Adapted physical activity (APA) is characterized by a strong orientation to professional practice. Currently, there exists limited empirical research about the professional status of APA in the context of rehabilitation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe and understand the professional status, role, and work tasks of APA specialists in Norway. For the purpose of the study, the authors conducted group interviews with APA specialists and individual interviews with unit leaders at six rehabilitation institutions in the national specialist health care services. The results highlight the content of the work tasks, the roles in the cross-professional teams, the status in the institutions, and what the participants perceive to be the knowledge base for their profession. Although these results may be specific to the Norwegian context, the authors also discuss possible implications of their findings for APA in an international perspective.
In the Norwegian curriculum for physical education (PE), health is one of several topics students should learn about. However, the way in which many educators conceptualize health can impact both what students learn and how health is taught in PE. According to Mong and Standal (2019) , differences in terms of the conceptualizations of health can also lead to differences in teachers’ didactical approaches. This article is based on an action research project in which the overall goal was to investigate how didactic work can contribute to developing the teaching of health in PE. The project included an action research phase and qualitative interviews. The project, conducted in Norway, lasted almost one school year and was divided into two units. One teacher and 48 students aged 14–15 years participated in the action research project, which included eight lessons. We conducted qualitative interviews with the teacher and six students after the completion of the action research phase. In our analysis, we identified three topics addressed by both the students and the teacher, namely ‘the use of logbooks as a method for reflection’, ‘awareness of health as a knowledge object’ and ‘developing confidence in how to teach health’. Through the use of a didactic approach to health, both the students and teacher developed new reflections on and awareness of health. The findings indicate that it was professional development which subsequently impacted didactic decisions, dialogues about how health was taught and the teacher’s confidence in teaching health.
Skolen blir i mange sammenhenger pekt på som en arena som bør ta større ansvar for barn og unges helse, og i kroppsøvingsfagsmiljøet diskuteres det i hvilket omfang og hvordan helse skal vektlegges i kroppsøving. Formålet med denne studien er å undersøke hvordan kroppsøvingslærere forstår og underviser om helse på ungdomstrinnet. I den forbindelse er det gjort kvalitative intervjuer med åtte kroppsøvingslærere hvor det er gjennomført tematisk analyse av intervjumaterialet. I dette arbeidet ble det utviklet fire temaer – lærernes forståelse av helse, bevisstgjøre elevene, helse – noe spontant? og lærernes kunnskapsgrunnlag. Analysene viser at lærerens forståelse av helse setter preg på innholdet i undervisningen. Undervisningen knyttet til dette temaet virker som å oppstå spontant og være usystematisk. I og med at lærerne ikke ser ut til å planlegge når og hva de skal undervise om helse, kan det være vanskeligere for elevene å vite når de skal lære om helse i kroppsøvingsfaget.
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