In this episode, host Risto Marttinen (George Mason University) is joined by Dr. Ben Williams (University of Melbourne) and Dr. Trent D. Brown (Deakin University) for a wide-ranging conversation about associational life in health and physical education.

The discussion centers on Ben and Trent’s recently published article in Sport, Education and Society, where they use a collaborative autobiographical narrative inquiry to explore how academic careers become knotted with professional associations, service expectations, institutional reward systems, and broader changes in higher education.

Together, we unpack:

What professional associations used to mean—and how that has changed

The shifting ethic of service in health and physical education

Declining membership, rising costs, and questions of value

The tension between associations as communities and associations as organizations

How service work is (and is not) recognized by universities

Issues of privilege, access, time, and representation in associational leadership

Why many scholars stay involved—and why others quietly step away

This episode will resonate with physical education teacher educators, sport pedagogy scholars, and higher education faculty who are navigating service expectations while trying to sustain meaningful professional engagement.

Rather than offering simple solutions, the conversation invites listeners to reflect on a central question:

What do we want professional associations in health and physical education to be—for us and for the next generation of scholars and teachers?

Featured Article

Williams, B., & Brown, T. D. (2025). Academic and associational life in Australian health and physical education: A collaborative autobiographical narrative inquiry of/as knotting. Sport, Education and Society.

https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2025.2566239

Guests

Dr. Ben Williams – University of Melbourne

Dr. Trent D. Brown – Deakin University

Host

Dr. Risto Marttinen – George Mason University

In this episode Robin Fjellner & Dean Barker talk about pedagogical models in PE along with Dr. Lars Bjørke who is an associate professor at University of Inland Norway. They start by mentioning how they got to know models and then go into different aspects such as how models may be used and what models become relevant from a didaktik perspective.

A truly Scandinavian analysis of models!

Jamie Brunsdon’s “Towards the Virtuous Mover: A Neo-Aristotelian Interpretation of Physical Education” argues that physical education should be grounded in virtue ethics, viewing movement as a means to develop moral character rather than just physical skill. He critiques current approaches that treat character as a byproduct of sport and focus too heavily on performance virtues like discipline or competitiveness. Instead, he proposes the ideal of the “virtuous mover” — someone who learns through movement to cultivate wisdom, moral virtue, and lifelong human flourishing.

The Aussie Book Club takes this article on in an engaging discussion.

Today we’re diving into an article from Studying Teacher Education titled “Changing Roles, Changing Clothes: Navigating the Thresholds and Crossing Boundaries into Academic Leadership.”

It’s written by Kevin Patton; Maura Coulter and Chris North who are all here today…today we’ll explore what it feels like to step across the line—from being a physical education teacher educator into becoming an academic leader

Full article:

Patton, K., Coulter, M., & North, C. (2025). Changing Roles, Changing Clothes: Navigating the Thresholds and Crossing Boundaries into Academic Leadership. Studying Teacher Education, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/17425964.2025.2577622

Guest Bios

• Kevin Patton is a professor and chair of kinesiology at CSU Chico, with nearly two decades in PETE and research focused on teacher learning and program leadership.

• Maura Coulter serves as Associate Dean for Research at DCU’s Faculty of Education, with a long career in primary PETE and scholarship on reflective practice and professional growth.

• Chris North is Deputy Head of School at the University of Canterbury, specializing in outdoor and environmental education and collaborative teacher education research.

Dr. Santiago tested over 400 in-service PE teachers and found an average score of 54.3% on the Health-Related Fitness Knowledge test — essentially an “F” by grading standards. The article, “Physical Education Teachers’ Common Content Knowledge of Health-Related Fitness,” was published in the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education a few weeks ago, and Jose Santiago comes on the explain the results.

If you want the fitness test he has validated you can email him [email protected] Here is a link to the paper

https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2024-0465

Santiago, J. A., Morrow, J. R., Jr., Morales, J., Muñoz, M., & Kim, M. (2025). Physical Education Teachers’ Common Content Knowledge of Health-Related Fitness. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2024-0465

Author bios:

• Dr. José A. Santiago is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Sam Houston State University. His research focuses on teacher knowledge of health-related fitness.

• Dr. James R. Morrow Jr. is a professor emeritus at the University of North Texas, a leading scholar in physical fitness assessment and measurement.(Retired)

• Dr. Julio Morales is an associate professor at Lamar University, specializing in motor behavior and assessment, and measurement. (Retired)

• Dr. Mario Muñoz is an assistant professor at Sam Houston State University, specializing in physical activity and youth fitness.

• Dr. Minhyun Kim is an associate professor at Sam Houston State University, focusing on adapted physical activity/education and teacher professional development.

This is the audio from the November 2025 AIESEP Connect covering the GO PE! and GoPA! Country Cards

https://www.globalphysicaleducationobservatory.com

https://new.globalphysicalactivityobservatory.com/countrycards/

https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jpah/22/11/article-p1337.xml

www.aiesep.org

The guest this week is Dr. Vicky Randall. She has published two books recently and we discuss one of them titled: Professional Knowledge and Primary Physical Education

Link to the book: https://www.routledge.com/Professional-Knowledge-in-Primary-Physical-Education/Randall/p/book/9781032696300

Vicky Randall on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/vrandallpe/?originalSubdomain=uk

Contemporary Issues in Primary Physical Education

https://www.routledge.com/Contemporary-Issues-in-Primary-Physical-Education/Griggs-Randall/p/book/9781032753966

In this episode, we explore the transformative potential of the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model in advancing social justice through physical education. Drawing on the work of Don Hellison and the TPSR Alliance, Dr. Michael Hemphill and Dr. Paul Wright reflect on decades of scholarship and practice that center youth development in underserved communities.

Here is the link to the 4th edition of the book we discussed:

https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Personal-Responsibility-Physical-Activity/dp/1718211953

Here is the program Michael discussed in Canada

https://www.growingyoungmovers.com/

A link to the TPSR Alliance

https://www.tpsralliance.org/

Full Cite of the article:

Hemphill, M. A., & Wright, P. M. (2025). Contribution of TPSR scholarship and practice to social justice. Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, 16(3), 296–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/25742981.2025.2556274

This is the audio from the October 2025 – #AIESEPConnect #CoffeeWithColleagues Contemporary Issues in Primary / Elementary Physical Education with Gerald Griggs, Grace Cardiff, and Vicky Randall. It is co-hosted by Maura Coulter and Kristy Howells

You can watch the video version here

• https://youtu.be/9jGCu7meqRU

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I joined the Aussie Book Club this month, and our discussion was surrounding Mikael Quennerstedt's 2019 Article:

Quennerstedt (2019). Physical education and the art of teaching: transformative learning and teaching in physical education and sports pedagogy, Sport, Education and Society, 24:6, 611-623.