In an essay on the rationality of play, the author characterizes rationality by the three distinct demands it makes on the individual--demands for autonomy, solidarity, and integrity. He develops each of these as they apply to the sport of sailing, using the example of two deep-ocean expeditions to arrive at a concept of deep play he sees as one…

This article is based on an interview with a Norwegian physical education (PE) teacher on the social contact she had with pupils when teaching them PE. The article examines a two-dimensional aspect of a teaching situation relating to swimming instruction in PE, especially focusing on pupils' positive experiences of learning to swim and the…

Purpose: Previous research demonstrating that specific performance outcome goals can be achieved in different ways is functionally significant for springboard divers whose performance environment can vary extensively. This body of work raises questions about the traditional approach of balking (terminating the takeoff) by elite divers aiming to…

While constructivist theories of learning have been widely drawn on to understand and explain learning in games when using game-based approaches their use to inform pedagogy beyond games is limited. In particular, there has been little interest in applying constructivist perspectives on learning to sports in which technique is of prime importance.…

Background: This study was grounded in the differentiated instructional model where teachers tailor content, process/support, and product in response to their students' levels of readiness and interest. The value of differentiated teaching is well established; however, the implementation of such a technique is difficult due to differences in…

Educational aquatic programming offers necessary physical activity opportunities to children with disabilities and the benefits of aquatic activities are more pronounced for children with disabilities than for their able-bodied peers. Similar benefits could potentially be derived from surfing in the ocean. This article describes an adapted surfing…

This article examines Movement Culture as an approach to support teachers in exploring the integration of Sport as a medium for learning within Physical Education. By avoiding the need to draw clearly defined lines between Physical Education and Sport, Movement Culture embraces both. It acknowledges the need for subject matter in Physical…

This paper critically analyzes a community collaborative approach for implementing Health and Physical Education (HPE) lessons within Gippsland primary schools (Victoria, Australia). The rural community collaborations reflected upon are embedded within the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) "School…

This paper offers a genealogical account of safeguarding in sport. Drawing specifically on Foucault's work, it examines the "politics of touch" in relation to the social and historical formation of child protection policy in sports coaching. While the analysis has some resonance with the context of coaching as a whole, for…

This article builds upon research on youth sport clubs conducted from a socio-cultural perspective by reporting on a study that inquired into the reasons why children aged 9-12 joined swimming clubs in France, Germany and Australia. Comprising three case studies it employed a mixed method approach with results considered within the framework of…

The aim of this paper is to discuss the development and evolution of particular personas adopted by researchers in the quest for rich exchanges within the social field. It analyses my role (the principal author) as a female ethnographer (and the sole female) in the world of elite male rowing. Data are drawn from personal notes, reflections and…

Fear of unmediated touch between adults and children has become a feature of life in Anglophone countries, including Australia. Previous research has shown that this fear has had an impact on interactions between adults and children, particularly in education and early years care contexts. To assess the extent to which these fears have influenced…

It is difficult to provide disengaged youth, who are at risk of not fulfilling their potential, with the social support necessary to remain active contributors to society. They are more likely to fail and drop from education greatly reducing the prospect of becoming constructive, productive community members. Consequently strategies to promote…

Joey Lynn Resciniti's first lesson on childhood hearing loss was a speech banana printed on glossy paper with bright red X's and O's. Her daughter, Julia, was almost 3 years old. The speech banana showed that she had not been hearing most of the conversation in the house. She had not heard the birds singing outside or the whoosh of…

Boats are the subject of this feature article, which explores such topics as the age of steamboats, commercial boats, recreational boats, boating vocabulary, and the Mississippi River in American literature. "There is nothing--absolutely nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats," one animal character famously…