The aim of this paper was to gain an understanding of the views of a group
of physical education teacher educators on the purpose(s) of school
physical education and whether, how and why these views have
changed over time. Semi-structured individual interviews were carried
out with thirteen physical education teacher educators; a fourteenth
participant responded to interview questions in writing. Participants
were based in seven countries: Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, New
Zealand, Switzerland and the USA. A relative consensus on the
overarching purpose of physical education was evident, centred on
physical education preparing young people for a lifetime of physical
activity. The framing of this shared purpose differed somewhat between
participants, re