Physical education (PE) in countries around the world fails to meet the needs of many children, in part because dominant models have not yielded optimal conditions for PE teachers. These shortfalls are attributable in part, to outdated school structures that encourage one-size-fits-all models of education. In the United States, for example, the industrial age school promotes a standardized model of education that meets some students' needs, fails others, and has a negligible effect on many more (Lawson, in press).
In light of these persisting structures and with the needs of particular sub-populations of young people and their teachers, Drucker’s (2008) generative question is timely. If we had not inherited PE in the way that we see it today in our host nation, would we do it the same way?
There is another stimulus for redesign. The rise of alternative models of schooling constructed to meet contemporary learners’ needs in countries around the world (Lawson & van Veen, 2016) suggests it is time for PE leaders to consider redesign alongside the continuous improvement of effective programs.
Firmly grounded in the assumption that some PE services need to be reimagined to meet the needs of today’s youth, this two-part symposium embraces appreciative inquiry (Enright et al., 2014) to envision favorable futures for PE. Contributors from seven countries (i.e., Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, and the United States) respond to twin questions: What is going on in the name of PE’s redesign in your country? And what is needed to move redesign forward?
Authors consider these questions from three perspectives: (a) school PE, (b) PE teacher education, and (c) relations between the two. The symposium will conclude with a discussion of similarities and differences in these redesign agendas, also offering recommendations for future research, practice, and action within the PE community.
• Innovative perspectives on physical education, physical activity, health and wellbeing a
