Campus Review Vol 31. Issue 11 - November 2021 | Page 20

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Kicking goals

Dr Jim Poulter with traditional possum skin footballs at a Monash University NAIDOC Week display . Photo : Stuart Milligan
How more traditional Aboriginal games can be brought into the PE curriculum .
Shane Pill interviewed by Wade Zaglas

Associate Professor Shane Pill of Flinders University recently conducted a study with Dr John Williams of the University of Canberra on how different frameworks , including self-determination theory ( STD ) and a game sense approach ( GSA ), could be used to teach the traditional Aboriginal game of buroinjin , which comes from the Kabi Kabi people of South Queensland .

Pill said that , traditionally , PE education has been highly instructive , whereas these approaches utilise more of a constructivist approach . The researchers played the traditional Aboriginal game at a Canberra public school , where it was well received .
The study was inspired by the researchers ’ own experiences as PE teachers , who sought to develop an approach to teaching PE that had the capacity to engage both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students , remembering that one of the cross-curriculum areas is that “ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are able to see themselves , their identities and their cultures reflected in the curriculum of each of the learning areas , [ and ] can fully participate in the curriculum and can build their self-esteem ”.
CR : How would you describe the game of buroinjin ? Where does it come from and what does it involve ? SP : The game of buroinjin comes from the Kabi Kabi people of Southeast Queensland and is detailed in the Yulunga traditional games resource produced by the former
Australian Sports Commission , now called Sports Australia .
The version of the game that we used is a modified version approved for use in ACT schools . It ’ s best described as a field game . It involves gaining territory in order to score . The game that ’ s approved in the ACT is not a ‘ run the ball over the line to score game ’ such as the one that ’ s in the Yulunga resource .
It ’ s team-based and involves invading the opposition ’ s territory in order to be able to get a shot on goal . And in this case , the goal is a post in the ground . So you could use a cricket stump , for example , and if you hit that cricket stump in the goal area , then you score .
Your co-authored study contends that self determination theory and a game sense approach enhance the quality of physical education teaching . Can you explain these frameworks and why they support PE education ? Historically , physical education has been characterised by directive instruction that involves replication of teacher
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