Description:
Within this chapter we have focused almost exclusively on the actions of teachers of HPE. Every state version of the national curriculum in Australia makes reference to students learning about themselves and caring for the wellbeing of themselves and others. Our intention here is to suggest that in providing safety education and involving students in considering this safety lens, teaching HPE can help prevent foreseeable and immediate injury. The basis of this chapter has been to suggest that changes in community beliefs and the development of a risk society has created a new risk framework regarding injuries in which teachers of HPE must work.
Description:
The significant cost of injury rehabilitation to the individual and the community combined with the funding provided for injury prevention (IP) research over the past decade demands some measurement of the effectiveness of IP programs. The measurement of IP strategies is a complex issue because injury prevention relies on the behaviours of the sports people involved. This study involved qualitative analyses of interviews conducted with ten netball players and seven football players. The players were selected from the highest and lowest senior grades of a semi-rural community level club. Data collected from the interviews were transcribed and analysed using themes to categorise the information. The findings highlight the different structural issues faced by community level netball and Australian Rules football players. Players who had been exposed to higher levels of competition appeared to have an increased use of and better attitude towards the use of IP measures. Some of the contrasts highlighted were the structure, access and availability of IP measures to players. Netball players did not have access to sports trainers or protective equipment and the choice to use IP strategies was a more personal choice. In contrast, the football clubs had sports trainers and protective equipment was offered to players at no cost. The most significant theme emerging from the study related to the social influences at the community level. The players’ attitudes and beliefs were directly attributable to the acceptance and promotion of IP strategies by significant people within the clubs.
Description:
As part of the emergence of new writing practices in the social sciences, qualitative researchers have begun to harness the potential of poetic representations as a means of analysing social worlds and communicating their findings to others. To date, this genre has been little used within the domains of sport and physical education. Accordingly, in this article, we provide examples of poetic representations and seek to generate insights into the process of their construction by exploring the perspectives of their authors. A rationale for choosing this genre is outlined and the potential benefits and risks of making this choice for both the researcher and the audience are considered. It is concluded that poetic representations are a worthy addition to the analytical repertoire in qualitative research.
Description:
Rural and regional Victorians, like most Australians, face a complex set of issues that challenge their capacity to lead active lifestyles. Such issues are Compounded by the myriad of changes to the structure of communities through policies resulting in declining services and support from centralised government and the private sector during the 1990's. Crucial to the sustainability of communities is the need for a better understanding of how policies influence and impact upon them. A study in Regiona/ Victoria investigated how policies relating to physical activity influence community well being and analysed government policies in the sport and health sectors. The application of critical policy analysis techniques (Taylor et al, 1997; Chalip, 1996) using a critical interpretive approach (Berkovifz, 2000) provided the framework for the problematization of physical activity and the use of legitimation (Chalip, 1996) in the analysis of policies. The research found that greatest government interest in physical activity was linked to the economic benefits that can be attributed to improved rates of participation in sport and other forms of physical activity. Policy is further influenced by the interplay between sectors, levels of government and the availability of funding. The research found that inconsistencies exist between the language and available resources at all levels despite the knowledge of potential health benefits. Of significance to the research is the investigation of structures to support the development of sport and physical activity opportunities. Victoria's Regional Sports Assemblies (RSAs) provide an approach reflective of the needs of communities through sport and physical activity. The capacity for greater collaboration lies at the local level where direct community relationships afford opportunities to engage individuals and organisations in sport and physical activity.