Editorial note

Abstract

As we compile this edition of the Journal, it seems that the work of researchers is gaining a new found respect in society. Whereas climate change deniers and the likes have been quick to trivialise or dismiss research-based arguments, 2020 may well be remembered as a time when research re-emerged as a dominant story. The effort to defend populations against the COVID-19 virus has amplified the significant (otherwise hidden) research that immunologists, biochemists, microbiologists, epidemiologists and virologists perform in the interest of population safety and security. Of course the work of social scientists has enourmous relevance here too, as we look to understand and manage the personal and interpersonal implications of the pandemic on our well-being and ways of life. To be sure, countries that appear to have taken their lead from scientific reason present as having managed the crisis best. And when this pandemic is finally over, the world will look to understand the etiology of the COVID-19 virus, in relation to the sequence of events that gave rise to its origin and what might have been done differently to better manage its spread and impact. In the spirit of a mixed methods retrospective case study, the orientation of this research will disect the past to better predict and manage the future. For educational researchers this undertaking will have a familiarity. As educational social science researchers we frequently look to better understand the impact of particular phemonena (events, incursions and interventions) through experiencial and/or outcomes-based lenses. In this collection, we present a range of research papers that report on phenomena connected to the provision of health and phyiscal education, and their relationship to curriculum. While these research reports may not carry the profile of pandemic related research, they too look toward building better futures for populations, while enhancing the lived experiences of individuals. The opening paper by Tinning invites the HPE profession to consider what role they might play in the negative experiences of people who identify as ‘fat’. Drawing on the biographical accounts of authors Roxanne Gay and Cat Pausé, Tinning raises awareness of dominant ideologies that propagate widespread societal fat phobia, and their implications for individuals who classify this way. Through his account of these authors’ experiences with schooling, the media and the wider fitness industry, Tinning challenges PE teachers to critically interrogate the inequities embedded in their own teaching theories and practices. Tinning’s analysis ushers in the need for the development of the principles of fat pedagogy to guide a more inclusive HPE. In the following paper Ní Chróinín and colleagues report on a self-study research project they undertook with five PETE professionals. At the centre of this was the development of a strategy they called photocue, which served as a repository for photographs, reflective writings and other artefacts gathered to promote reflective analysis. Guided by an interest in using critical reflection to enhance their professional practice, the paper reports on the particular value that photos have in invoking the lived experience to facilitate the reflective process. Importantly, it is also noted that the participatory practices embedded in the methodology were generative in nurturing personal and professional growth through a rich level of sharing and communication. In the third paper Hastie and colleagues report on a study undertaken to explore the utility of the sports club dimension of the Sport Education model with university students in China.