Scholarship Reconceptualized: The Connectedness of Kinesiology

Abstract

The twin premises of this paper were clearly articulated by Ernest Boyer in Scholarship Reconsidered (1990). Boyer asserted that the “connectedness” of scholarship is the quality that makes it “authentic” (p. 19). Furthermore, he suggested that it is the responsibility of the university to “help students better understand the interdependent nature of our world” (p. 77). The implementation of these principles in kinesiology entails a reconceptualization of cumculurn structure, scholarship, and professional preparation. At one level this paper is an examination of how the curriculum and scholarship might be structured to promote connectedness within the university. The other purpose of this paper is to extrapolate the nature of the interdependence of kinesiology and society through an analysis of the professional challenges that await our graduates beyond the walls of the academy.