International journal of aquatic research and education, Mar 1, 2024
Traditionally, public understanding of drowning survival has focused on swimming capacity, often ... more Traditionally, public understanding of drowning survival has focused on swimming capacity, often measured by how far a person can swim. With respect to the high incidence of adult drowning in high-income countries, using the more inclusive concept of water competency may yield a more comprehensive explanatory framework for understanding the reasons behind these drownings. Any competency base required to survive a drowning situation is dynamic, complex, and multifaceted. Furthermore, perceptions of risk and capacity to cope with that risk are likely to be pivotal to the avoidance of drowning. Adults' perceived water competence was measured against their actual water competence in a pool environment. Adults were tested on their competence in entering and exiting water, floating, and swimming. Despite most adults (98%) being unable to swim more than 100 m in open water, more than half (59%) perceived themselves as good swimmers, and more than quarter (27%) thought they could swim more than 200 m at the post-survey. In conclusion, reality gaps were found in water competence among adult groups. Differences between perceived and actual competence suggest that many adults may underestimate the risk of drowning and overestimate their competency. This provides a plausible explanation as to why many adults drown.
Understanding the role teachers must play in fostering social justice is one of many tasks studen... more Understanding the role teachers must play in fostering social justice is one of many tasks student teachers learn on practicum. This self-study is a collaborative endeavour between eight Brazilian teacher-researchers who work in multiple teaching positions and settings in different regions of the country. Our assumption within the broader research scope is that being a teacher-researcher has commonalities related to social justice whether teaching in K-12 schools or higher education. We have reconfigured a collaborative, four-stage methodological approach to practitioner research. In this paper, we investigate how one teacher-researcher and university professor – Luiz, the first author – has been transforming his practice towards social justice through the self-study of teacher education practices. His initial dilemma concerned his students’ practicum experiences. Through the prompting of his co-authors and critical friends, Luiz reflected on his decisions and assumptions. He presen...
This “Focus Section” brings together a collection of papers that consider the pedagogical implica... more This “Focus Section” brings together a collection of papers that consider the pedagogical implications of teaching Physical Education (PE) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has challenged teachers around the globe to adapt to social distancing and teaching online requirements. Our goal in this special edition is to share and reflect together on these challenges and see that the issue is not just about the use of technology, but also about how teachers navigate the implications for teaching a subject like PE. The shared stories provide valuable insights into how teachers adapt and learn new strategies and technologies for teaching PE in times of social distancing.
Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, 2021
ABSTRACT Physical literacy has quickly become established within the broad fields of Sport, Healt... more ABSTRACT Physical literacy has quickly become established within the broad fields of Sport, Health and Physical Education as a set of capabilities and dispositions that enable active participation in movement cultures across an individual’s lifespan. In that sense, it has become a powerful concept in terms of being a desirable outcome of education programmes for young people in all spheres of their life as well as being a powerful discourse for sport and physical activity policy for all sectors of the community. Given this, the question arises as to its relationship with physical education, as a curriculum practice in schools. In this introduction to the special edition, we propose that the theoretical tools of assemblage and territorialisation provide a way to theorise curriculum and understand how the papers might be read with a sense of coherence. We conclude by suggesting that less focus needs to be paid to defining the essence and nature of physical literacy, and more attention given to how it potentially narrows the curriculum and more questioning of whose interests are being served by advocating for its uptake in HPE.
The complexity of teacher education is fascinating, illusive, and creative. While it is simultane... more The complexity of teacher education is fascinating, illusive, and creative. While it is simultaneously difficult to grasp and conceptualize, complexity has real presence and effects, and needs to be managed and simplified for meanings to emerge. Given this, interest in complexity, and its value to education more broadly, has grown rapidly over the past two decades (Davis & Sumara, 2006; Osberg, Biesta & Cilliers, 2008). This turn to complexity is linked to three intertwined ideas. The first, which is ontological, involves viewing the world as organized relationally through highly connected and interdependent elements so that the focus becomes not about understanding what something is (an emphasis on the individual, essence, and being), but how it comes into being (a focus on becoming, emergence and affect) (Deleuze & Guatarri, 1987; Richardson & Cilliers, 2001). The second, which is conceptual, involves drawing on a renewed vocabulary and conceptual toolbox that enables generative w...
What is interesting to me is that I feel like a new teacher again. I’ve had to think of the pedag... more What is interesting to me is that I feel like a new teacher again. I’ve had to think of the pedagogy every step of the way and that’s refreshing. I measure every minute of the class now. Time is precious, I need to make sure that they learn something, learn it with the iPad and feel that they are going forward. It’s been very rewarding seeing the students embracing the learning with me (Constanza).
Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) has emerged over the past thirty years as one of the lead... more Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) has emerged over the past thirty years as one of the leading instructional models for sports coaches and physical education teachers. From its initial beginning as a set of theoretical and practical initiatives on how to teach games, TGfU has evolved to become one of the most readily identifiable pedagogical movements within the sports and physical education field. In this paper we aim to document and study this development in a way that acknowledges the complexity and collectivity involved. At one level, it is easy to see that there is a broad mix of people who value this model and want to work in a collaborative way to promote, research and advance it. At another level, however, the problem becomes one of resisting the urge to simply tell the history wit hout acknowledging the methodological issues involved. As historians would remind us, it is important that we never take history as fixed and linear. Instead, we must interrogate the popular...
RESUMO O texto objetiva identificar temas relacionados às competências digitais em propostas de f... more RESUMO O texto objetiva identificar temas relacionados às competências digitais em propostas de formação de docente da Educação Física em três países. Pela análise de conteúdo, enunciados sobre mídia e tecnologia em documentos curriculares de três cursos superiores de Educação Física na Austrália, Brasil e Nova Zelândia são categorizados segundo marcos teóricos de competências digitais para docentes da UNESCO e da União Europeia. As categorias de “Usos de tecnologia no campo didático” e de “Promoção dos aspectos pedagógicos” são as mais exploradas. As propostas da Nova Zelândia e da Austrália abarcam todas as dimensões discutidas, ao contrário da brasileira. Defende-se uma articulação orgânica das dimensões metodológica, crítica e produtiva da mídia-educação na formação de professores.
In the past two decades, complexity thinking has emerged as an important theoretical response to ... more 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.
International journal of aquatic research and education, Mar 1, 2024
Traditionally, public understanding of drowning survival has focused on swimming capacity, often ... more Traditionally, public understanding of drowning survival has focused on swimming capacity, often measured by how far a person can swim. With respect to the high incidence of adult drowning in high-income countries, using the more inclusive concept of water competency may yield a more comprehensive explanatory framework for understanding the reasons behind these drownings. Any competency base required to survive a drowning situation is dynamic, complex, and multifaceted. Furthermore, perceptions of risk and capacity to cope with that risk are likely to be pivotal to the avoidance of drowning. Adults' perceived water competence was measured against their actual water competence in a pool environment. Adults were tested on their competence in entering and exiting water, floating, and swimming. Despite most adults (98%) being unable to swim more than 100 m in open water, more than half (59%) perceived themselves as good swimmers, and more than quarter (27%) thought they could swim more than 200 m at the post-survey. In conclusion, reality gaps were found in water competence among adult groups. Differences between perceived and actual competence suggest that many adults may underestimate the risk of drowning and overestimate their competency. This provides a plausible explanation as to why many adults drown.
Understanding the role teachers must play in fostering social justice is one of many tasks studen... more Understanding the role teachers must play in fostering social justice is one of many tasks student teachers learn on practicum. This self-study is a collaborative endeavour between eight Brazilian teacher-researchers who work in multiple teaching positions and settings in different regions of the country. Our assumption within the broader research scope is that being a teacher-researcher has commonalities related to social justice whether teaching in K-12 schools or higher education. We have reconfigured a collaborative, four-stage methodological approach to practitioner research. In this paper, we investigate how one teacher-researcher and university professor – Luiz, the first author – has been transforming his practice towards social justice through the self-study of teacher education practices. His initial dilemma concerned his students’ practicum experiences. Through the prompting of his co-authors and critical friends, Luiz reflected on his decisions and assumptions. He presen...
This “Focus Section” brings together a collection of papers that consider the pedagogical implica... more This “Focus Section” brings together a collection of papers that consider the pedagogical implications of teaching Physical Education (PE) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has challenged teachers around the globe to adapt to social distancing and teaching online requirements. Our goal in this special edition is to share and reflect together on these challenges and see that the issue is not just about the use of technology, but also about how teachers navigate the implications for teaching a subject like PE. The shared stories provide valuable insights into how teachers adapt and learn new strategies and technologies for teaching PE in times of social distancing.
Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, 2021
ABSTRACT Physical literacy has quickly become established within the broad fields of Sport, Healt... more ABSTRACT Physical literacy has quickly become established within the broad fields of Sport, Health and Physical Education as a set of capabilities and dispositions that enable active participation in movement cultures across an individual’s lifespan. In that sense, it has become a powerful concept in terms of being a desirable outcome of education programmes for young people in all spheres of their life as well as being a powerful discourse for sport and physical activity policy for all sectors of the community. Given this, the question arises as to its relationship with physical education, as a curriculum practice in schools. In this introduction to the special edition, we propose that the theoretical tools of assemblage and territorialisation provide a way to theorise curriculum and understand how the papers might be read with a sense of coherence. We conclude by suggesting that less focus needs to be paid to defining the essence and nature of physical literacy, and more attention given to how it potentially narrows the curriculum and more questioning of whose interests are being served by advocating for its uptake in HPE.
The complexity of teacher education is fascinating, illusive, and creative. While it is simultane... more The complexity of teacher education is fascinating, illusive, and creative. While it is simultaneously difficult to grasp and conceptualize, complexity has real presence and effects, and needs to be managed and simplified for meanings to emerge. Given this, interest in complexity, and its value to education more broadly, has grown rapidly over the past two decades (Davis & Sumara, 2006; Osberg, Biesta & Cilliers, 2008). This turn to complexity is linked to three intertwined ideas. The first, which is ontological, involves viewing the world as organized relationally through highly connected and interdependent elements so that the focus becomes not about understanding what something is (an emphasis on the individual, essence, and being), but how it comes into being (a focus on becoming, emergence and affect) (Deleuze & Guatarri, 1987; Richardson & Cilliers, 2001). The second, which is conceptual, involves drawing on a renewed vocabulary and conceptual toolbox that enables generative w...
What is interesting to me is that I feel like a new teacher again. I’ve had to think of the pedag... more What is interesting to me is that I feel like a new teacher again. I’ve had to think of the pedagogy every step of the way and that’s refreshing. I measure every minute of the class now. Time is precious, I need to make sure that they learn something, learn it with the iPad and feel that they are going forward. It’s been very rewarding seeing the students embracing the learning with me (Constanza).
Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) has emerged over the past thirty years as one of the lead... more Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) has emerged over the past thirty years as one of the leading instructional models for sports coaches and physical education teachers. From its initial beginning as a set of theoretical and practical initiatives on how to teach games, TGfU has evolved to become one of the most readily identifiable pedagogical movements within the sports and physical education field. In this paper we aim to document and study this development in a way that acknowledges the complexity and collectivity involved. At one level, it is easy to see that there is a broad mix of people who value this model and want to work in a collaborative way to promote, research and advance it. At another level, however, the problem becomes one of resisting the urge to simply tell the history wit hout acknowledging the methodological issues involved. As historians would remind us, it is important that we never take history as fixed and linear. Instead, we must interrogate the popular...
RESUMO O texto objetiva identificar temas relacionados às competências digitais em propostas de f... more RESUMO O texto objetiva identificar temas relacionados às competências digitais em propostas de formação de docente da Educação Física em três países. Pela análise de conteúdo, enunciados sobre mídia e tecnologia em documentos curriculares de três cursos superiores de Educação Física na Austrália, Brasil e Nova Zelândia são categorizados segundo marcos teóricos de competências digitais para docentes da UNESCO e da União Europeia. As categorias de “Usos de tecnologia no campo didático” e de “Promoção dos aspectos pedagógicos” são as mais exploradas. As propostas da Nova Zelândia e da Austrália abarcam todas as dimensões discutidas, ao contrário da brasileira. Defende-se uma articulação orgânica das dimensões metodológica, crítica e produtiva da mídia-educação na formação de professores.
In the past two decades, complexity thinking has emerged as an important theoretical response to ... more 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.
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