Since a critical turn was embarked on two decades ago, research into sports coaching has increased in quality and quantity [see Jones, R. L. (2019). "Studies in sports coaching." Cambridge Scholars Publishing]. Despite such welcome advances, the essence or heart of the activity remains contested terrain [Abraham, A., & Collins, D.…

This study investigates 10th-grade students' experiences with physical education (PE) units informed by a pedagogical model called the practising model (PM). We apply a theoretical framework that integrates core concepts from phenomenology with empirical investigations of experience by focusing on structures of human existence, such as embodiment,…

Even though qualitative research methods are considered important and have become more commonplace in research related to the sport sciences, there is little insight into the efforts made by sport science students to learn qualitative research methods. In this article, the authors use a course on qualitative methods inspired by a phenomenological…

The purpose of this position paper is to promote the interest, usefulness and specificity of a coherent system that is based on psychophenomenology as a theoretical framework [Vermersch, P. (2012). "Explicitation et phénoménologie." Paris: PUF], and the explicitation interview [Vermersch, P. (2009). Describing the practice of…

The focus of this study was to understand undergraduate students' experiences of gymnastics and dance education within the scrutiny of modular learning in Higher Education. A phenomenological position was adopted in order to understand the wholeness of students' experiences whereby identities are constituted through their lived lives. This allowed…

Since Heidegger's influential text; "Being and time" (1927/2005), the phenomenological question of what it means to "be" has generated a vast body of work. This paper reports data from a phenomenological study that investigated what it means to "be" a youth performance coach. An overview of the interpretive…

While not wishing to cover old ground in articulating the promise or continued promise of phenomenology within the physical education and sports domains, this paper aims to explore the "human" nature of the game-centred approach (GCA) from an existential-phenomenological perspective. In a recent review of literature on the current state…

Bodily knowledge has attracted significant attention within the humanities and other related fields over the last two decades. Although theoretical discussion on bodily knowledge in the context of physical education has been active over the past 10 years, these discussions lack clear conceptual analyses of bodily knowledge. Using a…

Research that focuses on the lived meaning of specific phenomena with pedagogical significance in physical education is very limited. Moreover, the relevant literature concerns studies that explore the lived meaning of specific physical education phenomena, instead of approaching the physical education lesson as a totality that comes into…

We write as critical theorists, who consider that in terms of scoping out robust conceptual elaborations which are suitable for contemporary schooling, that physical education has ground to make up connecting theory with practice and practice with theory. We advocate that aspects of existentialism and phenomenology can provide a theoretically…

This paper demonstrates the value of researching the emic perceptions expressed by participants of sport for development and peace (SDP) programs about their program. An Israeli SDP program was chosen which addresses Arab children's educational needs through sport. Ten semi-structured interviews were held with participants: two Jewish male…

Worldwide, sport and physical activity rates of women generally lag behind those of men. One reason for this could be the way that sport cultures typically frame and value competition. This study provides an examination of the meaning and impact of "competition" on the sport participation experiences of men and women. Using…

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the provision of formal coach education. However, research has repeatedly demonstrated how coach education has had a limited impact on the learning and development of coach practitioners. To date however, these investigations have avoided female coach populations. Ten women football coaches…

The bulk of interest in the role that interaction plays in learning in sport and physical education (PE) has focused on peer interaction at the expense of teacher-student interaction. This article redresses this imbalance in the literature by reporting on a study that inquired into the nature of teacher-student interaction and its effect on…

Coaching in the participation domain is the act of coaching participants that are less intensely engaged in sport than performance orientated athletes. This form of coaching is a popular activity occurring in community settings such as schools or sport clubs, and it is often undertaken with a broad range of social and health outcomes in mind. The…