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Developing a Culture of Care within Primary Physical Education in Higher Education

Pearson, Julie Caroline (2019) Developing a Culture of Care within Primary Physical Education in Higher Education. Doctoral thesis, York St John University.

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Abstract

This thesis constitutes an explanation for how a reconceptualization of primary physical education (PPE) as a practice of care might contribute to human flourishing and well-being. The research is presented as an account of what worked for me, as a teacher educator, as I investigated and theorised my PPE practice in higher education (HE) and in primary schools. In doing so, I aimed to generate understanding of new or improved processes that might encourage trainee and qualified teachers to become more confident and competent in their teaching of PPE, alongside greater understanding about what the concept `care’ means and how it is practised.

The thesis contains a narrative of personal and collaborative learning throughout three interconnected action research cycles. The guiding principles of action research, which seek to generate knowledge through collaborative research for personal and social improvement, provided the necessary means to realise my educational values of care, inclusion and emancipation in action and the development of caring relationships. Each cycle explores the emergence of a more humanistic-orientated practice as I moved from a conceptual form of caring about standards of teaching and people’s performance within PPE, towards a more inclusive, trusting and communal practice that values the process of learning and encourages people to care with one another.

The research presents the possibility for practitioners to critique their own practice to allow personal and professional tensions to emerge and be negotiated and tested, demanding appropriate and contextualised choices to be made in regard to the well-being of self and others. It also offers potential connections between personal values and research-based curriculum aims and purposes which may contribute to new forms of thinking among those teaching PPE, Higher Education personnel and policy makers, so a caring practice as a basis for social action for emancipatory change may develop.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Status: Published
Subjects: L Education > L Education (General)
School/Department: School of Education, Language and Psychology
URI: https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/4137

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