A Review of Research on Sport-Based Physical Education

The purpose of this presentation is to examine the historical methods of teaching games and sports within physical education, and following this critique, to discuss the shift in thinking towards game play focused physical education. The paper then will examine what Ennis (2014) calls “second generation” of models that build on strong statements of democratic, student-centred practice in physical education. Focus will be placed upon some prominent models that use student centred approaches in teaching sport within physical education, and examine their philosophical basis, essential elements, and provide brief summary of the research that has been conducted on each one. The final sections of the paper will focus on promoting quality in research on student-centred sport models, addressing issues such as asking “good” questions, using appropriate research designs, demonstrating fidelity, and selecting meaningful dependent variables. The presentation concludes with a recommendation that future research on games models takes a more interpretative approach, focusing on internal pedagogical practices of sport within physical education rather than a “versus” approach that compares one model with another.​