The University of Limerick, Ireland is represented on the AIESEP Board of Directors by Ann MacPhail who is an institutional board member. The Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Limerick houses a Sport Pedagogy group who undertake four main areas of research.
(1) Physical Education Curriculum
At a national level, UL continues to be central to the construction, development, upskilling and research related to school physical education curriculum and assessment. This includes funded opportunities such as working with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment on the introduction of an app in the teaching of SCPE, leading the development of planning materials for the delivery of the Leaving Certificate PE topics, and responsibility for upskilling teachers on senior cycle PE framework pedagogies. Conceptualising examinable physical education and more specifically the role of assessment in the new Leaving Certificate in Physical Education is a continuing line of more recent research. Consultancy work has included chairing the Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle Framework PE Committee, designing the senior cycle PE framework, and establishing professional learning communities for teachers.
(2) Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE)
The publication record of the sport pedagogy group related to this theme is outstanding and has an international impact. Research has been done on teacher educators’ roles and professional identity, professional learning needs of physical education teacher educators, professional partnerships for teacher learning, teacher educators’ research lives, teacher educators’ professional learning through communities of practice, and to explore sustained professional learning.
(3) Movement, Play and Co-curricular Sport
This area is about learning and teaching through movement, play, co-curricular sport and adapted physical activity, concerned with sport pedagogy beyond the physical education setting. Research in this area harnesses the power of effective pedagogy to facilitate learning in and through movement. This includes school, community and additional settings that might help in the development of positive attitudes towards lifetime physical activities. Research under this theme includes the study of physically active teaching/learning, play-based learning and effective coaching.
(4) Effective pedagogies for teaching and learning
Research on curriculum models, assessment for learning, learning in physical education and learning to teach in PETE has been central to PESS sport pedagogy. Given the new educational scenario brought about by the COVID19 pandemic, digital technology to optimize student (online) learning and teachers (online) teaching in schools and third level, has captured the focus of this theme, including digital technology for teaching and learning in physical education and PETE.
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