The purpose of this study was to independently determine the levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and self-determined motivation of both boys and girls as they participated in prolonged units of invasion games (i.e. 6-12 lessons) through two pedagogical models: direct instruction and the tactical games model (TGM). It was…

Many adolescent girls do not achieve a health-enhancing level of physical activity. This study aimed to identify the school physical environment factors that adolescent girls perceive to be important and influential regarding their physical education (PE) behaviour. Adolescent girls (n = 38; aged 13-16) participated in eight moderated focus…

This article reports on a study of one recently qualified teacher's employment of the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) model in a UK secondary school. The study sought to examine how the teacher, not formally educated in its use, delivered TGfU and to identify those factors that led to this interpretation of the model. Occupational…

We examined the utility of distinguishing between appearance- and competition-focused approach and avoidance performance goals to our understanding of motivation in physical education. Four achievement goals were tested composed of approach-avoidance and appearance-competition components. Three hundred and two pupils, aged 11-14 years, completed…

This study examined barriers to Physical Education (PE) in a sample of Christian and Muslim schoolgirls attending UK comprehensive secondary schools. Also assessed was whether religion and school year (age) had any impact upon barrier strength and if school year × religion interactions existed. A questionnaire was developed and exploratory factor…

Research shows that teachers' grading is influenced by non-achievement factors in addition to official criteria, such as knowledge and skills. Some grading criteria are internalised by the teacher, who is sometimes unable to verbalise the criteria used and refers to what is called a "gut feeling". Therefore, transparency, validity…

The purpose of the study was to implement a Sport Education season designed to be mastery-involving and examine the degree of congruence between the objective measure of the presented climate with the students' perceptions of the saliency of this motivational climate. Twenty-one male high school students (mean age of 15.9 years) and one…

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…

The Code of Practice of the Department for Education (1994) establishes the role of special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) to help facilitate the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools. SENCOs, thus, should form an integral part of the culture of all departments, including physical education (PE).…

Physical education (PE) is steeped in history, tradition and ritual. The accepted tradition of excuse notes allowing pupils to self-exempt from lessons is one such ritual associated with the subject in schools. This paper explores the impact of this phenomenon, focusing on participation and engagement levels within PE lessons. Data was collected…

It is implied by governing organizations that Australia is presently experiencing its first national curriculum reform, when as the title suggests it is the second. However, until now Australian states and territories have been responsible for the education curriculum delivered within schools. The present national curriculum reform promises one…

This paper explores the tacit expert knowledge and understanding about games curriculum and pedagogy of three men, Len Almond, David Bunker, and Rod Thorpe, credited as the founders of the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) model. The model emerged from teacher practice in the late 1970s and was little theorized at the time, apart from a…

This article explores the current demands that teachers engage in year-on-year continued professional development (CPD) as a means of showing their ongoing competence to teach. In particular it highlights two types of CPD: the talked about notion of the "reflective practitioner" and the actioned reality of CPD as a measure of technical and…

In sport, schools and physical education (PE) ability has invariably been understood as an inherent and relatively immutable capacity, amendable to varying degrees by interventions such as training regimes and education. Differences in achievement are assumed to be an inevitable consequence of natural variations in ability and an indication of…

This paper examines the usage of "race" in high school physical education textbooks in Australia. In particular, it examines the concept of biological "race" in connection with human performance in sport. DNA studies do not indicate that separate classifiable subspecies (races) exist within modern humans. A content analysis of…