Using the example and context of Physical Education, a particularly vivid and comprehensive illustration is provided of the processes involved in the development of the National Curriculum for Physical Education in England and Wales between 1988-1995. The authors draw upon the extensive research to provide an analysis, description and critique of the direct and indirect influences of central government, local education authorities, schools, departments and teachers in the development of policy and practice in Physical Education. The highly political nature of policy developments in education, and Physical Education in particular, is demonstrated clearly throughout. A valuable contribution to existing literature, this book helps students and researchers piece together the last ten years of policy-making in education and offers a new perspective on the future of Physical Education in the United Kingdom.

Defining ‘politics’ as contests over ideas, values and visions about what a physically active society could be, this book uses critical analysis to challenge accepted truths about physical activity and therefore opens up a pathway to more effective, and more socially just, physical activity policy. Critiquing global and national physical activity policies which are arguing for significant change to societies around the world, The Politics of Physical Activity presents empirical case studies to illustrate the political dimensions of advocating for physical activity promotion, including discussions of resourcing difficulties, conflicts of interest and opportunity costs. It explores physical activity as a multi-sectoral tool that is being applied to political ideas and policy goals as varied as education, sustainability and social cohesion, and asks what good physical activity really looks like. This is important and provocative reading for any student, researcher, practitioner or policy maker with an interest in physical activity, public health or public policy.

Physical activity, inactivity and their relationship to health are serious concerns for governments around the world. This is the first book to critically examine the policy and practice of physical activity from a multi-disciplinary, social-scientific perspective. Moving beyond the usual biophysical and epidemiological approaches, it defines and explores the key themes that are shaping the global physical activity debate. Unrivalled in its scale and scope, it presents the latest data on physical activity from around the world, including case studies from Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia. Drawing on social, economic and behavioural sciences, it covers contexts from the global to the local and introduces the dominant ideas which inform the study of physical activity. Its 41 chapters examine the use of different forms of evidence in policymaking, the role of organisations in advocating physical activity, and the practical realities of public health interventions. The Routledge Handbook of Physical Activity Policy and Practice is a landmark publication for all students, academics, policymakers and practitioners interested in the social-scientific study of sport, exercise, physical activity and public health.

The book challenges our understandings of gender, equity and identity in PE, establishing a conceptual and historical foundation for the issue, as well as presenting a wealth of original research material.

This book presents ideas on education, gender and intersectionality through a transdisciplinary frame by crossing disciplinary and methodological borders. Exploring the diversity of educational settings ranging from early childhood to adult education, it brings together scholars from various disciplines to discuss, deconstruct and problematize gender and education in relation to several themes in a comparative, intersectional, local, national, regional and international perspective. Each chapter approaches the topic in an intersectional and/or transnational manner and creates powerful gendered educational knowledge. Questions addressed in the book include: What are the challenges or barriers to gender-equal education? How can we understand the gaps between formal policies and educational practices? The chapters in the book illustrate how gender and education are relevant and needed concepts within the field of transdisciplinary research. The authors hail from a range of countries, such as Croatia, Indonesia, Turkey, UK, as well as the Nordic region, and they critically examine gender and education at all levels and in diverse sectors, and with varied lenses, such as neoliberalism in education, and the inclusion of newcomers and refugees. The work also critically investigates programs and pedagogical approaches, culture and values, knowledge and identity in teacher education. The book further addresses criticisms of Western and Anglophone bias around “white feminism” and the norm of white, male and heterosexual privilege.

This book is a core text for physical education courses. It deals with enduring themes and contemporary issues in primary and secondary physical education.

Sustainable development star ts with safe, healthy, well-educated children. Par ticipation in qualit y physical education (QPE), as par t of a rounded syllabus, enhances young peoples' civic engagement, decreases violence and negative pat terns of behaviour, and improves health awareness. Despite evidence highlighting the impor tance of QPE to child development, the world is witnessing a global decline in its delivery and a parallel rise in deaths associated with physical inactivit y.