Contemporary Issues in Primary Physical Education

This book examines some of the most important issues in primary Physical Education today.

With teachers and schools facing a deluge of policy initiatives from government and professional associations, this book helps practitioners and students make sense of, and debate, the current landscape in primary Physical Education and to develop sound, evidence-based practice for each chapter topic. Each chapter explores an issue that is having a significant impact on the development of primary Physical Education, including hot topics such as decolonising Physical Education; Physical Education as a core subject in schools; establishing a pupil-led curriculum, and creating a whole school movement culture. Every chapter provides an overview of the issue, as well as a critical discussion of the significance of the issue, before reflecting on how that issue might affect teaching practice. This book also provides useful guides to further reading around each of the issues raised.

Written by two leading researchers in primary Physical Education, both of whom are experienced primary Physical Education teachers, this book is an essential read for any Physical Education student, trainee Physical Education teacher, or in-service teacher looking to extend their professional learning and practice.

Gerald Griggs is Academic Dean and Dean of the Manchester Campus at UCFB. Gerald has been passionate about primary Physical Education for over three decades, originally training as a primary teacher with a specialism in Physical Education, before teaching in primary schools across the UK. Since moving into Higher Education, he has published and presented widely on primary Physical Education and the sociology of sport, most notably for Routledge with such titles as An Introduction to Physical Education, Understanding Primary Physical Education, and The Routledge Handbook of Primary Physical Education. Gerald is also a member of the Cross-Party Parliamentary Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood and co-founder of the Primary Physical Education Assembly.

Vicky Randall is a Teacher Educator, Researcher, and Consultant in Physical Education and Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Gloucestershire. Her research focuses on professional knowledge and teacher education in primary Physical Education and children’s mental health and wellbeing. Vicky is co-founder of the Primary Physical Education Assembly (PPEA) and an ambassador for the children’s mental health charity stormbreak CIO. She has written extensively in the field of Physical Education and is co-editor of the Routledge text An Introduction to Primary Physical Education.