Dr. Mike Jess is a Senior Lecturer in Physical Education at the University of Edinburgh. In this blog, he describes how he has come to realise his vision (in collaboration with colleagues at Edinburgh and beyond) to develop an international community for primary physical education – this is Global Moves.
Follow us on Twitter @GlobalMovesPE
Introduction
Four years ago, a teacher attending one of our professional learning courses challenged us to create a website that would help support primary physical education. Since then, as a group of teacher educators, we have grappled to come up with the best way to connect primary physical education across the world. Global Moves is the outcome.
Global Moves: The Vision
Global Moves is based on a vision for primary physical education as a holistic educational learning experience for all children. Primary physical education seeks to connect children’s lives and helps set a foundation for their lifelong and life-wide involvement in physical activity. However, primary physical education is a complex learning experience.
- Primary physical education is not just about physical exercise for health: but that’s part of it!!
- Primary physical education is not just about sport: but that’s part of it!!
- Primary physical education is not just about having fun by yourself or with friends: but that’s part of it!!
Learning in primary physical education is not an easy option: it is about ‘real learning’ involving a complex mix of the physical, cognitive, social and emotional.
Developing primary physical education to set a positive foundation for the future is a complex, collaborative and ongoing task: it can’t be left to chance.
Global Moves is our way of contributing to the future of primary physical education as a gateway to children’s lifelong and life-wide participation in physical activity.
Who is Global Moves for?
Global Moves is for everyone with an interest in the development of primary physical education. We believe that everyone has a role to play in putting primary physical education at the heart of children’s learning. This includes the following:
- The Children who take part in physical education
- Parents, carers, grandparents and siblings who support children’s physical education, sport and physical activity
- Teachers and early years practitioners who support children’s physical education learning
- Coaches who support physical education, sport and physical activity in school and the community
- Head teachers/principals and senior leaders who create the local culture to develop primary physical education
- Community practitioners/coaches and clubs who teach and support children’s life-wide physical education outside school
- Teacher educators and professional development providers who support the professional learning of all those involved in the development of primary physical education
- Academics and researchers who create new ways to thinking about and investigate primary physical education
- National governing bodies who support large scale national and local developments in children’s physical education, sport and physical activity
- Policy Makers who design the education policies to frame the primary physical education curriculum
Global Moves seeks to connect everyone with an interest in children’s physical education.
Global Moves: Making the Connections
Over the next two years, the first phase of the Global Moves project focuses on the different ways to connect as many people as possible. We already have a presence on twitter (@GlobalMovesPE) and, over the next two years, will share ideas about primary physical education in the following ways
- Blogs, vlogs, podcasts and webinars
- The Global Moves Website (to launch in 2021)
- Professional development courses
- Publications: academic, research and professional
- Collaborations and consultancies
Global Moves is not a ‘quick fix’ but part of the long term journey to put primary physical education at the heart of primary schools across the world. Please work with us on this journey.
Great blog with some really interesting articles/ideas and perspectives on Primary PE. Particularly enjoyed the blog on Lesson Study As it resonates with some of the work I’ve been doing with my primary colleagues. Looking forward to the website. That’s my reading For the summer sorted!