Everything is at stake; yet nothing is at stake: exploring meaning-making in game-centred approaches

Abstract

While not wishing to cover old ground in articulating the promise or continued promise of phenomenology within the physical education and sports domains, this paper aims to explore the 'human' nature of the Game-Centred Approach (GCA) from an existential phenomenological perspective. In a recent review of literature on the current state of research on game-centred approaches, Harvey and Jarrett (2013) made the call for phenomenological-oriented empirical studies. Urging the academic fraternity to embrace such "participatory epistemologies" (Davis, Sumara and Luce-Kepler, 2000), is an extremely positive and important step by the authors. This is because, although they do not explicitly make the point, to call for the embrace of phenomenological-oriented research into GCAs, the authors are accepting the fundamental importance of individual experience and meaning in games teaching. If we focus on the individual it then becomes a distinct possibility of structuring increasingly meaningful game-centred practice. In this respect we analyze Martin Heidegger's notion of "being-in-the-world", and illustrate how Arnold's three categories of meaningful movement -primordial, contextual and existential (1979) -can help facilitate ideas for pedagogical practice and provide an appropriate interpretive lens for future research into game-centered approaches.Keywords: Game-Centred Approaches; Existential-phenomenology; Meaning-making; Peter Arnold; Physical education AbstractWhile not wishing to cover old ground in articulating the promise or continued promise of phenomenology within the physical education and sports domains, this paper aims to explore the 'human' nature of the Game-Centred Approach (GCA) from an existential phenomenological perspective. In a recent review of literature on the current state of research on game-centred approaches, Harvey and Jarrett (2013) Heidegger's notion of "being-in-the-world", and illustrate how Arnold's three categories of meaningful movement -primordial, contextual and existential (1979) -can help facilitate ideas for pedagogical practice and provide an appropriate interpretive lens for future research into game-centered approaches.

A genealogical analysis of Peter Arnold's conceptual account of meaning in movement, sport and physical education

“…We find it interesting that even though Meaning in Movement, Sport and Physical Education was published some thirty or so years ago, Arnold's three dimensions of movement ("about", "through" and "in") now underpins the proposed curriculum document Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education (2012) that maps out the future direction of the Australian Curriculum for Health and Physical Education from Foundation to Year 10 (F-10). It would appear to be de rigueur to argue in the literature (see for example Brown, 2013aBrown, , 2013bBrown, , 2013cBrown & Penney, 2013;Jones et al, 2014) that Arnold's work has been "lost" to the point that it ought to be "re(articulated)" and "re(emphasised)" so it is suitable for contemporary physical education (Brown, 2013b) and/or viewed as alternative "ways of knowing" (Brown & Penney, 2013). Indeed, a particular issue we have at the moment concerns the trend in physical education and sport pedagogy that seems to unquestionably accept Arnold's conceptual account without due consideration to how the concept was influenced by history to serve a certain purpose.…”

The Embodied Nature of Physical Literacy: Interconnectedness of Lived Experience and Meaning

“…Physical activity must be understood as a holistic embodied experience with lifelong implications. Lifelong participation requires an embodied knowing, a meaningful (Jones et al, 2016) attachment to activity through lived experience. Knowing is achieved by perceptuomotor movement within the lifeworld.…”

How is embodiment in physical education theoretically conceptualised? A concept analysis

“…As mentioned, several related concepts occurred frequently and interchangeably in the literature. Because of the strong influence of phenomenology in the literature examined, some of these can be as equally perplexing as embodiment, for example, 'being-in-the-world' (Block 2014;Lussier 2010;Jones et al 2016;Stolz 2013)…”

“…An experience of embodiment is characterised by sharing, it is shared. The teaching implication for this is to provide opportunities, activities and space for learners to share movement experiences with others, in relation to others, and in presence of others, this is known as intersubjectivity (Jones et al 2016). This includes accommodating shared perceptual experiences, reflection and collaboration (Thorburn and Stolz 2017) that initiate feelings and emotions, common actions and interactions in an act of primary sociality (Andersson and Garrison 2016).…”