Does ‘What Works’ Work? The Quest for the Holy Grail in Physical Education

The ‘What Works’ agenda within education has become popular for its focus on accountability through data, advancing the aim of developing tangible principles to improve student performance. Nevertheless, this strategy has also been criticised for seeking to define education and missing key social, emotional, and developmental issues, often narrowly. This narrative review attempts to put in perspective the use of the agenda in physical education and to combine evidence to assess its claims and shortcomings. The main conclusions suggest a dilemma in pedagogical practice between paying attention to a narrow definition of students’ success in terms of physical fitness and motor skills acquisition and all the other central goals, including individual improvement, societal change, and interest in engaging in physical activity throughout life. This review takes a step towards identifying solutions to various issues in physical education by addressing evidence-based approaches and the need for interdependency with educational aims, improving the effectiveness of physical education towards students’ health and well-being.