The alignment and coherence challenge. Developing university-school partnerships for the simultaneous improvement and redesign of school programmes and teacher education

Given the changing nature of schools within fast-changing, diverse and global societies, it is timely to review Physical Education (PE) and Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) provision to determine if they are “fit for purpose”. There is a strong rationale for reviewing and reconfiguring PE and PETE together, ensuring that they are aligned and coherent. In 1998, J. Goodlad called for simultaneous renewal of university–school relationships to create dynamic, interactive partnerships. A further impending issue for PETE in Belgium is preparing PE teachers for the curriculum subject of “Physical Education” becoming “Physical and Health Education” teachers. The second author predicts that this will represent somewhat of a revolution for many PE teachers who will need to adopt an increased focus on the transferability of skills from their subject to students’ lives. The alignment and coherence challenge is grand in the sense that it is important and widespread on an international scale.