Socio-critical research on teaching physical education and physical education teacher education

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to systematically review the socio-critical research on teaching physical education (PE) and PE teacher education (PETE) between 1999 and 2014. The procedure followed a four-phase approach: (a) searching publications through four international databases; (b) meeting inclusion criteria; (c) refining selection to identify specifically research-based papers; and (d) expert searching based on the research team’s knowledge. The selection process yielded 23 articles mainly from Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Spain. Most of the research was authored collaboratively by male and female authors affiliated to universities. A lack of authorship shared with participant students, teachers or student teachers was observed. Qualitative approaches were the predominant methodology used in the selected studies. An inductive content analysis identified five major themes: evaluations in secondary school; evaluations in higher education; provocative studies; studies on assessment; and studies on participants’ experiences and views. Teaching and curriculum problems and difficulties, new ways of approaching them and potential solutions to moral struggles in teaching were analysed within these themes. Most of the socio-critical research reviewed involved both a postmodern ontology and innovative research designs to investigate the new and complex world of PE and PETE. This review exhibits the reduced impact on social change and the difficulties in developing socio-critical research and enacting critical pedagogy. However, the findings of our study preserve the momentum of socio-critical research that fights to keep its place in the field of teaching PE and PETE.