Jonny Allen

The use of external providers to deliver primary school physical education (PE) shows no signs of slowing in England. Longstanding concerns into outsourcing primary school PE have highlighted the extent to which external providers often lack appropriate teaching qualifications and pedagogical knowledge. That said, when compared to primary school generalist teachers, external providers have been argued to be the ‘best fit’ to deliver primary school PE due to their greater knowledge base and experience of delivering curriculum activities, such as competitive team games. There is a paucity of research however surrounding external providers’ perspectives on their delivery of primary school PE, with their important insights and experiences underrepresented in the literature. This study, therefore, seeks to explore external providers’ perspectives and reflections on curriculum, pedagogy and assessment practices as delivered by them in outsourced primary school PE lessons. Semi-structured interviews were conducted over the telephone and Skype (video call) with 10 external providers, from four different outsourcing companies in the North of England. Penney et al.’s (2009, Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment: Three message systems of schooling and dimensions of quality physical education. Sport, Education and Society, 14(4), 421–442) three message systems of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment were used as a theoretical lens that aided the analysis of the data. The findings demonstrate that external providers: (1) developed and followed their own curriculum frameworks formed by their outsourcing companies to deliver in schools; (2) utilised various student-centred pedagogical approaches to deliver curriculum content that was driven by their formal and informal educational experiences to engage young people and (3) unlike some of the literature suggests, they provided assessment practices that were integrated into their curriculum frameworks. It was concluded that careful consideration must be taken by schools when contemplating whether to employ (or not) external providers to provide their curriculum content, deliver their primary school PE lessons, and to assess their pupils.

This scoping review brings together, for the first time, research spanning five decades focusing on Muslim students’ experiences of physical education (PE). In taking stock of this work, it advances knowledge by mapping how understandings of the relationship between religion and PE have developed, whilst identifying new avenues of inquiry. Therefore, this scoping review is a useful resource for pedagogues and other stakeholders to reflect on current PE policy and practice to ensure they are best serving their Muslim students’ needs. Two questions are addressed: ‘How has research developed understandings regarding Muslim students’ experiences of PE?’ and ‘What lessons can be learnt to support more inclusive experiences for Muslim students?’ A six-stage methodological approach was utilised: (1) identifying research question(s); (2) searching for studies; (3) selection; (4) charting data; (5) summarising results; and (6) expert consultation. A systematic literature search using key words (Islam, Muslim, Physical Education) identified 141 outputs. Using inclusion/exclusion criteria, 47 remained. The findings offer (a) a summary of the characteristics of the work reviewed, including growth of the field, research location, contexts, participants and methodological issues, and (b) a critical commentary, identifying a preoccupation with particular identities, the significance of acknowledging heterogeneity, and the problematic positioning of Muslim students. The paper concludes with some future research recommendations, including the need for research exploring Muslim boys' and young men's experiences, adopting alternative theoretical approaches, exploring different contexts and re-orientating how research is undertaken ‘with’ young people.

Undertaking intersectional research in sport and physical activity is necessarily complex. This paper offers a collaborative self-study (Ovens & Fletcher, Citation2014) of the authors' collective fieldwork experiences of conducting intersectional research at the post-graduate/early career research (ECR) stage in sport and physical activity. The authors' reflections are grounded in personal and theoretical insights, consisting of data from multiple sources including: (1) authors' field notes and reflective journal entries; and (2) collaborative meetings between authors' who acted as critical friends during these discussions. Data were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis method (Braun & Clarke, Citation2024). The paper presents a creative nonfiction account that reflects the methodological complexities encountered by the authors' during their intersectional research. Three prominent themes were generated from data analysis: (1) research reality; (2) space and place; and (3) emotion. We conclude by offering some recommendations and opportunities for future intersectional research in sport and physical activity.