A critical analysis process–bridging the theory to practice gap in senior secondary school physical education

Abstract

Many contemporary international physical education curriculum documents have a sociocultural and critical orientation, which promotes the implementation of a critical pedagogy. Aotearoa New Zealand is no exception. This paper reflects our ongoing efforts to address, from a practical pedagogic perspective, the implementation of a sociocritical curriculum and articulation of critical pedagogy in senior secondary school physical education. We draw attention to the challenging nature of articulating critical pedagogical theory in school practice. We identify the understanding and interrelationship of social construction, multiple perspectives, and hegemony as key aspects in the teaching and learning process that support the development of student teachers’ criticality and in turn their ability to critically analyse. We present these concepts as part of a Critical Analysis Process, a model that is designed to facilitate questioning by student teachers of their own status quo beliefs and practices. It is a model that is a work in progress.