A New Chapter for Primary PE Scholarship
13 October 2025
[Original blog first published September 2024 for PE Scholar]
Short read
No Turning back for Primary Physical Education
If I were writing this blog before 2010, the resources and texts I could share, that support professional practice in primary physical education, would be limited. The subject’s relatively short history as an academic discipline led to only a few specialised texts being available. The revised National Curriculum in 2000 marked a major turning point in the subject’s future trajectory, paving the way for the development and publication of these early key resources to be written, and accessed, by current and aspiring new teachers:
Jim Hall’s (1999) The Primary Physical Education Handbook
Carole Raymond’s (1998) Coordinating Physical Education Across the Primary School
Pauline Welton’s (1997) Physical Education in the Early Years
Anne Williams’ (2000) Primary School Physical Education: Research into Practice
The Rise of Primary Physical Education as a Scholarly Discipline
Over the following decade, primary PE has emerged as a respected discipline in its own right, moving beyond its previous status as a subfield of secondary PE. This period saw the establishment of a credible knowledge base, and witnessed primary PE gaining recognition as a vital component of the wider educational landscape.
As Gerald Griggs highlighted at the launch of our own text, An Introduction to Primary Physical Education (2nd edition, March 2022), a pivotal moment in this evolution was the publication of Teaching Physical Education in the Primary School: A Developmental Approach by Ian Pickup and Lawry Price in 2007. This groundbreaking text set a new standard for subject-specific literature, written by and for primary PE professionals. It not only inspired those of us working in the field but also provided a blueprint for how primary PE could be approached and taught.
Pickup and Price's text further marked a departure from the traditional view of primary PE as a collection of activities. Instead, it introduced a developmental approach, influenced by the earlier work of David Gallahue and John Ozmun in their seminal text Understanding Motor Development: Infants, Children, Adolescents, Adults (now in its 8th edition).
Transforming Primary PE Teacher Education
The impact of Teaching Physical Education in the Primary School extended beyond the classroom, and significantly influenced initial teacher education for primary PE. I was fortunate to work alongside Ian and Lawry at Roehampton University (2009 - 2012) and it was here I really learnt my craft. Importantly I began to fully understand PE through the lens of primary PE, and specifically developmental physical education. The decade that followed saw an explosion of research, pedagogical insights, and leadership in the field. For the first time, primary generalist pre-service teacher education programmes could offer diverse and specialised approaches to teaching PE and a growing number of texts and research papers emerged to develop the professional knowledge and pedagogical practice:
An Introduction to Primary Physical Education. (Griggs, 2012)
Physical Education 5 – 11: A Guide for Teachers (Doherty and Brennan , 2013)
Understanding Primary Physical Education (Griggs, 2015)
Complexity Thinking in Primary PE (Carse, Jess & Keay, 2016-2019)
Routledge Handbook of Primary Physical Education. (Griggs and Petrie, 2017)
Meaningful Physical Education (Beni, Fletcher, & Ní Chróinín, 2017-2024)
The increased interest in primary/ elementary physical education has been matched by a greater volume of research internationally focused specifically on the primary/ elementary context. Research findings have strengthened the evidence base of primary PE in schools, that has been used as a springboard for further theoretical and practical explorations of the subject. Significantly, the Routledge Handbook of Primary Physical Education (Griggs and Petrie, 2018) has defined and situated primary/ elementary PE within the global physical education community. Furthermore specific focused areas, such as physical literacy (Whitehead, 2010); student voice (Cardiff, Ní Chróinín, Bowles, Fletcher and Beni, 2023), complexity (see Carse et al, 2018) and contemporary issues for primary PE practice (see Griggs and Randall, 2025) have motivated scholars to question practice and extend knowledge of primary/ elementary PE further. Expansion of research through praxis has been further evident in blogs, podcasts and social media platforms. Together, these research activities exemplify a now rich and discursive space for scholars, teacher educators and practitioners in primary/elementary PE.
A Growing Body of Knowledge and Collaboration
It is with gratitude to all scholars who have contributed to the growing evidence base, scholarship and academic discourse in primary /elementary PE to date Their tireless work and advocacy has led to primary PE being recognised within the wider field of physical education and with it, the successful formation of a new specialist interest group within AIESEP (the International Association for Physical Education in Higher Education). This SIG represents the next key moment for primary PE and brings it firmly within the academic and scholarly physical education community.
“The mission of the Primary/ Elementary PE-SIG is to create a dedicated space for active networking and scholarly activities by AIESEP members with an interest in issues relating to primary/ elementary physical education”. (The PE-PE SIG Executive, letter of application to AIESEP)
Purposes of the PE-PE SIG:
a. To create a meeting space for AIESEP members interested in primary/ elementary physical education.
b. To generate a network of international scholars in primary/ elementary PE within the AIESEP family.
c. To share research and practice to inspire, support and promote research with a focus on primary/ elementary physical education.
d. To raise the profile of primary/ elementary physical education through sharing activities and collaborating in the field of primary/ elementary physical education.
e. To lead, inform and influence primary/ elementary physical education policy and practice, direction and developments internationally.
f. To facilitate communication and collaboration related to primary/ elementary physical education including collaborative international research projects and opportunities to disseminate at conferences, webinars and a dedicated section on the AIESEP website.
It is with a great deal of pride, passion and commitment to this endeavour that I join the PE-PE SIG as Hon. Secretary, alongside Dr Maura Coulter (Chair) Dr Nicola Carse (Chair Elect) and Dr Grace Cardiff (ECR represenative). It is our aim to support members in achieving the SIG’s goals.
We would love you to join us on this journey.
To find out more about the Primary/Elementary PE SIG, please visit AIESEP.
References
Cardiff, G., Ní Chróinín, D., Bowles, R., Fletcher, T., & Beni, S. (2023). ‘Just let them have a say!’ Students’ perspective of student voice pedagogies in primary physical education. Irish Educational Studies, 42(4), 659–676.
Carse N, Jess M, Keay J (2018) Primary physical education: shifting perspectives to move forwards. European Physical Education Review 27(4): 487–502
Fletcher, T. Ní Chróinín, D., Gleddie, D., & Beni, S (2021) Meaningful Physical Education,: An Approach for Teaching and Learning, London: Routledge
Doherty, J & Brennan, P (2014) Physical Education 5 - 1 1: A Guide for Teachers, London: Routledge
Gallahue, D. L., Goodway, J., & Ozmun, J. C. (2020) Understanding motor development : infants, children, adolescents, adults (8th Edition), Burlington, MA : Jones & Bartlett Learning
Griggs, G (2011) An Introduction to Primary Physical Education, London: Routledge
Griggs, G (2015) Understanding Primary Physical Education, London: Routledge
Griggs, G & Petrie, K (2018) Routledge Handbook of Primary Physical Education, London: Routledge
Griggs, G and Randall, V (2025) Contemporary Issues in Primary Physical Education, London: Routledge
Hall, J (1999) Primary Physical Education Handbook, London: A & C Black
Pickup, I and Price, L (2007) Teaching Physical Education int he Primary School: A Developmental Approach, London: Continuum
Raymond, C (1998) Coordinating Physical Education Across the Primary School, London: Routledge
Welton, P (1997) Physical Education in the Early Years, London: Routledge
Whitehead, M (2021) Physical Literacy: Through the Lifecourse. London: Routledge
Williams, A (2000) Primary School Physical Education: Research into Practice, London: Routledge