early years SIG - 3 hours

June 7 - 6 am MDT

The Early Years Special Interest Group will be hosting a preconference session in which we would like to learn from each other. Our aspiration is to publish our discussions from the preconference(with all contributors named) similar, to how we discussed, wrote together, and published following the 2018 Edinburgh EY SIG. One of our key research recommendations from our 10-country analysis of national physical activity policies and practices was to learn from each other to improve young children's physical activity and play. We also recommended that we would research how children can play to be inspired, motivated and competent to have a physically active daily life as well as enjoy moving.

Therefore, we intend to follow our own research recommendations within Banff AIESEP 2021, and we will be focusing on a global curriculum analysis, to allow us to share and examine individual country's national policy and practice and to compare the place for physical activity and physical play in early years curriculum and settings. If you wish to contribute to the discussions, contact Kristy via email at kristy.howells@canterbury.ac.uk for the questions for the country analysis.

Please do not feel you have to contribute if you do not wish to, we would more than welcome you joining us.

Early Career Network Workshop - 75 minutes

June 7 - 9 am MDT: Developing a Collaborative Network

Presenters: Ann MacPhail, Erin Gerlach, Deniz Hunuk, Shane Pill, Kevin Richards and Tristan Wallhead

As scholars move through phases of their career, they often develop a network of collaborators who have shared interests and offer a complimentary set of skills and knowledge to move the line of inquiry forward. Many early career scholars are moving from their doctoral programs and into a new institution and searching to develop a collaborative network. AIESEP conferences provides an opportunity to meet and initiate conversations with an international network of scholars. In this workshop, ECN attendees will have an opportunity to discuss with a variety of international scholars potential strategies they have used to initiate and sustain a productive collaborative network.

Meaningful pE- An Approach for Teaching and Learning - 3 hours

June 7 - 1 pm MDT

Organizers: Tim Fletcher, Déirdre NiChroinin & Stephanie Beni

Prioritising the idea of meaningfulness positions movement as a primary way to enrich the quality of young people’s lives, shifting the focus of physical education programs to better suit the needs of contemporary young learners and resist the utilitarian health-oriented views of physical education that currently predominate in many schools and policy documents. In this pre-conference we briefly articulate the main rationale for prioritising meaningful experiences identifying potential and desired outcomes for participants. The bulk of the session involves practicing teachers and teacher educators showcasing their experiences of engaging with and/or implementing ideas and distinct characteristics of the Meaningful PE approach. We also identify several new possibilities for practice and research, including implementation in the early years and youth sport settings. The session will consist of small and large group presentation formats, and many opportunities for small and large group discussion.

teaching games for understanding - full day

June 7 - 6:30 am to 1:45 pm MDT

Organizers: Don Vinson & Linda Griffin

On behalf of the organizing committee of TGfU2022, we are delighted to invite abstracts of contributions to be presented at the pre-conference virtual symposium to be held on the 7^th June 2021 in association with the International Association for Physical Education in Higher Education (AIESEP). The pre-conference virtual symposium offers you the opportunity either to showcase a snapshot of the research you will present at the main event in July 2022, or to share something entirely different – it is completely up to you! The pre-conference virtual symposium features a range of sessions including panel discussions, expert Q&A, workshops, quick-fire presentations, video library submissions, collaborative discussions and a Town Hall Meeting. Download the TGfU Pre-Conference program here.

Please email tgfu@worc.ac.uk for more information.