Time and acceptance are criterion often used to measure the legitimacy and worth of an idea. Two decades have passed since the first publications that introduced Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) as a means to conceptualize games teaching and learning. For over two decades various professionals have advocated for TGfU as a sound idea, which…

Concern about the growth in adolescent problem behaviours (e.g. delinquency, drug use) has led to increased interest in positive youth development, and a surge in funding for "after school programs." We evaluate the potential of youth sport programs to foster positive development, while decreasing the risk of problem behaviours. Literature on the…

This paper outlines action research that was undertaken as a part of a DfES Best Practice Research Scholarship (BPRS). The aims of the research were, firstly, to investigate how girls at Key Stage 3 and 4 feel about evaluating and being evaluated in dance and, secondly, to devise a range of evaluation tasks which enable pupils both to evaluate…

There is a growing recognition that teachers' learning, and effective policies and structures to support it, should be at the heart of government polices to improve standards in education (Day, 1999). In England, the continuing professional development (CPD) landscape for teachers is changing; and professional development in physical education…

In light of the demands of the revised National Curriculum for Physical Education in England (DfEE/QCA, 1999) and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Discrimination Act (DfES, 2001a), this paper presents some preliminary observations on how PE teachers endeavour to include pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in secondary school…

Research in motor learning and sport pedagogy has shown that task-pertinent learning strategies enhance the learning and performance of self-paced motor tasks. Strategy research has typically been conducted under laboratory conditions in which artificial self-paced tasks were executed under well-controlled conditions. The purpose of this study was…

In a previous paper (Green, 2002), it was argued that official and semi-official rhetoric related to school sport and PE in recent years has failed to consider adequately, or often acknowledge, trends in sport and physical activity and lifestyle developments among young people and adults. This sequel focuses attention upon the significance of the…

In this paper we examine the use of student drawings as a means of investigating students' perceptions of a particular school-based experience, namely Sport Education--for which we are using the description proposed by Siedentop (1994; 1998). On completion of a 16-week season of Sport Education in a primary school in the Midlands of England, 46…

This paper draws on a series of interviews conducted in 2002 with practising Australian coaches working with an Australian variant of TGfU, Game Sense. It examines their experiences of Game Sense in a range of sports played from introductory, grassroots levels to sport played at the most elite levels. The views of the coaches in the study lend…

It is commonplace for politicians and the media to refer to elite sport as a means of framing discussions about physical education. This point is demonstrated by reference to recent policy documents and media reports containing statements by Tony Blair and Tessa Jowell. Their collective perspective is labelled the commonsense consensus on physical…

Against a background of growing concern over whether the National Curriculum for Physical Education (NCPE) in England is being delivered effectively in primary schools, this paper examines philosophically those intrinsic values which lie at the heart of physical education and should be preserved. The distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic…

Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) inspections of secondary Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) physical education courses in England between 1996 and 1998 (OFSTED, 1999) were critical of student teachers' subject knowledge. The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of subject knowledge and influences on the…

Despite the importance of fun in initiating and sustaining sport involvement, and despite the critical role that coaches play in the success of youth sport programs, few attempts have been made at exploring coaches' perceptions of fun in youth sport. Eighteen youth sport coaches participated in semi-structured interviews. The purposes of this…

This study is part of an ongoing, funded project, which seeks to develop workable criteria for the identification of talented pupils in physical education. Using interviews with teachers and qualitative data analysis, it focuses on the experiences of practitioners in the secondary phase of schooling in one English city. The study found a…