Dawn Penney

Dawn Penney is Professor of Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy in the Department of Sport and Leisure Studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of Waikato. Dawn is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Education at the Edith Cowan University, Australia, and Honorary Visiting Fellow in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, UK.

Dawn gained her PhD from the University of Southampton in 1994 and subsequently held research and lecturing positions at Loughborough University (UK), De Montfort University (UK), The University of Queensland, Edith Cowan University and the University of Tasmania before moving to Waikato in 2010.

Dawn is recognised internationally for her work in policy and curriculum development in Health and Physical Education. She has led research projects focusing on national curriculum developments, senior secondary schooling, pedagogy and assessment in physical education, and between 2000 and 2003 co-directed a national monitoring and evaluation of the Specialist Sports Colleges initiative in England. Dawn’s research has sought to facilitate links between research, policy and curriculum development, and professional learning activities, through collaborations with government agencies, curriculum authorities and teachers. Issues of equity and inclusion in physical education and sport remain key agendas in her research.

Dawn's inaugural professorial lecture can be accessed via the iTunesU channel http://itunes.apple.com/institution/university-of-waikato/id408504015

Recent and current research includes:

2008-2010:  3-year Australian Research Council Linkage Project, co-funded by the Curriculum Council for Western Australia. Investigating the Feasibility of Using Digital Representations of Work for Authentic and reliable Performance Assessment in Senior Secondary School Courses. (led by Paul Newhouse and John Williams and including senior researchers Dawn Penney, Cher Ping Lim, Jeremy Pagram, Andrew Jones, Martin Cooper, Alistair Campbell).

2011: Physical Education and Sport in Primary Schools – Funded by Sport and Recreation New Zealand (co-directed with Dr. Clive Pope and including researchers Dr. lisahunter and Dr. Sharon Phillips).

2011-2013: A pedagogical evaluation of the Coach Accelerator Programme (CAP). Funded by Sport and Recreation New Zealand (Co-researcher with Dr. Lynn Kidman, Auckland University of Technology).

Dawn’s publications include Politics, policy and practice in Physical Education (1999, E&FN Spon, an imprint of Routledge); Gender and Physical Education: Contemporary issues and future directions (Routledge, 2002); Sport Education in Physical Education: Research based practice (Routledge, 2005), over 70 refereed papers in journals, over 45 book chapters, 40 non-refereed professional articles, many research reports and conference papers. Examples of past and recent work appear below. Dawn is also a coauthor of senior secondary physical education texts in the UK and Australasia.

Selected publications:

Penney, D. & Chandler, T. (2000). Physical Education: What Future(s)? Sport, Education and Society, 5(1), pp.71-87.

Penney, D., Clarke, G. & Kinchin, G. (2002). Developing Physical Education as a ‘connective specialism’ (Young, 1998): Is Sport Education the answer? Sport, Education and Society, 7(1), pp.55-64.

Penney, D. (2004). Policy tensions being played out in practice. The Specialist Schools initiative in England. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 2(1); Retrievable from http://www.jceps.com/?pageID=article&articleID=26

Penney, D. & Jess, M. (2004). Physical Education and Physically Active Lives: A lifelong approach to curriculum development, Sport, Education and Society, 9(2), pp.269-288.

Alexander, K. & Penney, D. (2005). Teaching under the influence: feeding Games for Understanding into the Sport Education development-refinement cycle. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. 10(3), pp. 287-301.

Kim, J., Penney, D., Cho, M. & Choi, H. (2006). ‘Not business as usual’: Sport Education pedagogy in practice. European Physical Education Review, 12(3), pp.361-379.

Penney, D. & Hay, P. (2008). Inclusivity and Senior Physical Education. Insights from Queensland and Western Australia. Sport, Education and Society, 13(4), pp.431-452.

Penney, D., Brooker, R., Hay, P. & Gillespie, L. (2009). Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment: Three message systems of schooling and dimensions of quality physical education.  Sport, Education and Society, 14(4), pp.421-442.

Hay, P. & Penney, D. (2009). Conditions for assessment efficacy in physical education. European Physical Education Review,15(3), pp.389-405.

Penney, D. (2010). Physical Education in Australia: A defining time? Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Education,1(1), pp.5-12.

Penney, D. (2010). Recent research into the value of quality physical education and school sport. Resource produced for the Activate your School website (ACHPER Victoria, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victoria and School Sport Victoria: http://www.activate.vic.edu.au/__files/f/1253/Value%20of%20a%20quality%20PE%20program.pdf

Penney, D., Gillespie, L., Jones, A., Newhouse, P. & Cambell, A. (2011). Assessment in Senior Secondary Physical Education. Questions of Judgement. In G. Dodd (Ed.). Edited Proceedings of the 27^th ACHPER International Conference (pp. 103-110). Adelaide, S.A.:ACHPER. http://www.achper.org.au/conferences-events/2011-conference-proceedings

Swabey, K. & Penney, D. (2011). Using discursive strategies, playing policy games and shaping the future of physical education. Sport, Education and Society, 16(1), pp.67-87.

Since 1998 Dawn has been book reviews editor and an Editorial Board member for Sport Education and Society. She is also Editorial Board member forPhysical Education and Sport Pedagogy and the Asia-Pacific Journal of Sport, Health and Physical Education, and an editorial advisory member for the Australian Journal of Teacher Education.

Dawn is a fellow of the Association for Physical Education in the UK, a longstanding member of the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and member of Physical Education New Zealand.

Dawn has supervised Master of Education, Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Education students to successful completion in the areas of health and physical education curriculum and pedagogy, sport pedagogy, sport management and curriculum leadership.

Outside of work Dawn enjoys participating in long distance running and triathlons.