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The purpose of this paper is to engage the reader in a conversation about justice imperatives in education, disability, and health. As counternarrative to structured majoritarian scholarship and positioned in the expressed intent of the National Academy of Kinesiology’s 90th annual meeting theme of Kinesiology’s Social Justice Imperative, we express feelings about the urgency for social justice in teacher education. To start, we operationally define social justice as advocacy, agency, and action. Next, we recommend the application of critical theoretical frameworks in conceptualizing and conducting research involving historically marginalized and minoritized populations (e.g., African American students). This conversation is theoretically grounded in intersectionality to offer a nuanced understanding of social constructions, such as ethnicity (e.g., African American) and race (e.g., Black), gender, culture, disability, and sociometric positioning regarding justice imperatives in education, disability, and health.

This paper is based on a Senior Scholar presentation delivered at the 2020 annual meeting of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity. The paper begins with a summary of the research work completed by the author and coinvestigators in regard to the influences that significant others (parents, peers, and coaches) exert on the psychosocial well-being of individuals in sport and physical activity. In each of these three areas, illustrative research studies are summarized in a predominantly chronological order with a commentary at the end of each section that identifies unanswered questions and suggests future research directions. In the second section, four particular lessons learned by the author over the course of a scholarly career are identified and explained.

Questions about transgender individuals’ place in sport persist. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to focus on transgender inclusion in sport. Drawing from varied perspectives, the authors present five reasons for inclusion, basing their arguments on sport as a human right, fairness, gendered notions of athleticism, well-being, and economics. The authors then present a multilevel model for including transgender athletes, coaches, and administrators in sport, identifying factors at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels of analysis.

Many individuals with disabilities are not physically active. Part of inactivity can be explained by the person’s disability. However, inactivity also may be the result of inequities, attitudes, and misconceptions by physical activity (PA) providers that makes it difficult for those with disabilities to successfully participate in sport, recreation, and fitness pursuits. The purpose of this paper is to examine disability through a social justice lens with specific reference to PA. Concepts of ableism, social justice, and how disability is defined will be explored with specific examples from PA. We conclude with suggestions on how to make PA providers aware of ableism, their biases, and how they define and view disability. This awareness will hopefully lead to changes in the willingness of PA providers to welcome those with disabilities into their programs and provide accommodations so that people with disabilities will be able to access PA.

The aim of this systematic review was to examine the associations between physical activity and sleep in children aged less than 6 years. Articles were included if participants were primarily aged less than 6 years and study designs were observational or experimental. Study characteristics were extracted, and the Grading Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework was used to assess study quality. Thirty-six studies (16 sleep, 16 physical activity, and three fitness outcomes) from 18 countries reported in 29 articles were included. The majority of sleep and physical activity outcome studies reported mixed effects with very low to low quality of evidence. Fitness outcome studies were limited, and therefore, evidence was insufficient. The high prevalence of mixed and null results could be related to study limitations. Importantly, this review points to the critical need for higher quality studies of sleep and physical activity in young children, which would support health recommendations and intervention strategies for healthier child development.

Offering children chances to optimize their engagement in physical activities during their life span is one of the major aims of school physical education (PE). To this end, the maximum development of motor performance skills can help primary school children participate in various physical activities throughout their lives. The purpose of this review was to examine the effects of plyometric training activities on motor performance skills of children and the application of plyometrics within the PE setting. Relevant studies on the topics of motor performance skills, plyometrics, athlete development, and motor development in children and adolescents were examined. The paper reveals that plyometric training activities can improve motor performance skills such as running, jumping, and kicking. The literature also suggests that children’s exposure to plyometric exercises may result in an accelerated improvement in primary school PE class. This review concludes with a proposal to enhance children’s motor performance skills using plyometric exercises in primary PE classes.

In this article, we present a rationale for infusing adaptive, complexity, and transformational leadership theories into the kinesiology leader’s praxis. Understanding and incorporating these theories will prepare kinesiology leaders to respond to the emerging trends influencing the future of higher education and work leading into the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Specifically, we discuss the impact of the pandemic, which has transformed the way students and academics approach curriculum and pedagogy. We conclude the article with a discussion of the future of higher education and work and explore ways to cultivate kinesiology leadership approaches for anticipatory thinking and planning to respond to the transformation occurring in our field.

A 21st century college education should prepare students to meet workforce demands and contribute to an educated citizenry. This paper provides examples of the ways in which two institutions are adjusting kinesiology program design and delivery through the adoption of high-impact educational practices to prepare students to meet these goals. The authors describe first-year experiences to develop critical information literacy, a series of collaborative community-based health projects, and a unique internship experience for work-integrated learning. The authors reflect on the similarities between their efforts to implement high-impact teaching practices to prepare kinesiology students for the future of work. Keys to success include: (a) shifting to idea-based, learner-centered curriculum design; (b) developing strategic partnerships with college services, programs, and administrators; and (c) recognizing the significant impact of the changes on the student learning experience.