Internationally, assessment is acknowledged as a critical aspect of pedagogical practice and accountability systems, and as having a fundamental bearing upon what knowledge and ways of articulating knowledge come to be valued in schools. Teachers' assessment literacy is arguably fundamental to their ability to successfully engage with multiple expectations of assessment and to facilitate assessment as a process that continually supports learning. Informed by Hay and Penney's (( 2013) Assessment in Physical Education: A Sociocultural Perspective. London: Routledge) assessment literacy framework, a qualitative case study investigation was undertaken with 18 primary physical education teachers in a regional area in Australia to gain insight into their assessment practices. The study utilised informal interviews, survey and document analysis. Primary physical education teachers were shown to be engaging with the comprehension, application, interpretation and critical engagement elements of the assessment literacy framework, albeit with limitations. Assessment practices appear to be embedded in teaching practices but were, in the main, superficial. Data analysis highlighted gaps in knowledge about assessment, a focus on accountability and performance, and a lack of moderation and student engagement in assessment. This study directs attention to the tensions, uncertainties and complexities associated with developing assessment of physical education and the challenges associated with extending quality and efficacy in assessment practices.

No abstract

No abstract

This paper presents evidence collected from an evaluatory study of the Kickstart program conducted by Australian Football League (AFL) Cape York in far North Queensland. The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of the Kickstart program in meeting its overall objective of enhancing lifeskills of Indigenous Australians through participation in AFL. Evidence collected via interviews with Indigenous youth, parents, teachers and Kickstart stakeholders (including community representatives) suggest mixed meanings surrounding the interpretation of “lifeskills”, and yet improvement in the education, attitudes and lifestyle choices of Indigenous youth in the selected Cape York communities.

No abstract

No abstract

This paper provides a context for exploring the positioning of Physical Education specialist teachers (PE specialist teachers) in primary schools in Queensland in the discourses of teacher professionalism. A critical analysis of literature on the history and status of the subject and its practitioners aims to contextualize discourses in and about professionalism and the primary school PE specialist. The paper demonstrates the location of the PE specialist teacher in an Australian context under independent and interdependent themes. This critical review of literature identifies a lack of studies and research in the area of teacher professionalism as described, defined and enacted by PE specialist teachers.

The purpose of this study is to provide an authentic and legitimate voice to the physical education (PE) specialist teacher in the primary school and to give an insight into professional knowledge. An autoethnographic approach has been used to invite readers to enter my world of the primary PE specialist teacher and observe and respond to its social and cultural practices. Teacher professionalism as a cultural practice is defined, perceived and enacted in different ways over the three years I spent as a primary PE specialist teacher. The places and spaces in which primary PE operates are investigated using the conceptual framework of Relph's Place and Placelessness. I found myself both in and out of places and spaces that raised questions about the role of the primary PE specialist teacher, the issue of non-contact time in Queensland schools, the influence of performance cultures and the possibility (or not) for enacting an activist democratic professionalism.