Student Voice in Primary Physical Education: A 30-Year Scoping Review of Literature

Abstract

The past decade has seen an increased focus on student voice in physical education; yet, the majority reflects the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of agency of secondary-level students. It has been suggested that the perspectives and experiences of students in primary physical education remain largely absent from the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to answer the question “what peer-reviewed data on student voice in primary physical education was published between January 1990 and March 2020?” This article provides a map of 89 articles that accessed student voice in primary physical education. Conclusions highlight a need for democratic possibilities for primary students to engage and contribute to their physical education learning experiences as well as a continued exploration of the implementation and impact of authentic methods of accessing and responding to student voice in primary physical education.