Kyoung June (David) Yi, PhD

    As a scholar in the field of Adapted Physical Activity, I seek to address systemic and personal barriers to active lifestyles. Given that the premise of inclusiveness in the field of adapted physical activity is to attain equity, access, and social inclusion for everyone, I have broadened the scope of my research in the field to work with diverse individuals including, but not limited to people experiencing disabilities, Indigenous peoples, racialized peoples and newcomers, people who identify as 2SLGBTQ+, people who have limited resources for living, and people who experience intersectional influences on their life.

    Some individuals experience inequity and inaccessibility in the pursuit of active lifestyles that promote health and wellness merely because of their ability, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, gender, sexuality, socio-economic status, and/or age. When these individuals are excluded or marginalized from the opportunities for physical activity, they may feel less inclined to engage in active lifestyles, which will cause or intensify adverse health outcomes. To address these health inequities and social injustice issues, my research program focuses on opportunities for everyone to pursue active lifestyles that enhance their health and wellness in various contexts of physical activity.

    To achieve this goal and to emphasize the centrality of these individuals within my study, I position the experience and perspective of people in the communities as sources, sites, and outcomes for knowledge mobilization. As a result, I employ a community-based participatory methodology. This approach involves collaborative problem solving that equitably includes members of the communities and researchers in the research process to achieve inclusive and sustainable social change. Acknowledging the presence of diverse perspectives in this action-oriented collaborative knowledge translation, I also employ various qualitative research approaches such as grounded theory, interpretive/critical analyses, and narrative inquiry to gather empirical and community-lived knowledge. Furthermore, I conduct systematic review studies to synthesize research-informed and evidence-based knowledge with the knowledge of community members in addressing the pressing challenges experienced by those underserved individuals.

• Adapted Physical Activity
• Ethical and Inclusive Practices

• PhD (Physical Education and Recreation), University of Alberta, 2014
• MA (Sport and Leisure Studies), Yonsei University, 2006
• BSc (Sport and Leisure Studies), Yonsei University, 2002

• KPER 7002 Qualitative Research Methods
• PHED 3362 Culturally Relevant Pedagogies
• KPER 3100 Inclusive physical activity and leisure
• PHED 2442 Health education