Epistemic authority and the pedagogical conditions of qualitative learning in youth sport contexts

Learning has become a central organising principle across contemporary sport and health and physical education (HPE) contexts, where pedagogical reforms emphasise learner agency and reflection. Yet qualitative research reveals a persistent paradox: although learning-centred pedagogies are promoted, the epistemic conditions enabling meaningful participation remain tightly regulated within hierarchical environments. This article argues that this paradox reflects how pedagogical authority is structurally organised rather than a failure of implementation. Drawing on sociocultural learning theory and the sociology of knowledge, and employing a purposive conceptual synthesis approach, we introduce epistemic authority – the socially negotiated legitimacy to interpret and contribute to knowledge – as an analytic lens for examining learning. We propose a framework comprising five dimensions of epistemic possibility and argue that qualitative learning fails not because learners remain silent, but because pedagogical ecologies rarely render speaking epistemically legitimate and safe.