This month’s Aussie Bookclub chews the fat about Mary Rudisill and Jerraco Johnson’s “Mastery Motivational Climates in Early Childhood PE: What have we learned over the years (2018) in JOPERD.

Decades of research on mastery motivational climates (MMCs) as an instructional approach in early childhood physical education are reviewed in this article. MMC’s are grounded in achievement goal theory, emphasizing effort, persistence, autonomy, and student-directed learning, rather than teacher‑driven performance standards. The concept is best reflected in Inclusion Style E from the Spectrum of Teaching Styles.

If you are interested in:

Effectively supporting motor skill development in young children.

Increasing children’s intrinsic motivation and enjoyment in physical activity by fostering a mastery‑oriented goal structure.

Promoting higher engagement in physical activity compared to performance‑oriented climates.

Citation of Article:

Rudisill, M. E., & Johnson, J. L. (2018). Mastery motivational climates in early childhood physical education: What have we learned over the years?. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 89(6), 26-32.

Dr. Robin Lindgren and Dr. Dean Barker host the Nordic Article club, this month they talked with Prof. Suzanne Lundvall and Assistant Prof Andreas Fröberg.

These are the papers that are the basis for their conversations

Fröberg, A., & Lundvall, S. (2025). Integrating Sustainable Development Within Physical Education Teacher Education Courses: A Professional Learning Project. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 1-20.

Fröberg, A., Wiklander, P., Baena-Morales, S., & Lundvall, S. (2023). How to teach about sustainable development in physical education? Examples from the perspectives of certified teachers in Sweden. Frontiers in Education, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1294763

Lundvall, S., & Fröberg, A. (2022). From individual to lifelong environmental processes: reframing health in physical education with the sustainable development goals. Sport, Education and Society, 28(6), 684-696. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2022.2062320

Wiklander, P., Fröberg, A., & Lundvall, S. (2024). Experiences, Attitudes, and Perceived Competence Regarding Sustainable Development Among Physical Education and Health Teachers in Sweden. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2023-0163

Wiklander, P., Fröberg, A., & Lundvall, S. (2023). Searching for the alternative: A scoping review of empirical studies with holistic perspectives on health and implications for teaching physical education. European Physical Education Review, 29(3), 351-368. DOI: 10.1177/1356336X221147813

Lundvall, S., Gisladottir, T., Lauritzen, Å., Svendsen, A. M., Salin, K., Stefansdottir, R., & Fröberg, A. (2024). Sustainable development perspectives in Nordic physical education curricula: a cross-country comparison of the status and pre-conditions. Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, 15(3), 358-374. https://doi.org/10.1080/25742981.2024.2376855

February 2026 – #AIESEPConnect #CoffeeWithColleagues

This is the audio from the February 2026 AIESEP Connect

The development of aquatic literacy from early years. Why and how with Boris Jidovtseff, Professor Kristy Howells, Kristine De Martelaer, Léa Mekkaoui and François Potdevin

Session Video Recording can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XJole31wtQ

I spoke with Dr. Michael Hemphill (University of North Carolina at Greensboro), associate editor of the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education (JTPE) and founding editor of its relatively new book review section. What emerged from that conversation was not just an update about a journal feature—it was a compelling case for why book reviews matter, especially for doctoral students, early career scholars, and research-engaged practitioners.

To find information on the Book Review Process on the JTPE website click here:

https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jtpe/43/2/article-p197.xml

You can find Michael's contact information in the link

Kevin Richards, outgoing editor in chief comes on to discuss his recent editorial in the JTPE.

Here is the full citation which is open access: Richards, K. A. (2025). Diversity, equity, and inclusivity: A crucible and calvary for physical education. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2025-0546

The article examines learning that occurs through ball games in Swedish Physical Education and Health (PEH), challenging critiques that such activities overemphasise competition and performance. Drawing on observations and interviews with upper‑secondary students, the authors show that ball games foster both subject‑specific learning (skills, techniques, rules, and game understanding) and generic knowledge such as cooperation, care, fairness, and inclusion. Using a non‑affirmative theory of education, the study highlights that student participation and learning increase when competition is de‑emphasised and unfamiliar game forms are used, prompting a re‑articulation of learning objectives in PEH.

CITE to the article:

Modell, N., Gerdin, G., & Schenker, K. (2026). ‘That’s how we all learn to get along’–learning in and through ball games in Swedish Physical Education and Health. Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, 17(1), 1-15.

I am happy to welcome you to the inaugural podcast keynote! This is the official episode 400, so if you’re listening to this in February there are 399 episodes to scroll beneath this one. I wanted to mark the 400th episode with something--- in episode 200 we had a town hall and it went really well. I am not sure where this will go on Laura’s CV, but I am really happy she accepted the invitation to make something new and to be creative with me on this podcast!

Dr. Laura Alfrey –is an associate professor at Monash University in Australia her research interests are in HPE and the ways which policy, professional learning and practice contribute to inclusive and educative experiences for everyone. Today she will share her innovative research in fitness testing…. But beyond publishing copious articles, getting cited hundreds of times a year for her work- Laura also serves the field by being on the Editorial Board for Curriculum Studies in HPE, Sport Education and Society, and the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education…AND MANY MORE!

This podcast keynote is about fitness testing in PE, from an Australian lens, with a few notes about the American context, and some commentary by US based researchers as well.

Here is a link to the video Laura showed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcH_IErqIXM

This is the article Chuck noted in his comment:

Charles B. “Chuck” Corbin (2026)National Youth Fitness Tests and Awards: Dispelling Misconceptions andMisinformation, Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 97:1,3-5, DOI: 10.1080/07303084.2025.2579444

To link to this article:https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2025.2579444

This is a quick episode about our Masters Program at GMU, it’s 100% online and we start in May of 2026 with a new cohort, and this podcast is about that program. If you’ve stumbled here seeking to become a better teacher, then I hope you listen through the podcast.

LINK to Masters Program:

https://education.gmu.edu/advanced-teaching-studies/med-physical-education-concentration

Link to Video:

https://youtu.be/8evkKmlFV7A

My email for questions: [email protected]

This episode is a recording of the AIESEP Connect from January 2026. It served as the launching of the EDI policy of AIESEP that was co-designed with members and board members.

You can read more about the speakers here: https://aiesep.org/aiesep-edi-policy-launch-at-january-aiesep-connect/

Here is the translation in the middle that was in Spanish:

Bueno, sí, quiero hablar. Primero, quiero agradecerles la oportunidad de estar aquí y hablar. No en mi lengua materna, que es el mapudungun (idioma mapuche), sino en español, que muchos de ustedes quizá no conozcan. Primero, quisiera reflexionar sobre la importancia de vivir y escuchar un idioma que no se entiende para implementar una verdadera política de inclusión. Solo así podremos sentir realmente la importancia de implementar políticas que permitan a las personas comunicarse en el idioma en el que se sienten más cómodas, el idioma en el que mejor pueden expresar sus ideas. Esto es muy importante, y por eso estoy aquí, intentando cada segundo asimilar que este es un proceso histórico para ustedes como organización. María, José, Marina y Carla, ¿podrían traducir lo que dije? Gracias.

Good, yes, I want to talk. First, I want to thank you for the opportunity to be here and talk. Not in my mother tongue, which is the Mapudungun (Mapuche language), but in Spanish, which many of us wanted in the Spanish language. First, I would like to reflect on the importance of living and listening to a language that is not understood to implement a true inclusion policy. Only then can we really feel the importance of implementing policies that allow people to communicate in the language in which they feel most comfortable, in the language in which they can best express their ideas. This is very important, and that's why I'm here, trying every second to assimilate that this is a historical process for us as an organisation. María, José, Marina and Carla, can you translate what you say? Thanks.

This podcast discusses the national board certified teacher (NBCT) process. Patrick Noel and Laurie Brady, two recent successful NBCT share their journey and explain the process.

You can find the NBCT standards for PE here:

https://www.nbpts.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ECYA-PE.pdf

And here are some resources to dig through if you're interested

https://www.nbpts.org/certification/candidate-center/first-time-and-returning-candidate-resources/

Here is Patrick’s X account https://x.com/pm_noel?s=21&t=PngTDfH4xi-GvoAjl58XYw