The second Australian Article Club takes on outsourcing in PE.

In Australia and NZ, particularly in primary schools (years prep-6) pe is increasingly being taught by outside providers who usually are not pe trained teachers. The syllabus or curriculum in P-6 expects that a classroom generalist teacher can teach PE. It is only in the Australian states of Queensland and Tasmania that specialists trained primary PE teachers are used. 

Title of article is in link below: “Should primary school PE be outsourced? An analysis of students’ perspectives by Deng et al., 2023.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/25742981.2022.2140594

This is a new podcast about meaningful PE and I wanted to share it in the @theHPEpodcast feed.

You can find more episodes here: Apple Podcasts

Here is the website: https://meaningfulpodcastexperience.buzzsprout.com/2358344/episodes

And here is the purpose and goals of the podcast:

Our purpose is to engage in conversations with those enacting Meaningful Physical Education (research, practice and everything in between). Part of the LAMPE (learning about MPE) project, our goals for the podcast are as follows.
1) Through conversation and discussion, explore the whys, hows and whats of Meaningful PE in a variety of contexts.

2) Seek to understand the underpinnings and outcomes of prioritizing meaningful experiences in physical education. 

3) Share a variety of perspectives on the theory and practice of Meaningful PE for growth and learning. 

4) Help ensure that the evolving framework for Meaningful PE is accessible, available and adaptable.

For over 30 years in the Australian state of Queensland, a final grade for physical education (in years 11 and 12) was given based on 50% theory and 50% practical, valuing movement and knowledge equally. This article was written in response to changes in a syllabus in the Australian state of Queensland in 2019 which awarded a final mark based on 82% theory and 18% practical or movement. Despite this unequal valuing of movement, the syllabus cites Arnold’s perspective as ‘a philosophical and educative framework to promote deep learning in three dimensions: about, through and in movement contexts’ (QCAA, 2018, p.1). Based on the syllabus citing Arnold’s philosophy it is reasoned these principles (valuing knowledge and movement equally) will be evident throughout this Australian state syllabus. Confusingly, they were not.

SueSee, B., Pill, S., & Williams, J. (2023). Arnold wanted X but we got Y – the Queensland senior physical education syllabus application of the Arnoldian perspective. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2023.2269955

This is the audio from the September 2025 AERA SIG 93 webinar about the new SHAPE America Standards. It is hosted by Chair Cory Dixon and the two guests are: Dr. Clancy Seymore and Langston Clark (both writers of the new standards)

This episode features the scholar lecture for BERA which is the British Educational Research Association. Within BERA there is a PESP SIG (phys ed and sport pedagogy). Each year, leading up to the wider BERA conference, they have a full day invisible college that features the scholar lecture. This year’s scholar lecture was given by Dr. Ash Casey from Loughborough University. The title of the lecture is “The ghosts of research past present and future: understanding the past to inform a future of models based practice research.

Thanks to Ellen Li for the recording!

This podcast introduces the AIESEP 2025 conference in St. Petersburg Florida. It will take place May 18-22nd (18th is a full pre-conference day and the 22nd will have the banquet at night).

The call for proposals closes September 15th, 2024. Notifications will be sent out by December 15th. Here is a link to the abstract submission https://www.aiesepstpete2025.com/abstract-submission

You can find information on the conference website https://www.aiesepstpete2025.com/home

You can register to be a member at www.aiesep.org (annual registrations renew January 1st of each year).

You can follow updates and travel information on the AIESEP St Pete X/Twitter account: @AIESEP2025

Naomi Harte from Loughborough University, UK, joins to discuss the article The if, why and how of fitness testing in secondary school physical education in the United Kingdom published with Laura Alfrey, Christopher Spray, and Lorraine Cale. We discuss teachers’ learning intentions, pedagogical practices, and attitudes towards fitness testing.

Full Cite: Harte, N. P. A., Alfrey, L., Spray, C., & Cale, L. (2023). The if, why and how of fitness testing in secondary school physical education in the United Kingdom. European Physical Education Review, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336X231219937

Twitter/X:

Naomi: @harte_naomi18

Laura Alfrey: @LauraAlfrey

Additional podcast episode on fitness testing: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pwrhpe/episodes/281-Student-voice-and-transforming-traditional-fitness-testing-wLaura-Alfrey-e20spob/a-a9hl20e

Dr. Lauren Wheeler is a physical education teacher with the US Department of Defense, stationed in Germany. She has been a finalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year due in part to her popular “Physically Healthy At That (PHAT)” program developed in collaboration with military partners to improve fitness outcomes for high school students. Dr. Wheeler completed her Doctorate of Education degree at the University of Pittsburgh and has published and presented at the American College of Sports Medicine. In this episode, Dr. Wheeler discusses her dissertation titled “Overcoming Trauma with Physical Activity: Implementing Edutainment within a High School Physical Education Class.”

Dr. Jamie Brunsdon is a third year Assistant Professor of Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy at the University of Memphis. Prior to moving to the University of Alabama in 2018 to complete his doctoral degree, Jamie was a full and part-time physical education in England. His research interests include studying teacher and faculty socialization and applied virtue ethics. In this episode, Dr. Brunsdon discusses his dissertation titled "Physical Education Teacher Education Futures."

This is the audio recording of the 2024 Catherine D. Ennis SIG Scholar Lecture. It is the highest honor awarded in the SIG and is named for a long-time SIG member Cathy Ennis who passed away in 2017.

This year's recipient is Dr. Kevin Andrew Richards (University of Illinois- Urbana-Champaign) and he is introduced by his mentor and past dissertation advisor Dr. Tom Templin. The question and answer session is cut from the recording since it was hard to hear.

You can find more information about the SIG here https://www.aera.net/SIG093/RLIPE-SIG-93

Each year AERA SIG 93 hosts research sessions at the annual AERA conference. 2,000 word structured abstracts are due late July most years and the annual conference is mid to late April each year. Next year it will be held in Denver Colorado.

In this episode, Dr. Shelby Ison discusses the dissertation titled "Basic Psychological Needs, Affect, and Motivation Among Elementary Students in a Physical Activity-Based Wellness Program." Dr. Shelby Ison is visiting assistant professor at Northern Illinois University. Her primary research interests include understanding K-12 students' psychological experiences in health, physical education, and after-school wellness programs with emphasis on serving underrepresented communities through evidence-based practices and interventions.