Stephanie Lynn Beni

• Harding-Kuriger, Jodi; Beni, Stephanie Lynn & Lorusso, Jenna R. (2024). Postdoctoral Fellowships in Physical Education and Sport Sciences/Kinesiology: An International Investigation of Structures and Experiences. Quest (National Association for Physical Education in Higher Education). ISSN 0033-6297. doi: 10.1080/00336297.2024.2354765.
• Hordvik, Mats Melvold & Beni, Stephanie Lynn (2024). Signature pedagogies of teacher education in physical education: a scoping review. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. ISSN 1740-8989. doi: 10.1080/17408989.2024.2352829.
• Cardiff, Grace; Beni, Stephanie Lynn; Fletcher, Tim; Bowles, Richard & Chróinín, Déirdre Ní (2023). Learning to facilitate student voice in primary physical education. European Physical Education Review. ISSN 1356-336X. doi: 10.1177/1356336X231209687.
• Beni, Stephanie Lynn; Ní Chróinín, Déirdre; Fletcher, Tim; Bailey, Jo; Cariño Fraisse, Leticia & Down, Marcus [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2023). Teachers’ sensemaking in implementation of Meaningful Physical Education. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. ISSN 1740-8989. doi: 10.1080/17408989.2023.2260388. Show summary

  Background: While PE has arguably changed little since the 1960s, there is a rich history of the development of innovations in PE pedagogy. A key challenge lies in the sustained and broad use of these innovations. Researchers have sought to understand how teachers implement these innovations in their classrooms and the factors that lead to their sustained use. The concept of sensemaking offers an avenue for considering the processes by which teachers make sense of innovations in relation to a broad variety of personal and situational factors, which influence teachers’ conceptualizations and implementation of innovations. Much of the research to date on teachers’ sensemaking has centered on the use of innovations which have been mandated through policy and reforms. However, in this research, we take a different approach by beginning with a group of teachers who have voluntarily adopted the Meaningful PE innovation and integrated it into their regular teaching practice for a sustained period of time. The purpose of this research is to understand how these teachers have made sense of Meaningful PE in their local contexts. Methods: Six teachers from five countries (Cambodia, Canada, China, Vietnam and USA) participated as collaborators in the study. Data collection methods included (a) individual semi-structured interviews with teachers, (b) teacher-generated artifacts (e.g. blogs and social media posts), and (c) analysis of teachers’ local curriculum documents. An inductive thematic analysis of the data was conducted. Findings: Three themes illustrate how each teacher's sensemaking processes influenced their implementation of Meaningful PE, including making sense of Meaningful PE through (a) the attributes of the innovation, (b) teachers’ personal characteristics and beliefs, and (c) local curriculum. Teachers in this study made sense of Meaningful PE through the ways it clearly connected to their beliefs about PE teaching while also helping to resolve ambiguities and uncertainties in their practice. Implementation of Meaningful PE helped teachers bridge the gap between their espoused vision and enacted practice, while supporting more authentic interpretations and implementation of curricular goals and outcomes. Conclusions: This research holds important implications for supporting PE teachers’ sustained professional learning about and implementation of innovative practices in PE. Specifically, the reciprocity between teachers’ interpretations of the innovation and their local curriculum points to (a) the importance of situating innovations within teachers’ local contexts and alongside local policy mandates when presenting them to teachers and (b) the potential for implementation of innovative approaches that deal with the how and why of teachers’ practice to help teachers understand and (re)interpret the what (i.e. mandated content and assessment) of their PE teaching in new ways.

• Cardiff, Grace; Ní Chróinín, Déirdre; Bowles, Richard; Fletcher, Tim & Beni, Stephanie Lynn (2023). ‘Just let them have a say!’ Students’ perspective of student voice pedagogies in primary physical education. Irish Educational Studies. ISSN 0332-3315. doi: 10.1080/03323315.2023.2255987. Show summary

  While student voice pedagogies have been cited as a powerful educational tool in engaging children in the learning process, the perspectives of primary-aged children on using these pedagogies as part of everyday practice need to be considered. Within this research, student voice pedagogies were implemented as part of one teacher’s regular primary physical education (PE) practice and children’s perspectives of these pedagogies were explored. Qualitative data were collected from two consecutive cohorts of children (n = 39) over a 6-month and 9-month period respectively. Data sources included the children’s written entries in their PE scrapbooks, along with transcripts from focus group interviews (n = 4, with 16 total participants) and a teacher-led classroom discussion (n = 1). Findings show that providing children with space to share their input, along with the appropriate information to inform their voices is important to the children. Offering choices and opportunities for the children to direct their learning experiences greatly mattered to how they experienced PE. These findings illustrate the value of student voice pedagogies as everyday practice to the quality of children’s experiences in physical education. The merits of listening to student perspectives on student voice to ensure these pedagogies add value is highlighted.

• da Costa Filho, Roraima Alves; Beni, Stephanie Lynn; Aubin, Anne-Sophie; Iaochite, Roberto Tadeu; Fletcher, Tim & Borges, Cecilia (2022). Types of collaborative continuous professional development in physical education: a dialogue. Movimento. ISSN 0104-754X. 28. doi: 10.22456/1982-8918.127398. Full text in Research Archive
• Beni, Stephanie Lynn; Fletcher, Tim & Ní Chróinín, Déirdre (2022). ‘It's not a linear thing; there are a lot of intersecting circles': Factors influencing teachers' implementation of Meaningful Physical Education. Teaching and Teacher Education : An International Journal of Research and Studies. ISSN 0742-051X. 117. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2022.103806. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The purpose of this research was to examine factors that influenced how 12 elementary teachers implemented the Meaningful Physical Education innovation in their classrooms. Qualitative data were collected over 15 months. Analysis was guided conceptually by factors that influence innovation implementation. Results showed that implementation was most strongly influenced by teachers' prior experiences and beliefs, teachers' perceptions of students’ responses to the implementation process, and external organizational pressures. The longitudinal nature of this research offers an important contribution to the literature on implementation of education innovations.

View all works in Cristin