The handbook of physical education

What is the current condition of the field of physical education? How has it adapted to the rise of kinesiology, sport and exercise science and human movement studies over the last thirty years? This Handbook provides an authoritative critical overview of the field and identifies future challenges and directions. The Handbook is divided in to six parts: - Perspectives and Paradigms in Physical Education Pedagogy Research; - Cross-disciplinary Contributions to Research on Physical Education; - Learners and Learning in Physical Education; - Teachers, Teaching and Teacher Education in Physical Education; - Physical Education Curriculum; - Difference and Diversity in Physical Education. This benchmark work is essential reading for educators and students in the field of physical education.

Scaffolding and bilingual shared reading experiences: Promoting primary school students' learning and development

This paper explores the connections between scaffolding, second language learning and bilingual shared reading experiences. A socio- cultural theory of cognition underpins the investigation, which involved implementing a language and culture awareness program (LCAP) in a year 4 classroom and in the school community. Selected passages from observations are used to analyse the learning of three students, particularly in relation to languages other than English (LOTE). As these three case study students interacted in the classroom, at home and in the community, they co-constructed, appropriated and applied knowledge form one language to another. Through scaffolding, social spaces were constructed, where students learning and development were extended through a variety of activities that involved active participation, such as experimenting with language, asking questions and making suggestions. Extending these opportunities for student learning and development is considered in relation to creating teaching and learning environments that celebrate socio-cultural and linguistic diversity.

Lessons learned . . . about curriculum: Five years on and half a world away

The knowledge, skills, and attitudes manifested in health and physical education school curricula are an arbitrary selection of that which is known and valued at a particular place and time. Bernstein's (2000) theories of the social construction of knowledge offer a way to better understand the relationship among the production, selection, and reproduction of curricular knowledge. This article overviews contemporary knowledge in the primary field (production) on which curriculum writers in the recontextualizing field might draw. It highlights tensions in the knowledge generated within the primary field and, using a case of the USXs National Standards for Physical Education (NASPE), demonstrates how particular discourses become privileged when translated into curriculum documents in the recontextualizing field

Religious Information Poverty in Australian State Schools

This paper introduces the concept of religious information poverty in Australian state schools from an information science perspective. Information scientists have been theorising about the global information society for some time, along with its increased provision of vital information for the good of the world. Australian state schools see themselves as preparing children for effective participation in the information society, yet Australian children are currently suffering a religious illiteracy that undermines this goal. Some reasons and theories are offered to explain the existence of religious information poverty in state schools, and suggestions for professional stakeholders are offered for its alleviation.

Demotivation: Understanding Resistance to English Language Learning - The Case of Vietnamese Students

Demotivation in English language learning was investigated, using Vietnam as a case study, with three main foci: (i) the reasons (i.e., the demotives) underlying demotivation; (ii) the degree of influence of different demotives; and (iii) students’ experiences in overcoming demotivation. Using stimulated recall essays from 100 university students of their foreign language learning experiences, the findings indicated that demotivation was a significant issue for EFL learning, and a framework for discussing the different sources of demotives was developed. While some categories of demotives occurred more frequent than others, no category appeared to be more or less difficult to overcome. Rather, students’ awareness of the role of English language and their determination to succeed were critical factors in overcoming demotivation.

Young children, adolescents and alcohol - Part I: Exploring knowledge and awareness of alcohol and related issues

This article explores young children's and adolescents' views pertaining to: knowledge and awareness of alcohol and alcohol related issues; social situations in which. alcohol use is present; orientation to alcohol risk; perceived and actual alcohol use; social image and reputation; and short and long term health beliefs in relation to alcohol. Forty focus groups were conducted with 240 primary school students (118 males and 122 females) and 24 focus groups were conducted with 192 high school students (90 males and 102 females); the total being 64 focus groups comprising 432 school students. Participants ages ranged from five years three months to 16 years 10 months. The videotaped discussions revealed that approximately 75% of the primary school-aged children and almost all of the high school students reported that they had tasted alcohol. Parents were primarily responsible for providing the alcohol. Virtually all participants recognised and were able to correctly name a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and levels of knowledge and awareness of the health and safety aspects of alcohol were relatively mixed. Presentation of bottles and cans was reported as being important in attracting young persons. These data suggest there is an urgent need for research addressed to the development of prevention/intervention education curriculum materials for use with primary school-aged children.

An analysis of occupational outcomes for Indigenous and Asian employees in Australia

This paper examines occupational performance in Australia across three racial groups in Australia: Indigenous Australians; Asian people, defined as all those whose language spoken at home was either Chinese, Vietnamese or other forms of a South-east or East Asian language; and white people, defined as the residual category. The paper has as its starting point, observed differences in occupational attainment among the three groups in Australia and sets out to account for these observed differences on the basis of both race and non-racial attributes such as, age, education and area of residence.

Constructing and reconstructing teaching roles: A focus on generative metaphors and dichotomies

Over the last several decades, a shift in thinking has brought to the fore the power of language as more than simply a method of expression. Indeed, language is a constituent part of social practices and social identity. For teachers, both pre-service and in-service, teaching roles are often represented through surface and generative metaphors, the latter of which are tacit. In order to study the way in which language, and in particular metaphor, influences thinking about teaching roles, the authors of this article combined their data to examine the metaphoric discourse of both pre-service and in-service teachers. Contextualizing two separate studies in their respective teacher education programs, this article highlights the obstacle of unexposed generative metaphors and the value of ongoing professional development. In addition, it emphasizes the importance of deconstructing traditional dichotomies as central to teacher education reform.