Building Capacity

Abstract

This chapter explores the pressing need for innovative pre-service physical education teacher education (PETE) that challenges preservice teachers (PSTs) to take ownership of their learning in broad, collaborative ways that immediately connect their learning processes to other PSTs and local community-based PE resources nationwide. The authors describe a pedagogical model for PETE that is currently in ten Canadian universities, a rapidly growing national body of locally developed student leadership communities that is supported by national professional organizations (Physical and Health Education (PHE) Canada and PHE Canada Research Council. PHE Canada Student Chapters are a new phenomenon in Canadian universities (2023-2024), and represent groups of 5-8 PSTs in each university faculty, taking executive leadership roles within their respective university student unions. The chapter includes emphasis on real world practice, with voices of student leaders expressing lessons learned in the process of running chapters at their respective universities.