Kinesiology Prof. Tim Fletcher heads to New Zealand next month to participate in an international physical education conference.

New Zealand is a long way to travel from Brock University, but it’s almost like a homecoming for Tim Fletcher.

The assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology grew up and completed two degrees in Australia. After nearly six years, he heads back down under next month to participate in the 2014 International Association for Physical Education in Higher Education (AIESEP) World Congress in Auckland, New Zealand, thanks to winning the AIESEP Young Scholar Award.

The award is given to young AIESEP members who plan to or have embarked on careers as researchers.

At the conference, Fletcher will discuss his research into self-study or how physical education scholars study the ways they teach prospective phys-ed teachers.

“Self-study provides teachers at all levels with ways to study how they teach and how their personal beliefs influence teaching,” Fletcher said.

He will also lead a seminar presentation with other young scholar award recipients, and serve as chair of a symposium that will feature the five contributing authors of his co-edited book to be published by Springer Publishing in mid-2014.

The book, titled Self-Study in Physical Education, is co-edited by Tim and Alan Ovens, colleagues from Auckland University.

Fletcher said he’s looking forward to networking with international colleagues and catching up with physical education scholars from around the world at the congress.

Fletcher is currently working with colleagues from the University of Limerick in Ireland on teaching physical education using a joy-oriented approach.

“The obvious benefits of physical education are a way to combat obesity or improve physical fitness, but sometimes the ways to make physical education joyful and meaningful gets lost in these messages,” Fletcher explained. “Through my research, I want to better teach learners to find meaning through movement.”

The 2014 AIESEP event happens Feb. 10-13. This year’s theme is educating for active, healthy citizens.