Pedagogical principles that support the prioritisation of meaningful experiences in physical education: conceptual and practical considerations

Background An emphasis on meaningfulness may facilitate the types of experiences that are more likely to lead children towards a commitment to physical activity participation in ways that enrich the quality of their lives. While several authors have highlighted the importance of prioritising meaningfulness, direction is lacking on how teachers can consistently and intentionally foster meaningful experiences for pupils in physical education. Purpose Our purpose in this paper is to draw on conceptual understandings of meaningful experiences to propose a coherent set of pedagogical principles that can support teachers in making decisions that facilitate meaningful experiences for pupils. Pedagogical Principles Interrogation of the concepts meaningful experiences provides two preliminary pedagogical principles for teaching for meaningfulness. First, the personal nature of identifying experiences as meaningful indicates the value of adopting democratic approaches that allow for ownership and individualisation of experience. Democratic principles include teachers fostering inclusive environments and helping pupils actively make authentic connections between their lived experiences inside and outside of their classroom and communities. Second, the introspective and retrospective characteristics of meaningful experiences points to the central role of reflection. Reflective principles capture the continuity of experience (past-present-future) to help pupils look back and generate awareness of what makes an experience meaningful while also moving toward future meaningful experiences. These principles also provide insight into ideas and actions that do not represent an approach where personal meaningfulness is prioritised. Conclusions Reflective and democratic pedagogical principles provide concept-based practical direction for teachers in facilitating meaningful experiences for pupils in physical education and for future research on meaningfulness in physical education.