Complexity Thinking In Physical Education

This title focuses on complexity thinking in the context of physical education, enabling fresh ways of thinking about research, teaching, curriculum and learning. Written by a team of leading international physical education scholars, the book highlights how the considerable theoretical promise of complexity can be reflected in the actual policies, pedagogies and practices of physical education.

In the past two decades, complexity thinking has emerged as an important theoretical response to the limitations of orthodox ways of understanding educational phenomena. Complexity provides ways of understanding that embrace uncertainty, non-linearity and the inevitable ‘messiness’ that is inherent in educational settings, paying attention to the ways in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is the first book to focus on complexity thinking in the context of physical education, enabling fresh ways of thinking about research, teaching, curriculum and learning. Written by a team of leading international physical education scholars, the book highlights how the considerable theoretical promise of complexity can be reflected in the actual policies, pedagogies and practices of physical education (PE). It encourages teachers, educators and researchers to embrace notions of learning that are more organic and emergent, to allow the inherent complexity of pedagogical work in PE to be examined more broadly and inclusively. In doing so, Complexity Thinking in Physical Education makes a major contribution to our understanding of pedagogy, curriculum design and development, human movement and educational practice.

The first fully comprehensive review of theory, research and practice in physical education to be published in over a decade, this handbook represents an essential, evidence-based guide for all students, researchers and practitioners working in PE. Showcasing the latest research and theoretical work, it offers important insights into effective curriculum management, student learning, teaching and teacher development across a variety of learning environments. This handbook not only examines the methods, influences and contexts of physical education in schools, but also discusses the implications for professional practice. It includes both the traditional and the transformative, spanning physical education pedagogies from the local to the international. It also explores key questions and analysis techniques used in PE research, illuminating the links between theory and practice. Its nine sections cover a wide range of topics including: curriculum theory, development, policy and reform transformative pedagogies and adapted physical activity educating teachers and analysing teaching the role of student and teacher cognition achievement motivation. Offering an unprecedented wealth of material, the Routledge Handbook of Physical Education Pedagogies is an essential reference for any undergraduate or postgraduate degree programme in physical education or sports coaching, and any teacher training course with a physical education element.

Now in a fully revised and fully updated new edition, this comprehensive introduction to the teaching of Physical Education in primary schools is still the only textbook to cover the full sweep of the subject, from policy and curriculum developments to best practice and current debates. Written exclusively by primary Physical Education specialists, with primary school teaching experience, the book highlights the importance of Physical Education in the primary curriculum and the key issues facing primary teachers today, such as inclusion, training needs and the development of creativity. Central to the book are core chapters that examine each functional area common to many primary Physical Education syllabi – including games, dance, gymnastics, athletics and outdoor learning – and give clear, practical guidance on how to teach each topic. This new edition includes three completely new chapters, covering leadership, stakeholder interest in Physical Education delivery, and how to manage transitions. Rooted throughout in sound theory and the latest evidence and research, this book is essential reading for all students, trainee teachers and qualified teachers looking to understand and develop their professional practice in primary Physical Education.

Transformative Learning and Teaching in Physical Education explores how learning and teaching in physical education might be improved and how it might become a meaningful component of young people’s lives. With its in-depth focus on physical education within contemporary schooling, the book presents a set of professional perspectives that are pivotal for realising high-quality learning and teaching for physical education. With contributions from a range of international academics, chapters critically engage with vital issues within contemporary physical education. These include examples of complex learning principles in action, which are discussed as a method for bettering our understanding of various learning and teaching endeavours, and which often challenge hierarchical and behaviourist notions of learning that have long held a strong foothold in physical education. Authors also engage with social-ecological theories in order to help probe the complex circumstances and tensions which many teachers face in their everyday work environments, where they witness first-hand the contrast between discourses which espouse transformational change and the realities of their routine institutional arrangements. This book enables readers to engage in a fuller way with transformative ideas and to consider their wider implications for contemporary physical education. Its set of professional perspectives will be of great interest to academics, policymakers, teacher educators and teachers in the fields of physical education, health and well-being. It will also be a useful resource for postgraduate students studying in these subject areas.

Drawing on best practice for the continuing professional development (CPD) of practising physical education teachers, this book encourages teachers to reflect on their own practices and how these can be developed as they continue their professional journey to support student learning. The book covers three main themes: improving students’ learning and supporting student progress; the teacher as learner – developing your expertise as a teacher; and supporting professional development – how as a teacher you can lead and own your continuing learning in a sustainable manner. Throughout the book, teachers are encouraged not just to reflect on where they are now, but also what changes they INTEND to make to their practice, how they IMPLEMENT those changes and then to review the IMPACT this has had on students’ learning. Each chapter includes tasks embedded within the content to encourage the reader to reflect on how they could apply the new knowledge they are acquiring from reading and engaging with the chapter. Written for a global audience, the book brings together examples from the Singapore Physical Education and Sports Teacher Academy (PESTA), which provides CPD to teachers in the high-performing Singaporean system. Offering high quality research and practice, this book is a pivotal resource for physical education teachers undertaking CPD all over the world.