Welcome to another edition of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education. Those that visit the Taylor & Francis website regularly will have noticed that we have activated a rolling on-line publication of manuscripts that complete the review and type-setting processes. This means that authors no longer have to wait for their manuscript to be released through an allocated print edition of the journal, but that their work can be accessed and disseminated in a much more timely fashion. Indeed, this edition brings together the first batch of papers that were originally released through the on-line publication provision. Beyond that point of connection, this collection of papers traverses a range of topics broadly inter-related through sociological lenses across health, sport and physical education.
The opening paper by Michael Guard and Eimear Enright provides a thoughtful critique of digital learning resources in the area of nutrition. As is the case with wider rhetorical claims about the potential of enhanced learning opportunities through digital resources, the actual outcomes of such engagement are often less convincing. Focusing on three examples of digital food education Guard and Enright conclude that while the potential for digital technologies to offer learners enhance insights and conceptualisations about nutrition, the resources in focus do little more than rehearse the existing educational paradigm that privileges the science of nutrition. The second paper, by John Williams, presents a challenging account of the lack of practical engagement with Indigenous knowledge and culture within HPE. Using the concept of figurational sociology Williams describes how European ways of being and knowing continue to dominate HPE in Australia and how the convergence of associated power relations marginalise cultural alternatives. Williams’ research challenges PE teachers to be more purposeful in the translation of the espoused curriculum aspiration for culturally inclusivity into practice.
The third paper in the collection, by Alison Wrench and Robyn Garrett, reports on an investigation into the utility of Health and Physical Education in the Australian Curriculum. Of concern to them here is the seeming lack of recognition of social class and context in the overall learning framework that is presented across the curriculum. To counter this shortcoming they draw on Nancy Fraser’s conceptualisations of ‘justice’ to enable a practitioner-led intervention designed to better accommodate the needs of learners in a low socio-economic context. Their insights are instructive around the need for any curriculum to accommodate the array of needs of different learners. The next paper, by Stephanie Jong and Murray Drummond, discusses the very topical issue of young people’s engagement with social networking sites. The irrefutable warrant for their investigation lies in recognition that young people are the highest users of social networkers’ sites, with young females being at the pointy end of this profile. Acknowledging the emphasis that the new Australian HPE Curriculum places on the importance of positive self-esteem and self-image, Jong and Drummond’s study raises concerns about the potential for young people’s social networking practices to directly undermine this agenda. Rather than ignore this influence as some sort of extraneous noise they challenge HPE professionals to recognise and engage it in the active pursuit of a strength-based learning framework.
In the final paper Mark Brooke discusses the implications of an ageing population in a time of neo-liberal politics and rising health costs. While this analysis is located in the context of Singapore it speaks to a wider international phenomena and the implications of ageing populations for many societies. Using a Foucauldian framework he critiques emerging discourses of ageing against the neo-liberal constructions of the productive citizen and governing the self. Through the lenses of government policy and the media Brooke critiques the implications for health workers around the rapidly emerging discourses of active and productive ageing. While the focus is on ageing populations, it has significant implications for those charged with preparing people who are increasingly likely to become part of an expanding aged generation.
The papers presented in this edition cover a broad range of topics, theories and practices, across a range of arenas relevant to the professions of health, sport and physical education. Happy reading.