Theme
Fostering Learner Agency in Physical Education and/or Sport towards the Enhancement of Well-being
Speaker
Hung-Ying Lee
Department of Physical Education and Kinesiology, National Dong Hwa University Assistant Professor
Affiliation and Position：
Department of Physical Education and Kinesiology,National Dong Hwa University Assistant Professor
Academic Background：
Dr. Hung-Ying Lee is an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Education and Kinesiology at National Dong Hwa University. He holds a Ph.D. and a Master's degree from the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at National Taiwan Normal University. His research focuses on physical education curriculum and instruction, and teacher education. In recent years, he has dedicated his research to exploring the relationship between technology and physical education, as well as students and teachers' knowledge structures and perspectives. Additionally, he currently serves as a reviewer for several SSCI/SCIE journals.
Field of Expertise：
Sport Pedagogy
Physical Education Teacher Education
Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge
Design Thinking
Conceptions of Learning
Major Publication：
Lee, H.-Y., Daum, D., & Chang, C.-W. (2025). TPACK as a strategy when physical education teachers face technostress. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 96(7), 35-39
Lee, H.-Y., Wu, C.-L., & Chang, C.-W. (2025). Navigating the technological landscape: A framework for understanding barriers to technology integration in physical education. Quarterly of Chinese Physical Education, 39(3), 1-115.
Lee, H.-Y., & Chung, C.-Y. (2025). Physical education pre-service teachers as design thinkers: Exploring the role of divergent and convergent thinking and TPACK. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 55, 101698.
Lee, H.-Y., & Lin, C.-P. (2025). A survey of trends and future research topics in sport pedagogy. Quarterly of Chinese Physical Education, 39(2), 115-133.
Wu, C.-L., Chang, C.-W., & Lee, H.-Y. (2024). Effects of augmented reality implementation in university dance courses on students' dance learning motivation and performance. Physical Education Journal, 57(1), 375-391.
Ge, W., Lee, H.-Y., & Chung, C.-Y. (2023). Developing pre-service teachers’ practical knowledge through formative interventions. Journal of Education for Teaching, 49(3), 384-400. From Skill Tests to Seeing the Body Anew: Cultivating Learner Agency
Through Taiwanese Students' Conceptions of Learning Physical Education
Abstract
Introduction: Fostering learner agency is crucial for enhancing student well-being and promoting lifelong engagement in physical activity. However, to cultivate agency, we must first understand students' own conceptions of learning. This mixed-methods study addresses this imperative by investigating the "Conceptions of Learning Physical Education" (CoLPE) among Taiwanese high school students. It moves beyond simply identifying these conceptions to explore how they interrelate, arguing that this integrated understanding is the foundation upon which true learner agency is built. Methods: This study employed a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design. The initial qualitative phase involved individual semi-structured interviews with a purposively sampled cohort of 45 high school students from four diverse regions of Taiwan. A rigorous phenomenographic analysis of the transcripts identified qualitatively distinct categories of CoLPE. In the subsequent quantitative phase, these categories were used to develop a survey administered to a larger sample of 2,212 Taiwanese high school students. The relationships between the identified learning conceptions were then statistically analyzed using correlation coefficient to determine their degree of association. Results: The phenomenographic analysis revealed seven distinct but interconnected categories of CoLPE: (a) Skill Testing, (b) Motor Skills Acquisition, (c) Engaging Physical Activity, (d) Increasing Knowledge, (e) Integrating Knowledge into Action, (f) Embodied Practice, and (g) Seeing the “Body” in a New Way. Crucially, the quantitative analysis revealed strong, statistically significant positive correlations among all seven categories. This indicates that students do not hold these conceptions in isolation; rather, they form a complex, integrated, and holistic understanding of learning in physical education. A student who values skill acquisition, for example, is also highly likely to value the integration of knowledge and the transformative potential of PE. Conclusion: This study reveals that Taiwanese high school students hold a multifaceted and highly integrated understanding of learning in PE. The strong correlations among all seven categories call for an equally holistic pedagogical approach. To effectively foster learner agency and well-being, educators must design programs that honor this interconnected perspective, simultaneously addressing skill, knowledge, and embodiment.
Speaker
Hyunwoo Jung
Seoul National University, Associate Professor
Affiliation and Position：
Seoul National University, Associate Professor
Academic Background：
Ph.D in University of Bedfordshire (UK), Sport Pedagogy and Policy
M.S. in Seoul National University, Physical Education
B.S. in Seoul National University, Physical Education
Field of Expertise：
Sport Pedagogy and Curriculum Development, PE and Youth Sport Policy, Sport Professional Education
Major Publication：
Lee, H. & Jung, H. (2025): Evolving discourses on student-athlete policies in South Korea: a genealogical analysis, Sport, Education and Society, DOI: 10.1080/13573322.2025.2451801.
Yoon, K., Park, S. & Jung, H. (2024). What makes teachers’ professional earning more or less effect? : An evolution of community of practice for physical education teachers. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education. 43(3), 37-386.
Jung. H. (2023). 2022 revised physical education curriculum from the perspective of sports policy: Focusing on the content system. Korean Journal of Sport Pedagogy, 30(1), 1-20.
Park, S. & Jung, H. (2023). Bridging the Gap: Integrating Theory and Practice for Early Childhood Physical Education Teacher Education in Korea. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914397.
Jung H., Pope, S., & Kirk, D. (2016). Policy for physical education and school sport in England, 2003–2010: vested interests and dominant discourses. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 21(5), 501-56.
Jung, H. & Choi, E. (2016). The importance of indirect teaching behavior(ITB) and its educational effects in physical education. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 21(2), 121-136.
Policy to Pedagogy:
Reimagining School Physical Education in Korea
Abstract
Over the past two decades, school physical education (PE) in South Korea has shifted from a curriculum-based subject to a national policy platform addressing a wide range of social issues. Positioned as a response to concerns about student health, school violence, athlete rights, and lifelong sports participation, PE has been continually reshaped by competing discourses of health, citizenship, performance, and rights. Constructed through political contingencies and amplified by media attention, these discourses have raised the visibility of PE but also widened the gap between policy intentions and pedagogical realities.
Drawing on discourse analysis of government policy documents and related texts, this keynote traces the evolution of Korean school PE across three phases. The Introduction Period (2000–2010) was driven by crises surrounding student-athlete welfare and public health, which justified unprecedented national intervention. The Diffusion Period (2011–2020) marked the large-scale implementation of initiatives such as school sport clubs, national leagues, and annual fitness testing. The Transformation Period (2021–present), accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, consolidated a surveillance-oriented model in which health risks and fitness assessments became dominant policy priorities.
While these reforms expanded opportunities for student participation, they also generated unintended consequences. Policies were often reactive and politically motivated, resulting in fragmented implementation, teacher fatigue, and the marginalisation of inclusive, student-centred pedagogy. Consequently, PE has too often been reduced to a regulatory tool rather than a space for holistic learning and development.
This keynote argues that the future of school PE depends on moving from policy-driven control to pedagogy-driven development. Reimagining PE requires embedding teacher expertise in policy design, strengthening elementary PE through adequate resources, addressing inequalities in access and participation, and fostering collaborative governance across education, health, and sport sectors. By bridging policy and pedagogy, school PE in Korea can reclaim its educational purpose, enrich students’ learning experiences, and cultivate lifelong engagement in physical activity.
Speaker
Tomoyasu Kondoh
Nippon Sport Science University
Affiliation and Position：
Nippon Sport Science University Director, President’s Office
Dean, Graduate School of Education
Professor, Faculty of Childhood Sport Education
Academic Background：
I’m a professor in the Faculty of Childhood Sport Education at Nippon Sport Science University. I earned my first Master’s degree from the Graduate School of Education at Aichi University of Education, followed by a second Master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the Doctoral Program in Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences at the Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba.
My research interests include physical education curriculum development, teaching material analysis, and comparative curriculum studies. From 2002 to 2004, I studied sport pedagogy at the University of Hamburg in Germany to gather materials for my doctoral thesis. From 2017 to 2019, I served as an academic expert for the OECD Education 2030 Project, focusing on health and physical education. I also contributed to the development of Japan’s 2018 National High School Curriculum for Physical Education.
Field of Expertise：
Pedagogy in Physical Education・Analysis of Teaching Materials・Comparative Curriculum Studies
Major Publication：
・Morita,S. Takeuchi,T. Ito,M. Tobe,H. Kondoh,T (2024) Changes in the Knowledge of Physical Activity and Health Among the 6th Grade of Elementary School Children in Programs Linking Physical Education and Health Education Classes: Quantitative Text Analysis of Free Descriptions Using Text Mining. Japanese Journal of Sport Education Studies. 44(2). 17-31.
・Kasai,Rie. Ito,M. Kasai,Rit. Kondoh,T (2024) Creating the “Expressive Instructional Contents List” and “Expressive Instructional Language Table” in expressive dance and their utilization in the analysis of Expressive Rhythm Play lessons at the lower grades of elementary school. Japan Journal for the Pedagogy of Physical Education. 40(2). 29-45.
・Ito,M. Okumura,T. Okade,Y. Kondoh,T (2022) Divergent and Convergent Thinking in Flag Football Strategy Planning for Fourth Grade Students. Japanese Journal of Sport Education Studies. 42(2). 53-69.
Policy to Pedagogy:
An Overview of Fostering Student Agency in Physical Education Classes in Japan and Its Position within the National Curriculum
Abstract
In this presentation, I will discuss the OECD Education 2030 project, Japan’s national physical education (PE) curriculum, current PE classes, and future prospects.
The OECD Education 2030 is an international initiative that began in 2015, and its Learning Compass, released in 2019, has gained wide recognition in Japan. This framework places well-being at the center of educational goals and encourages each student to use the compass to navigate their own future. One of its key concepts is "student agency", which the OECD defines as follows:
The concept of student agency, as understood in the context of the OECD Learning Compass 2030, is rooted in the principle that students have the ability and the will to positively influence their own lives and the world around them. Student agency is thus defined as the capacity to set a goal, reflect and act responsibly to effect change.
Japan’s national PE curriculum was revised around the same time the OECD project was launched; however, the OECD’s ideas are not directly reflected in the curriculum. Nevertheless, both frameworks share common goals—namely, fostering student autonomy and cultivating the qualities and abilities necessary for students to shape their own futures.
Currently in Japan, the focus is on improving classes through " Realization of proactive, interactive, and authentic learning" aiming to develop students’ knowledge, skills, thinking, and attitudes. In PE classes, problem-solving approaches are encouraged, with a focus on students setting learning goals and reflecting on their progress.
However, I feel that there is a slight difference in the understanding of student agency between the OECD and Japan. In particular, I believe there is a difference in the interpretation of “Responsibility”.
At present, revisions to the next PE national curriculum are underway. In implementing the development of qualities and abilities and learner-centered problem-solving learning, we face issues such as curriculum overload in school settings. Additionally, challenges related to teachers’ competencies and students’ engagement in learning persist. I hope to explore these points further in my keynote speech.
Moderator
Sotaro Honda
University of Teacher Education Fukuoka