An Ecological Approach to Sport Achievement

The American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education (AAKPE) and The American Kinesiology Association (AKA) should work together to help kinesiology thrive. Data are provided about kinesiology that reflects its visibility in PubMed and Google. Survey data from AKA show the rapid growth of the undergraduate major and graduate programs. In particular, growth in the undergraduate kinesiology major has reflected students who plan to pursue careers in allied health as well as traditional professions—fitness, teaching, athletic training. AKA and AAKPE can work effectively to help the field thrive given the very positive changes in enrollment as well as the value of regular physical activity in a healthy society.     

Kinesiology’s Tower of Babel: Advancing the Field with Consistent Nomenclature

The knowledge base of kinesiology can be compared to the construction of a fragmented, diffuse tower. Much of the lack of identity and progress of kinesiology as the leader in the study of human physical activity may result from inconsistent nomenclature. Several examples of improper and inconsistent use of kinesiology nomenclature are noted and three solutions are proposed. A call to action for kinesiology organizations, editorial boards of kinesiology journals, and individual scholars on standardizing kinesiology terminology is presented to advance kinesiology knowledge and recognition of the field, and to support integrated, interdisciplinary scholarship.     

Future Trends in the Kinesiology Sciences

ABSTRACT

Kinesiology emerged from its preventative medicine and education roots to establish itself as a recognized field of inquiry with numerous sub-disciplines. This article presents four trends in modern science that will likely influence the future of kinesiology sciences. Will recent increases in greater scientific specialization be overcome by the need for greater integration and collaborative research? Will recent increases in emphasis on “greater impacts” from funded research continue? Will new kinds of review and journals replace traditional emphases on prestigious, peer-reviewed journals? Will advancements in technology increase complexity and integration of kinesiology sciences? With attention to the dangers and opportunities in these four trends, kinesiology faculty are well positioned to increase the visibility and funding of kinesiology sciences.     

The Public Face of Kinesiology in the 21st Century

Recent enrollment growth in kinesiology places it second among academic areas of study in higher education. This article addresses issues that have prompted that growth, will allow it to continue, and examines other likely changes in the field. A major factor in growth has been the value of kinesiology as a major for allied health professional programs such as physical therapy and occupational therapy. In general, this growth is good for the field but creates the need for added faculty and facilities, stressing the capacity of current doctoral programs in kinesiology. Questions also arise about the distribution of undergraduate majors with many more seeking allied health options rather than kinesiology’s traditional fields of fitness leadership and physical education teaching. Other topics addressed include the increasing use of lecturers rather than tenure/tenure-line faculty, large public versus smaller private universities, use of the kinesiology core (American Kinesiology Association), direction of kinesiology research (sport or health related), and the role of kinesiology in public health.     

Clues From Dinosaurs,Mules, and the Bull Snake: Our Field in the 21st Century

Delphine Hanna was a pioneer in both disciplinary scholarship and the establishment of professional programs. In this paper I contend that we must follow her example if we are to survive in the 21st century. In the past half century we have evolved from a profession primarily associated with teaching to a group of subdisciplines and many different professions. We got where we are as we both reacted to criticism and conformed to university concepts of centrality. For optimal development of both the disciplines and professions of kinesiology/physical education, it is suggested that we must become a field that includes both the disciplines and professions. The field should reward the many different roles equally in the pursuit of its common goals. We learn from nature and history that working together is critical for survival. By working together, we can make kinesiology/physical education the renaissance field of the 21st century.     

Knowledge and Kinesiology

Epistemology, or ways of knowing, can be used (a) to show that kinesiology employs different but complementary methods for gaining knowledge and that each method has a role to play in kinesiology, and (b) to show how epistemology can be used to organize an introductory kinesiology course or textbook. The epistemologies used to organize the subdisciplines are rationalism, empiricism, science, and subjectivism. An epistemic approach to a foundations course or textbook allows one to answer questions in the subdisciplines regarding how knowledge is evaluated, how knowledge develops, what method should be used to develop knowledge, and how knowledge can best be taught. The goal is to enable students to understand an increasingly diverse field by literally charting how methods of knowledge creation relate to the subdisciplines that compose kinesiology.     

Diversifying Kinesiology: Untapped Potential of Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Increasing the involvement of African Americans in the field of kinesiology has been an ever present issue. While many colleges and universities are making attempts to diversify their undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty, many are finding this a difficult task due to the lack of minority undergraduate kinesiology majors pursuing advanced degrees. There is a body of evidence that suggests that kinesiology programs should find ways to recruit African American students to undergraduate and graduate programs as a basis for diversifying the field. The three related problems discussed in this article are: (a) how to attract quality African American physical education teacher education students to the field of kinesiology; (b) how to identify African American students with the potential to thrive in graduate level coursework; and (c) how to recruit exceptional African American students to participate in professional organizations, such as the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education (NAKHE). Ultimately, I provide suggestions for recruiting African Americans to the field of kinesiology and ideas for involving them professionally in NAKHE.     

The Toughest Teaching: Capturing Attention,Sketching Pictures,and Touching Humanity

Storytelling is fundamental to human nature. and one of the most powerful of all binding forces. In today's world, there are too many stories. It is difticultto get people to pay attention to what you have to say. Any organization must expend considerable effort to identify the story they have to tell and then communicate that tale with one voice. A key element of the story is differentiating yourself from everyone else. To be successful, organizations must incorporate three key elements: They must capture attention, sketch pictures, and touch humanity. It is also important to recognize when outside opinion can help define the message. In higher education, the future environment holds promise for departments such as kinesiology and physical education, provided individuals in these areas are successful in exploring mergers, seeking strategic partnerships, investing in technology, controlling costs, and improving their product by adding value.     

Pedagogy,Sport Pedagogy,and the Field of Kinesiology

The term pedagogy has become ubiquitous in the field of kinesiology, and sport pedagogy is now firmly established as a credible academic subdiscipline. Notwithstanding the fact that our European colleagues had been using the terms pedagogy and sport pedagogy for many years (see Crum, 1986; Haag, 2005), the English-speaking world of kinesiology has only relatively recently embraced the terms. Increased use, however, does not necessarily equate with coherent or shared understandings of what the terms mean. Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to do some “languaging” (Kirk, 1991; Postman, 1989) to shed some light on the meanings of pedagogy and sport pedagogy and in so doing perhaps stimulate further consideration of their use in kinesiology. I will argue for a notion of pedagogy that is generative in enabling us to think about the process of knowledge production and reproduction across the many subdisciplines of kinesiology, including, but not limited to, sport pedagogy. Finally I will consider the notion of pedagogical work as providing a useful concept for analyzing the contribution of sport pedagogy to understandings related to how we come to know about physical activity, the body, and health.     

Achieving Inclusive Excellence in Kinesiology: Insights,Strategies, and Perspectives

ABSTRACT

Inclusive Excellence (IE) serves as the central topic of the 28th annual Delphine Hanna Commemorative Lecture. Moreover, the professional accomplishments of Delphine Hanna, a kinesiology trailblazer, are explored. I present the concept of Inclusive Excellence and articulate its applicability to academic leadership in the field of kinesiology. Particularly, I provide a definition of Inclusive Excellence, guiding principles, an overview of the history of Inclusive Excellence, and examples of promising strategic practices. Lastly, I present a case-study outlining Auburn University’s integration of Inclusive Excellence principles and implementation of practices. Recommendations for the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education (NAKHE) organization are presented.     

Culture,Kinesiology, and the Free Society

In Notes Towards the Definition of Culture, T.S. Eliot asked whether culture should be understood as “essentially, the incarnation (so to speak) of the religion of a people.” By “incarnation,” Eliot meant that “what we believe is not merely what we formulate and subscribe to, but that behavior is also belief.” It is, Eliot insisted, our actions, and not merely our ideas, which matter. Together, our actions and our ideas embody and then give life to culture. “Religion” is, no doubt, a contested term. For present purposes, all that needs to be conceded to make Eliot’s point worth pursuing is that every culture has some conception of the good, the true, and the beautiful, which it promotes, encourages, and thereby cultivates. What implications does this have for kinesiology? I will examine three points. First, the discipline of kinesiology cannot be abstracted from the culture in which it finds itself, without becoming an anti-culture. This fact means that kinesiology must necessarily attend to the ways in which physical activity is embedded in the historical, anthropological, sociological, and philosophical foundations of society. Second, kinesiology contributes to the cultivation or brutalization of society. This results from the attention paid (or not paid) to the question of truth in the field. Such attention to truth requires recognition of the epistemological limits of science as well as to the importance of free-will, choice, and example. Finally, kinesiologists must be willing to cultivate and defend intellectual freedom as part of a free society. A free society allows for a diversity of opinions, not as end in itself, but as the vehicle by which fallible human beings approach the truth.     

Narratives,Identity, and Transformation

In attempt to honor the legacy of Dudley Allen Sargent and address our current concerns in kinesiology in a transformative manner, this article examines both our collective and individual narratives with respect to kinesiology and examines how this relates to our identity. In the language of anthropologist Clifford Geertz, we need to examine the kind of stories we tell about ourselves and the kind of stories others tell about us. I contend that we need to not only share our own individual and collective narratives but also make space to listen to the narratives of others.     

God,Sport Philosophy,Kinesiology: A MacIntyrean Examination

Sport philosophy is in crisis. This subdiscipline of kinesiology garners little to no respect and few tenure track lines in kinesiology departments. Why is this the case? Why isn’t philosophy held in greater esteem? Is it possible that philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre’s (2009) diagnosis found in “God, Philosophy, Universities” could actually be fruitfully applied to kinesiology? MacIntyre argued that philosophy’s fall from grace parallels the decline of theology in universities. This is the case for two simple reasons. First, philosophy was traditionally charged with giving an account of how the different disciplines fit together on the presumption that an orderly account of the universe could be given. However, the imperative for, as well the intelligibility of, such an account is hard to defend absent God. Second, without God, it becomes very difficult to argue that the philosophic enterprise is fundamentally human. Instead, philosophy becomes an esoteric enterprise meant for specialists. If this is right, then the sanitization of God from the modern university can also explain the plight of sport philosophy. To put it simply, theology must be taken seriously if philosophy is to be taken seriously. God must be admissible in the classroom. This does not mean that students should be catechized, but rather it is to insist that scholars must acknowledge (rather than hide from or dismiss) the legitimacy of theological questions.     

Thinking Pluralistically: Dynamic Decision Making in Kinesiology

In this age of postmodern supercomplexity, universities face increased demands from many precincts in our society to respond to such issues as broader access, graduation rates, costs, and relevance, to name just a few. The cultivation of professional conditions that will help higher education and its kinesiology professoriate to not only to survive, but flourish, in an age of supercomplexity is a necessary adaptation for the future. No obvious single, coherent moral framework exists to use as a guide for today’s (and tomorrow’s) faculty. This article argues, then, for a pluralistic way of thinking by applying reason to the diverse moral frameworks in kinesiology in higher education. The purpose of this article is to explicate a moral positioning in kinesiology based on this pluralistic approach so that decision making can extend beyond the current boundaries of pragmatic thought, now prevalent in higher education. Specific examples of this approach and some accompanying strategies are offered.     

Accreditation in Kinesiology: The Process,Criticism and Controversy,and the Future

The question of accreditation has been quite controversial in higher education. Some consider accreditation as a necessary “evil” while others reject it outright. It is a process designed to promote quality assurance and improvement in institutions and programs, yet one mired in various issues. While accreditation is controversial in a number of respects, the major focus of accrediting bodies should be the review of applied professional programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels that are grounded in professional standards and licensure. Basic science programs such as movement, exercise, and sport science should be excluded from accreditation review and subject only to external review by experts within the field of kinesiology. Furthermore, amongst other factors, the association of kinesiology programs with agencies that promote the accreditation of programs that lack professional standards, certifi cation, or licensure should be rejected. Accreditation is here to stay, but how well it serves the academy remains debatable.     

Kinesiology Faculty Citations Across Academic Rank

Citations to research reports are used as a measure for the influence of a scholar’s research line when seeking promotion, grants, and awards. The current study documented the distributions of citations to kinesiology scholars of various academic ranks. Google Scholar Citations was searched for user profiles using five research interest areas related to kinesiology. Total Google Scholar Citations, rank, and country were collected for 741 scholars from 68 countries. Citation data for all ranks had large positive skews and wide variation, so percentile data were reported for scholars from four English-speaking countries with large numbers of Google Scholar Citations profiles (n = 233). There was a significant difference in the distribution of citations across the top three academic ranks. The current data provide confirmatory information on kinesiology scholar research influence from English-speaking countries, which can be used to supplement peer-evaluation of the research reports themselves.     

A Kinesiology Conundrum: Physical Activity Requirements in Kinesiology Degree Programs

One of the most long-standing controversies in kinesiology has been that of physical activity requirements (PARs) in corresponding degree programs. Despite a recommendation from the American Kinesiology Association to include “the practice of physical activity” in undergraduate kinesiology degree programs, some programs have PARs, while others do not. The question still remains: should physical activity be required for all kinesiology students? In this article, we build a case for PARs in kinesiology degree programs. First, we highlight the most common theoretical and practical objections to such requirements. The theoretical objections are namely dualism, materialism, and utilitarian pragmatism; the practical objections are cost, the credit crunch, and public perception. Second, and most importantly, we describe why these theoretical and practical objections fail. As unapologetic partisans on this issue, our primary aim is to highlight why PARs belong in every kinesiology degree program, regardless of concentration or area of emphasis.     

Narrative Research Methodologies: Learning Lessons From Disabilities Research

Presenting research well with regard to persons with disabilities is as important as conducting research well. Disembodied, technical writing does not accurately represent the dramas of athletes, fans, and people who are trying to exist in damaged or violated bodies. Our stories are left incomplete if we omit the metaphoric and symbolic codes we use in narrating our subjective and personal realities. We invite kinesiology scholars to present the fragmented stories that abound in sport and physical activity through narrative research: realist tales, autoethnographies, poetry, fictional representations, and ethnodrama. We present examples and explanations of a variety of narratives that attempt to draw the reader into the subjective experience of others. They conclude that professionals in the sub-disciplines can learn lessons from disabilities researchers. They also posit that narratives provide avenues for multiple realities to be shared, people who would most likely never read social or behavioral research in kinesiology can be introduced to other ways of being in the world, and students who are interested in sport and physical activity can become better professionals.     

Leadership and Ambiguity: When Policy,Politics, and Truth Collide

This article discusses the need for chairs to recognize the changing and interconnected nature of postmodern times by engaging with policy makers, politics, and coalitions in this age of supercomplexity. Chairing a kinesiology department is a rewarding and complex position fraught with uncertainty; nevertheless, tolerating and planning for ambiguity and conflict can lead to creative solutions and a more cohesive workgroup. This discussion is designed to make department chairs aware of the problems related to ambiguity in government and business and their impact on university policies, as well as the importance of politics and coalitions to strengthen programs so that valuable resources for the department can be obtained. Solutions are discussed to dealing with conflict and uncertainty with colleagues and constituents to strengthen the bonds of loyalty and trust by attending to human problems caused by stress and frustration.