Jess, Mike and Parker, Melissa and Carse, Nicola and Douglass, Andrew and Keay, Jeanne and Martinez Alvarez, Lucio and Murray, Alison and Pearson, Julie and Randall, Vicky and Sweeney, Tony (2024) The purpose of primary physical education: The views of teacher educators. European Physical Education Review. ISSN 1356-336X

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Abstract

This paper reports on the first phase of a longitudinal project investigating the perceived purposes that different stakeholders have for primary physical education (PE). In the study, the views of 19 teacher educators from seven countries across Europe were sought. While teacher educators may have some influence across the layers of an education system, little is known about this stakeholder group and their views about primary PE. Analysis of focus group conversations depicts that, while the teacher educators come from a wide range of contexts, their views on the purposes of primary PE were more similar than different. With primary PE in danger of disconnecting into different schools of thought, this finding is important because it suggests that more coherent and connected approaches have the potential to be developed. In line with most government policies from the seven countries, similarities focused on both an educational and outward-looking view of primary PE. Significantly, while the teacher educators recognised the key role of physical learning in primary PE, they also highlighted how children's social, emotional, and cognitive learning form part of an integrated view of primary PE. Teacher educators recognised the importance of primary PE expanding beyond the hall/gymnasium and into classroom, school, and community settings. However, some concerns were voiced about the influence of outsourcing and sport agendas that currently dominate. The views of these teacher educators offer a useful starting point for further investigation, particularly as they present the purposes of primary PE from both an integrated and educational perspective.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Primary physical education; stakeholder perspectives; teacher educators; purpose of physical education; vignettes;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education
Item ID:	18307
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336X241237081
Depositing User:	Tony Sweeney
Date Deposited:	25 Mar 2024 13:25
Journal or Publication Title:	European Physical Education Review
Publisher:	Sage
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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