Erwin's work highlighted by SHAPE America

Dr. Heather Erwin’s contributions to her field were recently highlighted by the Society of Health and Physical Educators, SHAPE America, in a series featuring the organization's research fellows. Erwin is professor and chair in the University of Kentucky College of Education Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion.

The article appears below:

The SHAPE America Research Council is pleased to shine a spotlight on Heather E. Erwin, Ph.D., who was recognized as a Research Fellow in 2011. As a full professor at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Erwin focuses on expanding physical activity opportunities for school children by embedding Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAP) into Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) programs.

Her research explores innovative methods such as integrating physical activity into math instruction and increasing recess to enhance students' overall well-being and academic success. Through her work, she strives to implement sustainable, school-wide strategies that foster lifelong engagement in physical activity.

We invite you to explore the Q&A below to learn more about her background and contributions!

We want to learn more about you. Can you tell us your background, including your journey into higher education, and as a researcher in your respective field?

My love for physical activity began in middle school when I first started playing volleyball and basketball for my school teams. I enjoyed most types of physical activity and realized that these environments allowed me to interact with others and establish such great friendships too. In high school, I tore my ACL, which piqued my interest in orthopedics. However, when I started my undergraduate degree, I decided I didn't enjoy studying human movement at the cellular level. Thus, I changed my major to physical education and never looked back. I worked with youth throughout my high school, undergraduate and graduate careers, which gave me the confidence and experience to work with youth in the physical education setting. I knew I wanted to continue my education, which led me to pursue my doctorate in pedagogical kinesiology so that I could eventually train future physical education teachers. I particularly love working with elementary classroom teachers, so when I was able to pair my love for physical activity with researching its effectiveness in the classroom, recess, and physical education settings, I knew I had found what I loved to do.

Please describe your line(s) of research inquiry. Could you please offer a way to find your research? (I.e., Google Scholar, ResearchGate, ERIC, website)

My main areas of research center on school-based physical activity, specifically in the areas of classroom, recess, and physical education pedagogy. I enjoy mixed methods research, and I learned to collaborate with others early on, as it is hard to be an expert at everything. I am able to rely on others for expertise in specific areas including research design and data analysis. My research can be found through Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and ERIC.

Who are some of your mentors? In what ways have your mentors inspired and supported you across your academic and professional career?

During my doctoral training, Dr. Darla Castelli and Dr. Kim Graber were my mentors. They each instilled different practices for me. Dr. Castelli always talked to me about big picture ideas and was a creative thinker in her research methodologies. She taught me to always have some aspect of research going in every bucket. Those buckets were: 1) ideas; 2) implementation/data collection; 3) data analysis; and 4) writing up the manuscript/submitting. If I was able to do this in my career, I would be successful. Dr. Graber is an expert in qualitative methodology. She taught me to take my time and to utilize triangulation with all data. She is an excellent writer, and she helped me to really craft my writing. I am grateful to the two of them for my training. As a new professor, I was able to work with my colleague and now husband, Dr. Aaron Beighle, on physical activity research in schools. We collaborated with several colleagues over the years and have been able to make positive connections in our surrounding areas so that we have research sites available in the schools. The most important thing he taught me was the importance of bridging the gap between research and practice. As we have moved through our careers, we have been able to collaborate on a number of research projects, along with service opportunities that allowed us to present the research in a meaningful way to practitioners.

What has brought you the most joy being a professor in academia?

During my time in academia, I find the most joy in seeing the positive outcomes in our students who teach K-12 physical education. I have a lot of pride in establishing positive relationships with students, and it gives me so much joy to see our students ultimately end up being amazing teachers and professionals in the field. They are advocates for physical activity and health, and it makes me happy to see them succeed at what they do.

What piece of advice would you give to graduate students and/or junior faculty who hope to be a SHAPE America Research Fellow one day?

My advice would be to stay true to who you are as a teacher and researcher. Work hard. Join collaborative research groups. Show your strengths. Organize your time. Don't let go of the things that bring you joy in life. Be a positive colleague and role model for others.

The Research Fellow Spotlight was reproduced with permission from SHAPE America © 2025, SHAPE America, https://www.shapeamerica.org/. All rights reserved.