Kylie Thompson recognised as a 2025 PENZ Fellow

Like many kaiako, Kylie Thompson has been fortunate to learn from a number of outstanding health and physical education educators whose influence continues to shape her work.

In the 1990s, while at Glenfield College, Kylie was encouraged by Peg Lockyer’s approach, which showed that PE could extend beyond netball and cross-country to include dance, movement, and broader interpretations of movement. Later, at university, she was similarly influenced by lecturers like Professor Lisette Burrows who challenged her to think critically about physical education and its role in young people’s lives.

That early spark, combined with the later influence of her lecturer, Professor Lisette Burrows, challenged Kylie to think about the underlying social and cultural assumptions influencing PE. “Lisette’s classes blew my mind,” says Kylie. “More than twenty-five years on, I still count myself lucky to have her gentle and thoughtful guidance.”

The influence of these educators set Kylie on a path that would eventually see her become one of New Zealand’s leading voices in health and physical education.

Fast forward to 2025, and Kylie who’s now Head of Department for Health, Physical Education and Outdoor Learning at AUT, has been awarded the prestigious Fellow of PENZ honour at the Physical Education New Zealand (PENZ) Conference in Queenstown.
The award recognises members who have made sustained and significant contributions to the physical education profession and to PENZ itself.

For Kylie, the recognition was both humbling and personal. “Honestly, I felt quite overwhelmed and humbled,” she said after receiving the award. “PENZ has always been an important home for me in this profession, so to be recognised by colleagues and peers in an organisation I respect so much was incredibly moving. Personally, the best moment was when my boys saw the photos and asked if it was kind of like the ‘caught being good’ award in a school assembly, which, in a way, it was!”

Kylie’s career has spanned secondary teaching, curriculum development, tertiary education, and national leadership. She has been a PENZ Subject Advisor, NZQA National Moderator, member of the Ministry of Education’s Subject Expert Group for NCEA redevelopment, Education Commissioner for the New Zealand Olympic Committee, and now leads AUT’s Department of Health, Physical Education and Outdoor Learning.

Along the way, she has mentored countless pre-service teachers and facilitated PENZ’s Rangatahi Leadership Group, supporting the next generation of leaders in the profession. Despite her impressive CV, Kylie remains grounded in what matters most: teachers and ākonga. “PENZ has been central to just about every role I’ve had in education,” she reflected.

“Through it, I’ve been able to contribute to professional learning, curriculum and assessment writing, policy mahi, and advisory work with organisations like the NZOC. But more than anything, PENZ has kept me grounded in what matters most… supporting kaiako and ākonga.”

Like many in the sector, Kylie has faced challenges, including burnout and the frustration of education being tossed around as a political football. Her way through has always been to lean on the community. “What’s helped me through has been staying connected to the people and the profession, and of course nothing lifts the spirits quite like a PENZ conference dinner!”

Looking ahead, she sees both opportunities and challenges for the profession. “The 1999 and 2007 curriculum documents were turning points, pushing us to think differently about what PE could be,” she said.

“More recently, teachers have been challenged to consider the place and potential of te ao Māori in PE. That’s such an important step forward, and my colleague Amy Kaukau is doing incredible work in this space. But we’re also in a new era where recruiting and keeping teachers is tough, and a new curriculum could add even more pressure.”

For Kylie, the answer lies in keeping physical education meaningful for young people. “If PE is going to stay meaningful for our ākonga, it has to reflect the world they’re growing up in, not the one we grew up in.”

As a newly recognised Fellow of PENZ, Kylie stands alongside a legacy of educators who have shaped the field in Aotearoa. And true to form, she’s not done yet: “We all stand on the shoulders of those who worked hard to ensure PE is recognised as a valued part of young people’s education. It’s important to carry that mahi on.”