Models-based Practice: A Sustainable Future for School Physical Education

This lecture builds on the collaborative work with Professor Ash Casey (Loughborough University) on the use of pedagogical models (such as sport education and teaching games for understanding) as a basis for programming of school physical education. The lecture will explain the concept of Models-based Practice (MbP) highlighting specifically two contrasting theories of curriculum innovation, characterised as ‘implementation theory’ and ‘enactment theory’, and how each relates to a perennial challenge to curriculum innovation in schools. The lecture will consider the time-space matrix of the school, expressed through the timetable and the classroom, as a constraining force on curriculum innovation, and how physical educators might argue for new, future time-space configurations for teaching and learning.

Join Prof David Kirk on 9 October 2025 to find out more.