play, hegemony, invention of tradition, and cultural context are overviewed in light of their use in human movement studies and in interpreting the Weber Middle School issue. It is argued that current issues and initiatives surrounding obesity and sport for peace and development are, like the trending Weber Middle School news, sometimes not mapped or critiqued (terms coined by Markula-Denison and Silk in 2011) in the profound ways that cultural studies urge. The commentary ends in a call to scholars and practitioners of human movement studies for self-reflexivity and purposeful awareness of changing social definitions of the “unnatural.” [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An essay is presented examining the history of physical fitness and physical education as a cultural movement, charting its origins to 1820s England and Germany. The author connects the movement to influences by Romanticism, English nationalism and political changes during the era. Introductory comments are given discussing the etymology of the term "fitness." An overview is then given of the physical fitness culture of the 19th century, led by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn.

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For proper organization of sport and physical education in general, it is necessary to obtain empirical evidence on how sport influences youths' social and moral development. To that effect, the research aim was to provide empirical data on the existence or non-existence of a connection between doing sport and prosocial behavior of the young. An appropriate questionnaire of pro-social behavior estimation was implemented on the sample of 61 students aged 12-14. The research findings show that there is a significant difference in the level of display of certain forms of prosocial behavior among the young athletes and their peers that are not engaged in some organized sport activities. Further, it was established that the type of sport influences the level of pro-social behavior manifestation. It was not found whether the length of doing sport is correlated with the pro-social behavior of adolescents. The results obtained point that organized sport activities represent the context having positive effects on the development of pro-social behavior of the young. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how school physical education (PE) can both reinforce stereotyped notions of the brown body as inherently physical while also allowing young people to gain educational success. Drawing on a critical ethnographic study of Māori and Pasifika (Pacific Island) youth in PE in New Zealand, the article explores how the academic status of PE, and its alignment with sport, positions the brown bodies of these youth in problematic and stereotypical ways. While PE may reinforce racialised stereotypes, it is also a space of recognition and achievement for youth. Bourdieu's notions of capital, field and habitus provide insight into how such contradictions potentially offer social transformation while simultaneously reproducing social status. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article is an attempt to think through the idea that physical education should draw from youth culture in order to be more ‘relevant’ to students. We begin by revisiting Tinning and Fitzclarence's 1992 article ‘Postmodern youth culture and the crisis in Australian secondary school physical education’ in which they essentially argued that young people were bored by physical education because it had failed to keep pace with the pleasures they derive from consumer culture. With this as a starting point, we try to both critique and extend Tinning and Fizclarence's ideas by drawing on two broad areas of scholarship; cultural studies of youth and participatory action research. Our purpose here is twofold. First, we want to help clarify what might be meant by the terms ‘youth culture’ and ‘relevance’. Flowing on from this, we suggest some directions for practice and research. These suggestions are not ‘solutions’ and we are at pains to argue that the ‘relevance problem’ may in fact be an unwitting shorthand for a range of related but distinct challenges. Because of this, as well as our own differing perspectives, we propose contradictory paths forward, including both more and less interest in student subjectivity and more and less allowance for student autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper provides an analysis of physical education and sport as educational concepts that have informed Singaporean society in its journey from newly independent state to developed nation status. Their early development owes much to the influence of Loughborough University. The initial concepts had their foundation in the 1933 UK syllabus for Physical Education modified by broader trends in education experienced after the war years. The core concept was responsibility for personal development in all domains not only physical but also cognitive, affective, moral and social. An historical focus on discipline had been progressively replaced via the Swedish influence by one of the well-rounded physical development through a range of targeted exercises. This component was complemented by games, athletics and gymnastics, which offered opportunity for social development. Physical education was a broad educationthroughthe physical as opposed to the narrower education (or at worst, training)ofthe physical. The concepts of physical education found fertile soil in Singapore because of a fortuitous congruence between political and educational objectives of the 1960s, particularly the goal of a more cultivated citizenry. With present-day Singapore now absorbing the global commodification of body and sport, the match between these evolving concepts of health and sport and an engaged and active population may be proving less fortuitous than hoped for with the foundation of the College of Physical Education in 1986. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]