Physical education futures: can we reform physical education in the early 21st Century?

As a possible antidote to being trapped in the present tense, this paper draws on an analysis of the present and the past in order to consider the extent to which physical education in its current form may be fit for the 21st century. I argue that in order to secure middle to longer term futures for some form of physical education in schools, we need radical reform. I offer a models-based approach to physical education that is student-centred, inclusive and motivating as key factors to securing a future. I note that teachers have some difficult decisions to make in terms of risking hard-won achievements for their subject by engaging in radical reform, while failure to reform may lead to demise in the longer term.