Outsourcing is a complex, controversial and pervasive practice that is increasingly becoming a matter of concern for educational researchers. This article contributes to this literature by examining outsourcing practices related to health, sport and physical education (HSPE). Specifically, it reports data on specialist health and physical…

Background: School Health and Physical Education (HPE) and sport has increasingly become a complex cultural contact zone. With global population shifts, schools need policies and strategies to attend to the interests and needs of diverse student populations. School HPE and sport is a particularly significant site as it is a touchpoint for a range…

Often labelled as "problematic" within health and physical education (HPE) and sporting literature, young Muslim women's participation is frequently understood through both cultural and religious limitations seen to be placed upon them. Although these factors are negotiated by many young Muslim women, and contribute to the way in which…

Background: The outsourcing of health, sport and physical educational (HSPE) work has been a feature of physical education (PE) "futures talk" for over 20 years. However, HSPE work outsourcing has been the focus of little empirical research and only occasional commentary. That small amount of empirical research that has been conducted…

With claims that neo-liberalism is the "specific defining political/economic paradigm of the age in which we live?…?" [Apple, Michael. 2006. "Educating the 'Right' Way: Markets, Standards, God, and Inequality." New York: Taylor & Francis, 14.], an invited symposium at the 2012 International Convention on Science, Education…

This paper aims to present what is currently known about Indigenous Australians and their engagement in physical activity and to then challenge some of the "taken-for-granted" ways of thinking about promoting or researching physical activity with Indigenous Australians. Major health, education and sport databases, as well as government…

"Taking exercise", whether it be recreational walking, participating in club sport, or joining in a physical education (PE) lesson, is a culturally loaded behaviour. We all see, do and talk about physical activity differently, yet, there has been relatively little research or theorising around difference in race, ethnicity, cultural…

Epidemiological data on childhood obesity has prompted a significant response from both governments and academics seeking to recommend solutions to the reported "crisis". The "Kinder Overweight Active Living Action" (KOALA) healthy lifestyle programme is a randomized obesity prevention and intervention study designed to provide an understanding of…

The discursive practices of physical education reflect not only the expectations and constraints of discourses in the wider society, educational organizations and bureaucracies, but also the pervasive influences of working with and within sport. Within physical education, and specifically in the lives, work and careers of physical education…

This paper describes several key issues which are shaping the profession of Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE). The issues include tertiary education, teacher education and schooling, and deprofessionalization. Drawing from data at an Australian case site, the paper argues that these key issues shape the profession's knowledge, values,…

The concept of brokering is usually aligned with a business model of an intermediary helping the customer/client with their decisions/choices. As knowledge becomes increasingly accessible, and of varied origins, quality and veracity, the number of professionals engaged in knowledge brokering is simultaneously increasing. This paper considers if…

This paper examines Chinese migrant young people's lifestyles and physical activity experiences in relation to the values and cultural investments of their families in Australia. The data in this paper were taken from a larger-scale study underpinned by a critical and interpretive ethnographic method conducted in two school sites. The young…

In this article, we draw on current research to explore notions of socially just health and physical education (HPE) programs, in light of claims that a neoliberal globalization promotes markets over the states and a new individualism that privileges self-interest over the collective good. We also invite readers to consider the UN Educational,…

While grappling with their traditional core business of imbuing students with official curricular knowledge, schools have simultaneously, increasing demands to take on health promotion responsibilities. This paper examines the mandated implementation of the Eat Well Be Active (EWBA) Action Plan and its subsidiary "Smart" policies in…

Background: The association between physical activity/fitness with cognitive and academic functioning has become a topic of considerable research interest. Increasingly, schooling systems are being expected to respond to these relationships through curricular and extra-curricular interventions. Purpose: This paper reports on the qualitative…