Showing items 1 - 20 of 31

Your selections:

Complex learning theory-Its epistemology and its assumptions about learning: Implications for physical education

  • Authors: Light, Richard
  • Date: 2008
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Teaching in Physical Education Vol. 27, no. 1 (2008), p. 21-38
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Davis and Sumara (2003) argue that differences between commonsense assumptions about learning and those upon which constructivism rests present a significant challenge for the fostering of constructivist approaches to teaching in schools. Indeed, as Rink (2001) suggests, initiating any change process for teaching method needs to involve some understanding of the theories supporting it. Although there has been considerable discussion about constructivism in the physical education literature over the past decade, there has been less attention paid to the assumptions about learning and knowledge that underpin it. This article makes a contribution toward redressing this oversight in the literature by examining the epistemology and assumptions about learning that constructivist theories of learning rest upon. Drawing on the work of Davis and Sumara (2003), I suggest that the term "complex" learning theories may offer a more useful description of the sometimes confusing range of constructivist approaches. I provide examples of, and suggestions for, the application of constructivism in practice and within which the body forms a prominent theme.

Responses of study abroad students in Australia to experience-based pedagogy in sport studies

  • Authors: Light, Richard , Georgakis, Steve
  • Date: 2008
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Vol. , no. (2008), p.
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: This paper contributes to research on the scholarship of teaching in the physical education/sport studies fields by examining the responses of study abroad students from overseas studying in Australia to a unit of study in sport studies that placed the interpretation of experience as the centre of the learning process. It draws on research conducted at an Australian university over an 18-month period and involving 170 participants. The study focused on the ways in which student motivations, inclinations, expectations and prior experience interacted with experiences of living in Australia and the experience-based nature of the unit of study shaped their responses and perceptions of learning.

Sport in the lives of young Australians

  • Authors: Light, Richard
  • Date: 2008
  • Type: Text , Book
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: What does sport mean to young people in Australia? How does it affect their social, personal, moral and physical growth and development? What is the relationship between elite level 'media-sport' and the range of informal games children play for fun and friendship? Can children learn how to play fairly, when televised sport shows them that hurting opponents and 'bending the rules' are not only acceptable but celebrated as part of the game? Sport in the lives of young Australians offers an informative look into the practice of sport, the nature of children's and young people's experiences of it, and the significance of this for their development. Drawing on original close-focus studies conducted in schools and sports clubs in Australia, it provides valuable insight into youth sport from the perspective of the children and young people engaged in it. Recent advocacy for physical education and sport has highlighted their benefits in the fight against lifestyle diseases, but the research presented in this book reminds us not to lose sight of the other ways in which they contribute to the development of young people. The book also examines new approaches to teaching and coaching and the possibilities they offer for improving children's experiences of sport and physical education. For anyone involved in youth sport - from coaches, teachers and parents, to researchers and policy-makers - this book will provide invaluable understanding of the place and meaning of sport in the lives of young Australians

Visual data collection methods for research on the affective dimensions of children's personal experiences of PE

  • Authors: Georgakis, Steve , Light, Richard
  • Date: 2009
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education Vol. 56, no. 3-4 (2009), p. 23-27
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: The rapid growth of research on Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) over the past decade has paid little attention to research methodology. This paper redresses this lack of attention to research methods and reports on a study conducted on children's personal experiences of Game Sense. The study focuses on the use of year six students' drawings as the primary source of data. Using this data we examine the affective dimensions of learning in a unit of work on cricket that was taught using a Game Sense approach. The children's drawings were used as a meaning making activity and then later used in a research interview where they provided the stimulus for children to discuss their attitudes and feelings toward their cricket experience. By adopting an interpretive approach the study gained insight into students' experiences and reports specifically on the impact Game Sense pedagogy had on the students with the least positive attitudes toward sport. Both the methodological innovation of the study and the positive impact upon the affective dimension of learning are discussed.

Keeping women in Sport: Positive experiences of six women's experiences Growing up and staying with sport in Portugal.

  • Authors: Gonçalves, Carlos , Carvalho, Humberto , Light, Richard
  • Date: 2011
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Asian Journal of Exercise & Sports Science Vol. 8, no. 1 (2011), p. 39-52
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: In addition to playing an important role in combating lifestyle diseases such as obesity, participation in youth sport provides opportunities to develop skills and competencies in sport and in life-long social, moral, and personal development (Light, 2008; Georgakis & Russell, 2011). In countries that have well-developed clubs, youth sports systems such as those in Australia, the UK, Canada, Germany, and Portugal attract children and young people to sports and keep them participating. It presents a challenge for government bodies with youths (particularly females) beginning to drop out of sports at the age of 13. Patterns of sport participation are different between boys and girls with the rate of female participation significantly lower than their male peers. While attention has been paid to dropout and burnout (Fraser-Thomas, Côté, & Deakin, 2008), less attention has been paid to the reasons why girls continue involvement in sport. This study redresses this oversight in the literature by evoking the trajectories of young female athletes in sport from their first steps in sport up to their present situation as adult, competitive players. The study focuses on the experiences of six female athletes aged between 20 and 22 who participate in basketball, volleyball, and judo.

Opening up learning theory to social theory in research on sport and physical education through a focus on practice

  • Authors: Light, Richard
  • Date: 2011
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy Vol. 16, no. 4 (2011), p. 369-382
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Background: Research on pedagogy in physical education and sport has increasingly been informed by contemporary learning theory with the socio-cultural perspective being prominent. Over a similar period research on the social dimensions of physical education and youth sport has drawn on a range of social theory yet there has been little systematic integration of them. Purpose: This article identifies the ways in which learning theory can be opened up to some social theory in research on learning and pedagogy in physical education and sport. It provides a specific example of how this can be achieved through integrating the conceptual tools of Bourdieu with those of Lave and Wenger for research on learning in physical education and youth sport. Findings: This article identifies a complementary relationship between the socio-cultural learning theory of Lave and Wenger and the social theory of Bourdieu. It suggests that integrating Bourdieu's work with that of Lave and Wenger provides for a stronger focus on the body and corporeal learning in and through sport and physical education. © 2011 Copyright Association for Physical Education.

Constructivism and pedagogy for coaching in swimming

How can game sense pedagogy be used to develop technique in athletics?

Learning to swim by closing that gap between mind and body

The contribution of the New South Wales Primary Schools Sports Association towards developing talent in Australian 12 year old swimmers

  • Authors: Light, Richard
  • Date: 2012
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education Vol. 3, no. 1 (2012), p. 77-89
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: This article reports on a case study that inquired into the influence of the New South Wales Primary Schools Sports Association competitive swimming structure on the development of talented 12-year old female swimmers. The study focused on ten 12-year old girls in the New South Wales team that contested the 2009 national swimming championships with results considered within the framework of Cote´’s Development Model of Sport Participation.
  • Description: This article reports on a case study that inquired into the influence of the New South Wales Primary Schools Sports Association competitive swimming structure on the development of talented12-year old female swimmers. The study focused on ten 12-year old girls in the New South Wales team that contested the 2009 national swimming championships with results considered within the framework of Cote´’s Development Model of Sport Participation.

The use of habitus in research on experience and coach development

  • Authors: Hassainin, Remy , Light, Richard
  • Date: 2012
  • Type: Text , Conference paper
  • Relation: AARE and APERA 2012 p. 1-10
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Bourdieu's concept of habitus has increasing been used in research in the sports coaching field and offers a useful concept for understanding how experience comes to shape coaching practice. In this article, we begin by outlining the use of habitus in the sports coaching literature and provide a brief description of it and its relationship with his other other key concepts: practice and field. We then examine the potential use of habitus in research on coach development, in which we argue for its importance for research on coach development. We close by exploring its its use as a methodological tool and how it can be operationalised and used in conjunction with other constructionist concepts.

Women's sport leadership stysles as the rsult of interaction between feminine and masculine approaches

  • Authors: Brown, Suzanne , Light, Richard
  • Date: 2012
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education Vol. 3, no. 3 (2012), p. 185-198
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: There is a growing body of research focusing on women in the business sector using a transformational model of leadership that identifies the ways in which they lead yet little is known about the style of leadership women practise in sport. In attempting to redress this oversight in the literature, this article draws on data from a larger study to identify how women practise leadership within a sporting context. It identifies the leadership styles of women working at the community (club and regional) and elite (state and national) sectors of the Australian sport system in the state of Victoria as being feminine but which appropriate aspects of masculine styles. It also suggests that the women's early experiences of growing up played a significant part in shaping their leadership styles.

Conclusion : Ethics in youth sport : Policy and pedagogical applications

  • Authors: Light, Richard , Harvey, Stephen
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Ethics in youth sport : Policy and pedagogical applications Conclusions p. 203-210
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: The chapters in this volume are written on a range of topics related to the ethical practice of youth sport from different perspectives, and by authors from different cultural settings, but there are some clear common themes that emerge from them. They all suggest that sport has great potential as a medium for fostering children's positive social, moral and ethical development, but confirm previous warnings that this development is not automatically achieved by mere engagement in sport (Siedentop et al. 2004). Many chapters in this book remind us of the countless recurrences of negative issues in youth sport, such as cheating, negative coaching, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and player/spectator violence. These practices present a constant threat to the ethical practice of youth sport and we must acknowledge that, in part, these may be attributable to an adult-centric verison of youth sport with an overemphasis on winning, particularly by over-zealous adults such as coaches and parents.

Dispositions of elite-level Australian rugby coaches towards game sense : Characteristics of their coaching habitus

  • Authors: Light, Richard , Evans, John
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Sport, Education and Society Vol. 18, no. 3 (2013), p. 407-423
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Bourdieu's analytic concept of habitus has provided a valuable means of theorising coach development but is yet to be operationalised in empirical research. This article redresses this oversight by drawing on a larger study that inquired into how the 'coaching habitus' of elite-level Australian and New Zealand rugby coaches structured their interpretation and use of the Game Sense approach to coaching to illustrate how habitus can be operationalised. It focuses on the identification of characteristics of the individual coaching habitus of four elite-level Australian rugby coaches and how they shape their interpretation and use of Game Sense. Drawing on suggestions made by Lau, we identify the characteristics of four individual 'coaching habitus' by examining their views on: (1) the characteristics of good coaches; (2) characteristics of great rugby players and how to develop them; and (3) their dispositions towards innovation in coaching. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
  • Description: 2003011104

Ethics in youth sport : Policy and pedagogical applications

  • Authors: Harvey, Stephen , Light, Richard
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Book
  • Relation: Routledge studies in physical education and youth sport
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: The influence of professional, adult sport on youth sport is now a global concern. Children are involved in high-stakes competitive sport at national and international levels at an increasingly young age. In addition, the use of sport as a medium for positive youth development by governments and within the community has fuelled ambitious targets for young people's participation in sport at all levels. In this important study of ethical issues in and around youth sport, leading international experts argue for the development of strong ethical codes for the conduct of youth sport, and for effective policy and pedagogical applications to ensure that the positive benefits of sport are optimized and the negative aspects diminished.

Game Sense pedagogy in youth sport : An applied ethics perspective

  • Authors: Light, Richard
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Ethics in youth sport : Policy and pedagogical applications Chapter 6 p. 92-106
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Research and writing in the physical education field over the last decade has seen a rapid growth of interest in pedagogy in games teaching, and particularly in Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) and its variants. There is also an emerging and long overdue interest in pedagogy within the sport-coaching field focused on athlete-centred coaching approaches (Kidman 2005; Jones 2006; Kirk 2010; Light and Evans 2010). These approaches have much to offer for improving game-playing ability and making sport more enjoyable and satisfying for children and young people. There is, however, a range of learning arising from the use of these approaches that is often unintended and less tangible, yet likely to be more significant in the educational and life journeys of young people (see, for example, Kretchmar 2005; Light 2008).

Game sense pedagogy in youth sport: An applied ethics perspective

Game sense: Pedagogy for performance, participation and enjoyment

  • Authors: Light, Richard
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Book
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Game Sense is an exciting and innovative approach to coaching and physical education that places the game at the heart of the session. It encourages the player to develop skills in a realistic context, to become more tactically aware, to make better decisions and to have more fun. Game Sense is a comprehensive, research-informed introduction to the Game Sense approach that defines and explores key concepts and essential pedagogical theory, and that offers an extensive series of practical examples and plans for using Game Sense in real teaching and coaching situations

Introduction : Ethics in youth sport : Policy and pedagogical applications

  • Authors: Light, Richard , Harvey, Stephen
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Ethics in youth sport : Policy and pedagogical applications Introduction p. 1-8
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Sport as we know it today finds its origins in nineteenth-century schools of the middle classes of England, where it was explicitly articulated as a medium for the socio-moral development of the future leaders of society (Mangan 1982). Despite massive social and economic changes since then, the idea of using sport as a means of developing 'character' and other positive social learning, such as learning to work in a team, has formed an enduring justification for the provision of sport for young people in schools and in sports clubs, in both western and non-western settings (see, for example, Sherington 1983; Light 2000). Despite a more recent and popular view of sport as a useful means of combating lifestyle diseases such as obesity (see, for example, Gard and Wright 2009), and growing awareness of how children's and youth sport can be corrupted by the influence of elite-level professional sport, assumptions about positive socio-moral learning occuring for young people through playing sport have proven to be remarkable resilient (see, for example, Holt 2009).

Learning through experience: The Influence of context on the development of Rugby coaches' beliefs and practice

  • Authors: Hassanin, Remy , Light, Richard
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Proceedings of the 2013 International Conference on Educational Research and Sports Education p. 92-96
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Aim. This article reports on a case study that inquired into how coaches' beliefs about and dispositions toward coaching that structure their practice were developed through long-term experience. Method. Focused on three coaches working at high performance levels in Victoria, Australia data was generated through three rounds of semi-structured interviews and observation over a three-month period. Results. The three coaches were from three diferent countries with the study highlighting the powerful influence of socio-cultural context on the construction of a coaching habitus and the ways in which it structurted their coaching.