Research Overview

There are six objectives for the current phase of the Meaningful PE research project, which we envision will take us through to 2027:

  1. Identify, provide direct support for, and collaborate with a sample of “champion teachers” of Meaningful PE (i.e. exemplars of Meaningful PE practice) in Canada, Ireland, and Brazil who will contribute to an online international expert practitioner panel and work with a small group of colleagues in a professional learning community (PLC) to support knowledge generation and implementation strategies of Meaningful PE across time.  
  2. Examine teachers’ experiences of implementing Meaningful PE in their PE classes across time and in different cultural contexts.  
  3. Examine students’ experiences of learning through Meaningful PE in their PE classes across time and in different cultural contexts.
  4. Study PLC processes from the perspectives of champion teachers and PLC members to identify sustainable ways of supporting teachers in learning to teach Meaningful PE.
  5. Use teachers’ and students’ perspectives to refine key pedagogical principles of implementing the Meaningful PE approach across time and with cultural sensitivity.
  6. Share teachers’ and students’ insights on Meaningful PE (including key principles, case studies, and exemplar videos) with a global audience at https://meaningfulpe.wordpress.com

Our research team believes that programs tailored to personal meaning-making in physical activity offer the type of radical shift that is required to address the main problems in contemporary PE programs (Armour & Harris, 2013). The attention we pay to personally and intrinsically meaningful experiences is supported by evidence that individuals are more likely to commit to a physically active lifestyle because of the personal meaning found in physical activity experiences that are satisfying, challenging, social, and/or fun rather than extrinsic motivational factors (Ryan, et al., 1997; Teixeira, et al., 2012).

What distinguishes our conceptualization of pedagogies geared toward meaningful experiences from general descriptions of “good” PE teaching and teacher education practice is that we position personally meaningful physical activity participation as the main priority or filter for pedagogical decision-making. The MPE approach facilitates how young people set goals and take action in physical activity settings to align with meanings that are both personal and intrinsic. We will develop a set of evidence-based pedagogies that support how PE teachers foster physical activity experiences that are personally meaningful for children and youth.

We would like to acknowledge the following sources of support for the LAMPE research project:

2022-2027: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; Insight Grant; Champions for Meaningful Physical Education; Tim Fletcher, Doug Gleddie, Cecilia Borges & Déirdre Ní Chróinín; $293 412 (CDN).

2020-2023: European Union; Erasmus+ Small Collaborative Partnerships; Meaningfulness in youth sport. Déirdre Ní Chróinín, Richard Bowles, Nicola Carse, Paul McMillan, Biljana Popeska, Tim Fletcher, Mats Hordvik, & Bård Solstad. €52 780

2022: Match of Minds Grant; Brock University; Meaningful Physical Education; Kristen Gross; $5000 (CDN)

2018-2020 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; Insight and Development Grant; Meaningful Physical Education: Testing a Model for Teaching and Learning; Tim Fletcher, Déirdre Ní Chróinín, & Doug Gleddie; $57119 (CDN)

2017-2018 Teaching Council of Ireland; Pedagogies of meaningful participation in primary PE; Déirdre Ní Chróinín, Ciara Griffin, Tim Fletcher, & Stephanie Beni; €3300

2015-2017 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; Insight and Development Grant; Learning to Teach and Coach for Meaning; Tim Fletcher, Déirdre Ní Chróinín, & Mary O’Sullivan; $58653 (CDN)

2015 Irish Research Council New Foundations Award; Pedagogies of Meaning-Making in PE; Déirdre Ní Chróinín; €4730

2018 Match of Minds Grant; Brock University; Meaningful Physical Education; Adam Carter; $5000 (CDN)

2018 Brock SSHRC Institutional Grant; Brock University; Developing a pedagogical approach for meaningful physical education; Tim Fletcher & Déirdre Ní Chróinín; $2283 (CDN)

2014-2016 Departmental Assistantship; Department of Arts Education and Physical Education, Mary Immaculate College; Pedagogical Approaches to Meaning-Making in Primary Physical Education; Ciara Griffin; €13800 + fee waiver for two years

2015 Match of Minds Grant; Brock University; Meaning-Making Pedagogies in Physical Education and Youth Sport; Stephanie Beni; $3852 (CDN)

2014 Institutional Research Networking Grant; Mary Immaculate College; M2-PETE Approach, Development and Dissemination Activities; Déirdre Ní Chróinín; €1990

2014 Brock SSHRC Institutional Grant; Brock University; Meaning-Making Pedagogies for Physical Education and Youth Sport; Tim Fletcher; $2580 (CDN)