Understanding (and extending) the conceptual boundaries of policy research in physical education: A scoping review

Abstract

Given limited investigation into the state and status of physical education policy research internationally, we suggest there is a need for a more comprehensive empirical review of physical education policy research internationally to inform a future research agenda. The purpose of this scoping review is to map the international peer-reviewed empirical literature detailing policy research in school-based physical education between 2010 and 2020 to understand and make recommendations for extension, where appropriate, of the conceptual boundaries of how to ‘do’ policy research in this field. We followed a three-phase approach to the scoping review: (i) identifying relevant sources; (ii) charting of sources; and (iii) reporting the findings from the charting of sources. Results were interpreted through two theoretical lenses: (a) Rizvi and Lingard's (2010) framework of policy issues and questions and (b) Diem et al.’s (2014) traditional and critical approaches to educational policy research. Findings are discussed in relation to the charting categories which included: journal; year; affiliations; country of work; funding acknowledgements; research question; policy definition; policy issues; and traditional and/or critical research. We hope this research can be useful to those looking to enter the physical education policy research space, as it introduces them to the research landscape, and to those already engaged in this space looking to fill gaps in the literature.