Social Pedagogy in Physical Education

This is the first book to examine social pedagogy within the context of physical education, enabling more inclusive, and meaningful educational experiences for all students. It introduces the key concepts of social pedagogy and outlines practical strategies for implementing social pedagogy in physical education.

Written by a team of leading international scholars and practitioners, this book assesses the research base for social pedagogy and explores how social pedagogy can be embedded in the physical education curriculum, in teaching and in assessment. Every chapter includes vignettes from both school and after‑school contexts and features a practitioner voice, from a teacher or a community member. This book also looks at social pedagogy in the context of key themes across physical education, from digital assessment methods and systems thinking, to models‑based approaches and physical education teacher education. As the chapters of this book unfold, the reader gets to know how to apply social pedagogy as a framework for physical education, choose strategies to enable human‑centred practice, and use assessment to align the curriculum with social pedagogy principles.

This book makes a major contribution to our understanding of teaching and learning within physical education as processes of interacting for a good life though communication, connection, contribution, and creation. Concise, practical, and full of real‑world examples, this is essential reading for any student, pre‑service and in‑service physical education teacher, or coach working with children or young people across various educational levels and country contexts.