Co-creating a preparatory policy engagement programme for quality physical education

Quality physical education (PE) develops healthy, active, and engaged citizens who form the basis of sustainable development. However, quality PE provision is in decline globally.

Suboptimal policies and policy implementation have been identified as key factors in that decline due to physical educators lack of preparation for policy engagement.

In response, this fellowship will address the need to build PE stakeholders capacity to engage in policy efforts by: (a) identifying key facilitators, barriers, and content in the development of policy capacity; (b) translating complicated policy processes into practical policy lessons; and (c) developing a preparatory policy engagement programme for quality PE (PEP-4-QPE) that is evidence-based, internationally-applicable, and available as an Open Educational Resource.

To do so, this research engages international PE stakeholders (i.e., teachers, teacher educators, policymakers, professional development providers, professional association directors) in co-design, co-creation, and co-assessment citizen science via the methods of a modified e-Delphi approach, participatory research, and case study.

The potential scientific, economic, and societal impacts of the proposed research are aligned with contemporary European and global development agendas, including that of UNESCO, the European Commission, and the WHO, who have recently outlined that investment in quality PE is a low-cost/high-impact action and that, at present, there is critical need to prioritize attention to, and action on, PE policy to improve quality provision.

In addition to various advanced research and transferrable skills, this fellowships research and training components draw on and contribute to the disciplines of PE, education, and policy studies to enhance my multi-disciplinary and intersectoral career prospects and employability as a faculty member or policy leader in a European university or non-academic organization, respectively.