Why research matters: current status and future trends in physical education pedagogy

The purpose of this paper is to consider current and future trends in physical education research in Europe. My starting point is a statement of the vital importance and relevance of research in physical education and why research matters. In preparing for this task, I reviewed current and future trends within European-authored research published in four English-language journals in the decade between 2000 and 2009 in order to provide a context and a perspective. I begin the paper with a report on the proportion of European-authored papers that were published in these journals, the country of origin of the papers' authors, and the topics of the papers. Next, I identify some trends in this analysis of these journal publications, in particular comparing journals and the two halves of the decade. Finally, this context frames a wider-ranging analysis of research in physical education; I ask five questions which lead us into a discussion of critical issues for the future of research in our field. Through each of these questions and the issues that arise, I seek to show why research is important, and why it needs to matter more, to more people.