Community connections in health and physical education: a reflection of stakeholder experiences

Community development research suggests that positive partnerships and connections between groups can result in stronger, more resilient and productive communities. Despite community connections featuring increasingly at a curriculum level in countries such as Australia and New Zealand, research is only beginning to explore the nuanced processes that precede the creation and sustenance of connections between students, teachers and their local communities. Drawing upon research from a broader study, this paper explores ‘Take Action’ a Health and Physical Education unit of work aiming to create meaningful and sustainable connections between students, teachers and their local communities. The work of Stephen Ball and colleagues is used as a lens through which to understand the enactment of Take Action as an extension of policy. The findings illuminate a range of processes that contributed towards a failure to develop and sustain community connections. The findings can guide the creation of meaningful and sustainable connections between students, teachers and their local communities.