Michael Spittle

Despite strong enrolment in sport and exercise science degrees in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK), little is known about the expectations of incoming students. Drawing on expectancy–value and self-efficacy perspectives, this exploratory study compared the pre-arrival confidence and perceived importance of first-year sport and exercise science students in the UK (n = 100) and Australia (n = 45) using the Pre-Arrival Survey (PAS), which assesses learning, community, employability and health and well-being. A mixed-design ANOVA showed that students rated importance higher than confidence in all four areas (η_p² = 0.39), with the largest gaps for learning and community and the smallest for employability. Community was the lowest-rated area overall. The importance–confidence gap was larger among Australian students, reflecting lower confidence, with no evidence of a country difference in importance, and Australian students reported notably lower community confidence (η_p² = 0.11). Gender differences were small, and no gender effect was significant at the multivariate level. Women rated importance modestly higher in a full-sample sensitivity analysis. Because the two national samples differed in recruitment method, timing and size, country differences should be regarded as indicative rather than as evidence of national-context effects. The findings suggest that pre-arrival and induction support that builds students’ confidence, particularly in forming community connections, may be valuable in both countries.

Introduction: This systematic review synthesised research on the developmental activities of elite male football players and evaluated what existing evidence reveals about variation in developmental pathways across populations and contexts. Methods: Guided by the Developmental Model of Sport Participation, a framework synthesis was employed to integrate predominantly quantitative data within a qualitative, context-sensitive approach. Eighteen peer-reviewed studies were included following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, examining engagement in domain-specific activities (structured training, competition and informal play) and non-domain-specific activities (other sports). Results: Early exposure to football was consistent across the reviewed studies, with differentiation towards elite performance emerging during adolescence through increased structured, coach-led practice. Evidence supporting early diversification was inconsistent, while engagement in informal play varied considerably across populations. Although developmental activity patterns differed between populations, the primary studies rarely measured the socio-cultural, institutional or environmental conditions potentially associated with these differences. Discussion: The review extends existing knowledge by distinguishing between evidence describing what elite players did during development and evidence explaining why particular developmental pathways emerged. The findings suggest that expertise development may reflect a dynamic interaction between structured training and socio-cultural environments, supporting a context-dependent understanding of football expertise. Future research should combine developmental activity histories with direct measurements of contextual factors to better explain how different pathways to elite football emerge. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO identifier CRD420251244740.

This study examined student academic achievement outcomes and satisfaction ratings within Semester mode, and three distinct sub-variants of Block Mode (BM) delivery, of postgraduate courses. BM design principles involve students completing one unit at a time, small classes to support active learning, and engaged learning and teaching practices. In the postgraduate BM format at Victoria University, three sub-variant models recently replaced the traditional 12-week semester approach of the completion of four simultaneous units. Two of these Block models are undertaken as single units, but delivery duration varied: a 4 Week 12 Credit Point and 8 Week 24 Credit Point format. The third sub-variant, 8 Week 12 Credit Point model, is completed as two units simultaneously. Outcomes of matched units on key metrics of academic success and student satisfaction for Semester and BM sub-variants were compared. Student marks were found to be significantly higher ( p < .05) for overall BM results compared to Semester mode, and BM students were significantly more likely ( p < .05) to pass units. Differences were apparent between BM sub-variants, with students in Block 4W and Block 8W24 credit point achieving higher marks than students in both Semester and Block 8W12. Student satisfaction was also significantly lower ( p < .05) in BM than in Semester delivery. Although students displayed higher levels of academic performance in BM compared to Semester mode, this was accompanied by lower student satisfaction levels, which may be expected from the adjustment to a new pedagogical approach. Overall, results evidenced that BM appears to be a viable delivery model for postgraduate units.

Background: The mental health of participants in sport has attracted increasing focus within research, practice, and policy. While mental health in sports has received increased attention, the mental health of sporting officials—such as judges, referees, and umpires—remains significantly under-researched compared with athletes. To our knowledge, there are no systematic reviews and meta-analyses that have synthesised available prevalence data of mental health symptoms and disorders in sporting officials. In addition, while previous reviews have provided a broad overview of risk and protective factors in relation to overall mental health, links between identified factors and specific mental health and well-being outcomes have not been explored. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review and analyse the prevalence rates of mental health symptoms and disorders (e.g., depression and anxiety) among sporting officials and identify specific risk and protective factors influencing sporting officials’ mental health and/or psychological well-being. Methods: Relevant studies were retrieved from SCOPUS, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus and PsycINFO up until July 2025. Prevalence rates of specific mental health outcomes (i.e. anxiety and depressive symptoms) were meta-analysed. Results: A total of 26 studies were included. Meta-analyses comprising 2797 sporting officials showed that the pooled proportion of elevated anxiety symptoms was 19.1% (95% CI 13.4–27, I ² = 94.1%) and 20.6% (95% CI 12.4–32.3, I ² = 97.3%) for elevated symptoms of depression. Sport-environmental risk factors were identified in 70% of the studies ( k = 19) (e.g., levels of professional experience, environment around matches, experiences of abuse), while 48% of studies ( k = 13) examined personal risk factors (e.g., age, sex, injury). A total of 37% of studies ( k = 10) examined sport-environmental protective factors (e.g., years of officiating experience, level of officiating, hours and frequency of officiating), while 33% of studies ( k = 9) investigated personal protective factors (e.g., emotional intelligence, feelings of competence, age, sex). Conclusions: The results suggest that targeting change at various levels of the sport ecosystem may help foster and promote positive mental health outcomes among sporting officials. The findings of this review suggest that strategies tailored to officials could include age/level of experience-specific support interventions and creating organisational cultures that prioritise mental health outcomes.

Mental imagery represents a versatile psychological skill applicable across disciplines such as sports, medicine, rehabilitation, and neuroscience. Defined as the cognitive recreation of perceptual and sensory experiences without external stimuli, mental imagery encompasses multisensory domains, including visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities. This chapter highlights the distinctions between ‘movement’ – bodily motions without explicit intent – and ‘action,’ characterised by goal-directed, intentional movements. The complexity and variability in conceptualising mental imagery are discussed, clarifying the difference between imagery as a psychological phenomenon and imagery training as structured mental practice. The chapter also presents an overview of the key topics discussed throughout this book.

Motor imagery (MI) is a fundamental performance-enhancing technique widely used within professions such as sports, exercise, medical, performing arts, and rehabilitation settings. The benefit of MI lies in its ability to simulate a realistic cognitive event, resembling key characteristics of performance, while also being adaptable and versatile to support different functions of performance. However, limited research has examined whether MI could be used to assist the regulation of training load. MI may facilitate the inter-relationship between the applied acute training load and the load capacity of athletes in complex environments. An optimal balance between training load and training capacity is crucial to maintaining performance standards and the health of individuals. An inability to maintain this balance may lead to performance disruptions and increased risk of injury. This chapter reviews the practical applications of MI in sports, rehabilitation, and skill training to offer insights for coaches, exercise and sport scientists, therapists, and athletes wishing to integrate imagery interventions for the management of training load and recovery. Ultimately, MI emerges as a powerful, evidence-based strategy for enhancing performance and recovery across various domains.

The Psychology of Mental Imagery in Movement and Action provides an up-to-date evaluation of mental imagery research, from a theoretical and applied understanding, and presents new findings on how the field of mental imagery has progressed in the areas of movement and action. Mental imagery has become one of the most widely adopted psychological training techniques by coaches, athletes, and mental performance practitioners, with extensive research proving its benefit for athletic and general populations in preparing for competition, reducing anxiety, improving the performance of motor skills, and rehabilitating from injury. In recent years, mental imagery research has experienced a resurgence with new findings providing greater clarity on how mental imagery may work and how it may best be implemented by practitioners to enhance successful outcomes.   The Psychology of Mental Imagery in Movement and Action explores these new findings and may inform an enhanced understanding of mental imagery theory, procedures, protocols, strategies, and techniques aimed at enhancing the performance and learning of movement and action. Discussed in this book are key areas of mental imagery practice across different settings and populations such as action preparation and performance, strategies for designing and delivering imagery interventions, optimizing strength performance, and emerging areas of research and applied imagery practice. Practical implications are provided for those practitioners who may be involved in developing movement and action, including coaches, rehabilitation specialists, and mental performance consultants and is key reading for academics and students alike in the field of sport psychology.

Motor imagery (MI) has been extensively studied as a tool for enhancing performance and facilitating motor learning in several different contexts, such as sport, rehabilitation, dance and medicine. Key to extracting these benefits of MI is understanding how to effectively design and deliver MI interventions, including frequency of sessions per week, length of MI sessions, and the content of MI scripts. This chapter reviews foundational and contemporary models of MI that inform intervention design and delivery and discusses evidence for effective MI interventions. In addition, practical recommendations are presented for designing and delivering effective MI interventions, emphasizing the importance of multimodal imagery, individualization based on skill level and imagery ability, and MI content that represents the performance/movement context. A detailed case study of a performer is provided toward the end of the chapter to highlight the real-world application of MI principles. By integrating theoretical insights with practical strategies, this chapter aims to provide important insights for practitioners and researchers to develop evidence-based MI interventions that can effectively enhance performance and learning outcomes.

Mental imagery has become one of the most widely adopted psychological training techniques by coaches, athletes, and mental performance practitioners, with extensive research proving its benefit for athletic and general populations for a range of purposes and outcomes related to movement and action, including in preparing for competition, reducing anxiety, improving the performance of motor skills, and rehabilitating from injury. Discussions throughout this book have highlighted emerging areas of research and applied mental imagery practice. In this book, the various authors have attempted to illustrate an increasing understanding of the conceptual nature of mental imagery, effective implementation strategies for mental imagery use, as well as explore the use of mental imagery in movement and action in a range of settings, including in sport, physical performance, rehabilitation, and with neurotypical individuals and throughout the lifespan. Drawing upon these discussions within the chapters of this book, as well as the conclusions, and the suggestions for additional research, here we offer our observations and reflections on mental imagery in movement and action.