Pages: 16

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 12

This chapter sets the stage for our collaborative efforts to reimagine Health and Physical Education (HPE) in two primary schools in New Zealand. It begins with an overview of the various conditions that influence education in general and HPE in particular. After establishing the context in which HPE operates within primary schools, this chapter details our responses to the inherent challenges. We introduce the EveryBody Counts (EBC) research project, providing a brief introduction to our team, the different phases of our reimagining process, and our collaborative methods in this practitioner action research project.

Pages: 28

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 6

In this chapter, we share how each of four primary school teachers in the EveryBody Counts (EBC) research project responses to the question ‘What does HPE (Health and Physical Education) mean and look like to me currently?’ In sharing their personal understandings, influences, and approaches, it becomes apparent that the teachers’ interpretations of HPE were shaped by multiple factors including personal experiences, initial teacher education, professional development opportunities, and school-wide priorities. This chapter concludes by drawing attention to the need for us to critically reflect on our own beliefs and values regarding HPE, as part of a process of ‘Building knowledge about current practice’ prior to beginning to reimagine HPE practices in primary schools.

Pages: 9

This chapter delves into the intricacies of what Health and Physical Education (HPE) in two New Zealand primary schools looked like during the ‘Building knowledge about current practice’ phase of the EveryBody Counts (EBC) research project. Across the chapter, we present a detailed account of how HPE is integrated during curriculum time but also through school policies, daily messaging, and extracurricular activities. This chapter examines the various forms of HPE experiences, including planned, incidental, and unintended messages. It highlights the challenges faced by educators in implementing a curriculum that meets learners’ needs, constrained by predetermined curricula, competing priorities, and limited resources. Through this examination, this chapter prompts critical reflection on the alignment between curriculum intentions and classroom realities, and the nature of HPE learning in school communities.

Pages: 10

This chapter explores concludes our efforts to ‘Build Knowledge about Current Practice’ Health and Physical Education (HPE) by examining primary school students’ understandings and experiences. Throughout this chapter, we use evidence from interviews and classroom activities with children from four classrooms in two schools in New Zealand to bring students’ view to life. In doing so, we reveal how students predominantly perceive Physical Education as sports-based activities and do not recognise Health Education as a distinct subject. This chapter highlights the binary views students held about being ‘healthy’ (skinny, active, eating vegetables) versus ‘unhealthy’ (fat, lazy, eating junk food), shaped by influences from family, media, and school rules. We conclude this chapter by sharing the impact hearing students’ perspectives had on us personally and professional and how this led to the critical re-examination of HPE.

Pages: 8

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 6

This chapter engages with the ‘Expanding repertoires and reconstructing practice’ phase of our collective work. It charts our immediate and ongoing responses to children’s understandings and experiences in Health and Physical Education (HPE) as revealed through interviews and classroom activities. We describe the processes we engaged in to determine what constitutes important learning in HPE, illustrating how current practices can shape future thought and action. This chapter emphasises the importance of reflecting on our own practices and assumptions, particularly in relation to the influences of public health messages, media, and societal norms on students’ perceptions of health and physical activity. With this as a basis, the second half of the chapter centres on our shared ethos for HPE, encapsulated in the EveryBody Counts (EBC) approach. We conclude this chapter by sharing our discussion on the use of the name HPE in the schools and what this means for what teachers feel they can and can’t do.

Pages: 54

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 12

In this chapter, we share our initial efforts to implement the EveryBody Counts (EBC) philosophy in our primary school classrooms. Specifically, we share the work that was undertaken to establishing a strong class, focusing on building deep, meaningful relationships with and between students. This chapter details various activities and approaches we used to get to know our students beyond academic data, including personalized ‘ME posters’ and multilayered silhouette projects. We also introduce the idea that classroom treaties and behaviour management strategies can be a form of Health Education when the emphasis is placed on interpersonal skills and shared rights and responsibilities. We conclude this chapter by highlighting the significance of knowing students on a deeper level to create inclusive, responsive Health and Physical Education (HPE) practices that cater to the diverse needs of all learners.

Pages: 14

In this chapter, we delve into how our planning for Health and Physical Education (HPE) in our primary school classes changed as we trialled new approaches in line with our EveryBody Counts (EBC) philosophy. Specifically, we reflect on how traditional HPE practices often focused on activities rather than learning and how we shifted our approach to prioritise student-centred learning. We share an example of co-designing curriculum with students, emphasising the importance of planning for learning rather than for activities. This chapter highlights the significance of knowing our students deeply, using flexible and inclusive teaching methods, and continuously adapting our practices to meet the diverse needs of all learners.

Pages: 5

In this chapter, we delve into the concept of inclusion in primary school Health and Physical Education (HPE), as it was experienced in line with an EveryBody Counts (EBC) approach. We specifically focus on the importance of creating an environment where all students, feel valued and able to participate. Through practical examples drawn from our efforts to ‘expand our repertoires and trial of new practices’, we illustrate how we adapted our pedagogical approaches to develop and deliver learning opportunities to meet diverse student needs. Through these examples we hope to underscore how teacher consciousness about their own actions can contribute to HPE in primary schools be an inclusive experience for all learners.

Pages: 10

In this chapter, we explore how the use of a thought experiment in the form of a robot from another plant, helped foster critical thinking for students in a primary school class about what is to be human and ‘healthy’. Specifically, we share the way the use of critical pedagogies in our primary schools helped us work with their students to safely help them question their assumptions and consider diverse perspectives beyond their ingrained health messages. We provide this example whilst acknowledging the importance of knowing your learners and their worlds, to ensure that the use of critical pedagogies are used with sensitivity and do not create conditions where students could feel positioned as good or bad people.

Pages: 9

In this chapter, we explore how teachers can navigate and reimagine traditional school-wide activities often framed in relation to Health and Physical Education (HPE) to better meet the diverse needs of their students. We provide examples of how school-wide activities, such as cross-country and athletics, or an externally provided health programme can be modified to make learning more explicit and aligned with the educational goals of the class, inclusive, and engaging. In sharing our exploitation of the ‘wiggle room’, we provide practical examples of how we questioned and reshaped these activities. In reimagining these activities as part of the EveryBody Counts (EBC) project, we specifically highlight the importance of teacher agency, creativity, and the support of school leadership in fostering meaningful change in HPE practices.

Pages: 24

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 12

In this chapter, we examine the impact of the EveryBody Counts (EBC) approach to Health and Physical Education (HPE) on children’s learning from a broad perspective. We highlight students’ own reflections and our observations of student progress throughout the year. These were drawn from our analysis of children’s learning conversations, reflections, interviews conducted in the project’s second year, and feedback from other school staff and family members. Across the chapter, we provide examples of how EBC impacted on students’ confidence, engagement, interpersonal skills, and their sense of belonging in class. We conclude the chapter by sharing our own insights, acknowledging that we learnt as much from the process as the students did.

Pages: 10

This chapter examines the impact of the EveryBody Counts (EBC) approach on our teaching practices, detailing how we navigated change and the challenges of sustaining these changes within the primary school context. Despite the ongoing battle to do Health and Physical Education (HPE) differently, we frame our experiences with optimism and hope. We share key learnings to support other generalist primary teachers in reimagining their own HPE practices and conclude this chapter with a set of questions designed to help schools initiate conversations about reimagining their HPE programmes in their own context.