The purpose of this research is to review the literature about young people's meaningful experiences in physical education and youth sport. We reviewed 50 empirical peer-reviewed articles published in English since 1987. Five themes were identified as central influences to young people's meaningful experiences in physical education and sport:…

The Finnish education system has received worldwide attention due to the top academic performance of Finnish school students. Physical education, as an integral part of the Finnish education curriculum, potentially contributes to the overall success. The purpose of this article is to summarize Finnish physical education reform during the past…

One theme in discussing physical activity and stress is the relationship between emotional arousal and motor performance. Different research models have produced converging evidence for the notion that motor performance relates to a state of optimal arousal. Themes emerging from the literature and recommendations for future consideration are…

Future investigations of motor expertise should be closely tied to conceptual developments in the motor control and learning field. Selection of methods for studying motor expertise can be guided by thorough consideration of the philosophical underpinnings of prevailing and emerging approaches. The paper discusses cognitive and ecological…

The paper addresses task presentation as an instructional event that is part of larger curricular concerns, summarizing research from classroom literature on teacher clarity and presenting information from physical education pedagogy research on task presentation. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues in delivering task presentations…

Contributions of motor skill and cognition to sport performance change across age, expertise, and sports. Knowledge and decision making should not limit the development of expertise. Specific strategies for teachers may help students develop expertise. The paper discusses the contribution of knowledge and skill to expertise and its development.…

Research review examines whether student thought processes mediate achievement in physical education. The paper offers the mediating process paradigm to explain unexpected, inconsistent research findings on teaching and describes problems associated with measuring cognitive processes, suggesting they play an active role in student motor skill…

Examines communication and motor skill learning from the perspective of research on teaching. Discusses research design for laboratory motor learning, applied motor learning, physical education teaching, and contributions of each to knowledge of motor skill learning, concluding that teachers are important in structuring and communicating…