The American Kinesiology Association (AKA), established in 2007, promotes kinesiology as a unified field of study focused on advancing our discipline and its many career opportunities ( Morrow & Thomas, 2010 ). The AKA has become the leading organization working to define kinesiology as the
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Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, Erica M. Taylor, and T. Gilmour Reeve
Jason R. Carter, Penny McCullagh, and Rick Kreider
Over the past decade, institutions of higher education have been forced to become more innovative and entrepreneurial, seeking creative solutions to budget challenges. This has been particularly important within kinesiology programs, which represent one of the largest growing sectors of higher education over the past 10–15 years. In preparation for the 2016 American Kinesiology Association (AKA) Leadership Workshop, a survey was administered by the AKA to capture key institutional classifications (i.e., Carnegie classification, institutional size, public vs. private designation) and department chair or designated administrator perceptions on entrepreneurial issues relevant to their unit. Sixty-eight of 881 units surveyed responded, yielding a response rate of 7.7%. The majority of respondents (67%) indicated a unit funding model that was based on the previous year’s level (i.e., historical budget model). While the majority of respondents reported that their unit is provided with “adequate to plentiful” resources (59%), this varied widely based on institutional classification. Specifically, baccalaureate institutions (Chi-square 18.054, p < .001) and institutions with < 5,000 students (Chi-square 10.433, p & .015) had the least favorable perceptions of unit resource allocation. For the majority of entrepreneurial activities and partnerships (5 of 8 targeted questions), ≥ 50% of the respondents reported “no involvement.” There was a significant mismatch between actual vs. expected time spent by the department chair on fundraising activities (Chi-square 4.627, p = .031), with higher expectations than actual time spent on fundraising. In summary, the AKA survey suggests that there is tremendous heterogeneity in perceptions of and participation in entrepreneurial activities within kinesiology, and that there remains strategic areas of opportunity within the field.
Jennifer M. Medina McKeon and Patrick O. McKeon
Gerard L. Hanley
A framework to advance and sustain the American Kinesiology Association community's capabilities to put educational innovations into practice through the use of MERLOT's open educational services and resources (www.merlot.org) is presented through the metaphor of a folk tale, Stone Soup. The American Kinesiology Association can use MERLOT's free and open library services to build a quality collection of peer-reviewed instructional materials in kinesiology, design a custom “teaching commons” website for their community to share exemplary practices, use MERLOT Voices online community platform to enable asynchronous discussions and collaborations, and create new open educational resources with MERLOT's Content Builder tool. Leveraging the California State University's Course Redesign with Technology program and the Quality Online Learning and Teaching (QOLT) project can become part of the American Kinesiology Association's strategy as well.
Kim C. Graber and Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko
The purpose of this article is to provide background information related to the development of the 2014 American Kinesiology Association (AKA) Leadership Workshop titled “The Future of Teaching and Learning in an Online World”. A brief description of online education is provided, along with a synopsis of the advantages and challenges confronting instructors and administrators in institutions of higher education who are increasingly implementing this form of instruction. An overview of the articles included in this special issue is also provided.
George H. Sage
This paper examines the linkages between physical education, sociology, and sociology of sport in North America. Physical education and sociology in North America have had numerous mutual ties since the beginnings of both fields. In the first section of the paper, I describe the rise of sociology and physical education in North America, emphasizing the linkages that initially existed between physical education and sociology, and then the separation that transpired between the disciplines. The second section examines the connections between social theory and physical education before the sociology of sport was formally developed. The final section details the rise of sociology of sport, with the main focus on the role of physical educators (a.k.a. sociocultural kinesiologists, sport studies scholars, human kinetics scholars) in the development of sociology of sport. This section concludes with a discussion of the linkages of social theory, critical pedagogy in physical education, and sport sociology in physical education.
George B. Cunningham, Erin Buzuvis, and Chris Mosier
The purpose of this article is to articulate the need for a strong commitment to transgender inclusion in sport and physical activity, including in locker rooms and team spaces. The authors begin by defining key constructs and offering a theoretical overview of stigma toward transgender individuals. The focus then shifts to the changing opportunities for transgender athletes at all participation levels, case law and rulings germane to the topic, and the psychological, physical, and social outcomes associated with inclusion and exclusion. Next, the authors present frequently voiced concerns about transgender inclusion, with an emphasis on safety and privacy. Given the review, the authors present the case for inclusive locker rooms, which permit access by transgender athletes to facilities that correspond to their gender identity. The authors conclude with the official AKA position statement—“The American Kinesiology Association endorses inclusive locker rooms, by which we mean sex-segregated facilities that are open to transgender athletes on the basis of their gender identity”—and implications for sport and physical activity.
Jason R. Carter and Nancy Williams
For over a decade, the American Kinesiology Association (AKA) has hosted an annual Leadership Workshop focused on a theme designed to advance the AKA in its stated mission to “promote and enhance kinesiology as a unified field of study and advance its many applications” ( http
Thomas J. Templin, Jason R. Carter, and Kim C. Graber
The 2018 American Kinesiology Association (AKA) Workshop was held in Denver, CO, on January 26 and 27, 2018. Nearly 130 attendees from 80 different universities and colleges across the United States and Canada attended the meeting, which focused on “Promoting Quality Undergraduate Education in
James R. Morrow Jr.
I attended the 2018 American Kinesiology Association (AKA) Annual Leadership Workshop as a result of being invited to present the summary keynote address. Having given a number of these summary presentations over the years, I have always attempted to attend every session, take notes, and then speak
