Research in physical education on display at the National Annual Conference

The poster presentations have now become an established and valued feature at the afPE National Physical Education and School Sport Conference and a record number of posters were on display at this year‟s event. The presentations offer an opportunity for researchers, both new and more experienced, to share their research with delegates in a relatively informal and relaxed setting. The research might be completed or represent work in progress, and centre on any topic which broadly fits into the conference themes of pedagogy, leadership or health

Research committee update

In the Winter edition of the journal, a new format for Research Matters was introduced which we will be striving to move towards in subsequent editions. Amongst a number of changes, I explained that the new format would include regular updates for members on the work of the Research Committee. I therefore just wanted to share with you a few recent developments and projects the Committee have been involved with

Posters put on quite a display at the National Annual Conference

Those of you who attended the afPE National Physical Education and School Sport Conference in July will no doubt have seen the impressive array of posters on display which featured a range of research projects and studies which are, or have recently been conducted across and beyond the United Kingdom. The poster presentations were included as part of the research strand to the conference and proved to be a great success, generating not only an attractive visual display but a good deal of interest and professional dialogue between the presenters and conference delegates

A new format for Research Matters

afPE’s Research Committee has recently been established and, on behalf of the Committee, I’d just like to take this opportunity to update you on a few developments. Most notably in this edition, these relate to some important changes to the format of Research Matters

The expert physical education advisory group

The expert physical education advisory grou

Physical education and childhood obesity

This paper reports on an Association for Physical Education specialist seminar which took place in May 2007 on the subject of physical education and childhood obesity. The main aim of the seminar was for physical educators to engage in a debate focusing on the following questions: • What are the facts about childhood obesity? • What are the issues? • What can we learn from physiologists, psychologists, sociologists and pedagogues? • What does all of this mean for physical education? To achieve this, a number of prominent academics from different disciplines (physiology, psychology, pedagogy and sociology) were asked to present their perspectives on the facts and issues associated with childhood obesity and their views on physical education’s role in addressing these. The seminar was concluded with a consideration of the way forward in terms of proposals, guidelines and recommendations for physical educators. The paper is structured in five sections, with each comprising a representation of each presentation including the key messages and recommendations for physical education

Physical education and health: moving forwards or ‘going round in circles’?

Alfrey, Cale and Webb (2012a) conducted research to explore and also try to explain physical education teachers’ experiences, views and understandings of health within physical education, inclusive of their professional development. This article provides a summary of this study and draws on and reports selected findings from this initial paper, as well as wider literature, to debate the role, contribution and effectiveness of physical education and physical education teachers in the delivery of health. A number of observations and issues are highlighted and these are used to address the question: is physical education making progress and moving forwards in this area

Research does matter: as illustrated by the posters at the National Annual Conference

Following the success of the poster presentations at last year's afPE National Physical Education and School Sport Conference, they were included again at the Conference in July. The presentations offered an opportunity for both new and experienced researchers to share their recently completed research, or work in progress, as part of the research strand. The posters were very well received and facilitated fruitful discussions about research with colleagues in a relatively informal and relaxed setting. In terms of process, individuals interested in presenting a poster at the conference were invited to submit a short abstract to Lorraine Cale (Chair of the afPE Research Committee) for consideration, including a brief overview of the aims, methodology, findings and conclusion(s) of their research, and identifying their work with one of the key conference strands of pedagogy, leadership and health. Based on the submissions received, a total of 11 posters were accepted, with eight in the pedagogy category, two relating to leadership and one focusing on health. Within these, it was also great to see work from a range of educational institutions and other organisations from the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia. Those represented were the University of Bedfordshire; University of Brighton; Brunel University; Dublin City University; University of Edinburgh; University of Glasgow; Learn 2 Group; Leeds Metropolitan University; Liverpool John Moores University; Loughborough University; Monash University; Primary Professional Development Service, Dublin; Southampton Solent University; and the University of Sussex

Association for Physical Education response to generation inactive

Association for Physical Education response to generation inactiv

Children's fitness testing: feasibility study summary

The following report represents a summary of a study which was commissioned by the National Assembly for Wales on the feasibility of carrying out a research project on the fitness levels of Welsh children. Although this study was conducted in 2004, it is still considered of real relevance and interest today, particularly given the recent recommendations that have been made concerning fitness testing children within the Annual Chief Medical Officers (CMO) report (Department of Health, March 2010). The report recommends that: 1. comprehensive physical fitness testing should be piloted in secondary schools 2. the pilot must include both standard tests of cardiorespiratory fitness and multi-stage fitness assessments. (Department of Health, 2010, p.29)