A balancing act - problematising prescriptions about food and weight in school health texts

Wright, Jan; Dean, Rebecca J.

doi:10.48059/uod.v16i2.856

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Indeed, some authors are highly critical of government policies on health education, of schools’ and PE’s unquestioned role within it, and of the uncritical, simplistic and narrow way in which schools and teachers often engage with health issues (e.g. Evans, 2007; Evans et al, 2008; Gard and Wright, 2001; Wright and Dean, 2007). There would therefore seem to be a need for some consensus and clarification regarding the role schools should and can play in the promotion of healthy, active lifestyles.…”

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting physical activity in secondary schools

Cale¹,

Harris²,

Duncombe

2016

European Physical Education Review

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There are growing expectations on schools to promote health and physical activity and helping schools to effectively do so is considered a priority. This paper reports on selected findings from a research project which was concerned with supporting secondary schools in the effective promotion of physical activity and establishing their needs in this regard. Specifically, the paper explores secondary school teachers' experiences of and perspectives on promoting physical activity. The study involved an online survey with secondary schools across the United Kingdom, plus interviews with teachers from eight schools from different regions in England.The findings highlighted a number of issues concerning the promotion of healthy, active lifestyles generally, many of which seem to be long-standing. For example, issues associated with the status and place of health, the amount and nature of the training and support provided or accessed by teachers in the area, and schools' effectiveness in promoting and engaging all pupils in healthy, active lifestyles were identified. These led to questions regarding the extent to which teachers are adequately and appropriately equipped to effectively promote physical activity and to recommendations to improve the support for and practice of schools in this area.

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Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting physical activity in secondary schools

Cale¹,

Harris²,

Duncombe

2016

European Physical Education Review

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“…Understanding health and PE in terms of increasing physical activity levels to achieve a certain body shape, one that is slim, athletic and reflects the 'health' of the individual, has serious implications in terms of what is taught in PE and how it is taught. For example, within the context of PE and Health in Australia, Wright and Dean (2007) highlight textbooks and websites as the main sources of knowledge for PE teachers and students about how individuals should lead their lives, particularly in relation to their bodies and the daily practices of eating and exercising. These texts provide students with information about how to 'be' a healthy citizen, providing instruction on 'how to assess and 'know' the body and detailed prescription on how to act to remediate deficiencies and to ameliorate 'risk'' (p. 5).…”

Section: Healthism Discourse and Pe Pedagogymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Wright et al (2006) suggest students and teachers should be supported to understand all knowledge as disputed, unstable and contestable, including 'truths' regarding health and the body. Wright and Dean (2007) also argue that schools and teachers must critically examine ideas surrounding the body, health, food and physical activity, suggesting that they can support their students as they critically assess 'truths' surrounding health:…”

Section: Pe and A 'Healthier' Conception Of Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching ‘health’ in physical education in a ‘healthy’ way (Abordar la «salud» en la Educación física de forma «saludable»)

Gray¹,

MacIsaac²,

Jess³

2015

Retos

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Abstract. In many countries around the world, the subject of physical education (PE) is explicitly and directly responsible for the health education of children and young people. However, although the official policy texts for each curriculum describe health in a holistic way, referring to the development of mental, social, emotional as well as physical wellbeing, we highlight concerns that a more prevailing ‘healthism’ discourse relating primarily to fitness and physical wellbeing is influencing the way the PE curriculum is both interpreted and delivered. Consequently, this paper begins by offering a Foucaultian analysis of the healthism discourse that exists within the context of PE in order to provide a more in-depth understanding of the ways in which it is formed, reinforced and how manifests itself in the day to day practices of teachers and the experiences of the learner. From this, we explore the ways in which a broader form of PE might be delivered, a form that places the learner, and the needs of the learner, firmly at the heart of the teaching and learning process. Self-Determination Theory is presented as a useful framework to understand how this might be achieved. The paper concludes by suggesting that there is a need for researchers to work collaboratively with teachers in order to understand their practice and how this impacts on student experience. Such research is important if schools and PE teachers are to construct a more holistic view of health and ultimately enhance their teaching, learning and student health and wellbeing.Resumen. En muchos países de todo el mundo, la asignatura de la educación física (EF) es explícita y directamente responsable de la educación para la salud de los niños y los jóvenes. Sin embargo, aunque el texto oficial ministerial para cada plan de estudios describe la salud de una manera holística, en referencia al desarrollo del bienestar mental, social emocional, así como, físico, resaltamos la preocupación de que un discurso de salud más generalizado relacionado principalmente con la condición física y el bienestar físico está influyendo en la forma en que el plan de estudios de EF es a la vez interpretado y enseñado. En consecuencia, este documento comienza ofreciendo un análisis foucauldiano del discurso sobre la salud que existe dentro del contexto de la EF con el fin de proporcionar una comprensión más profunda de las formas en las que se forma, refuerza y cómo se manifiesta en el día a día en las prácticas de los docentes y las experiencias de los alumnos. A partir de esto, se exploran las vías en que una visión más amplia de la EF podría ser propuesta, una visión que sitúa al alumno y sus necesidades firmemente en el centro del proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje. La Teoría de la Autodeterminación se presenta como un marco útil para entender cómo esto puede lograrse. El artículo para concluir sugiere que hay una necesidad de que los investigadores trabajen en colaboración con los profesores, a fin de comprender su práctica y cómo esta repercute en la experiencia de los estudiantes. Este tipo de investigación es importante para que las escuelas y los profesores de EF sean capaces de construir una visión más holística de la salud y en última instancia, mejorar su enseñanza, el aprendizaje, y la salud y bienestar de los alumnos.

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“…Those adopting a Foucauldian perspective differ from other critical obesity scholars in that they tend to bracket questions regarding the veracity of the claims of obesity discourse and instead focus on their truth effects: the ways in which they are employed in attempts to shape how people think about and act upon their bodies in their everyday lives (Wright, 2009). Although this work is insightful, it is very much preoccupied with childhood obesity and the various pedagogical practices that aim to inform children and their parents about the health risks of excess weight and to instruct them on how to monitor and act upon their (or their children's) bodies in order to avoid these risks (Burrows, 2011;Evans et al, 2008;Fullagar, 2009;Leahy, 2009;Wright and Dean, 2007;Wright and Halse, 2013). This focus has meant that the dieting practices studied by the earlier Foucauldian-feminists have been neglected by contemporary Foucauldian approaches to weight issues.…”

Section: Critical Perspectives On Dieting and Obesitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bartky, 1988;Bordo, 1993;Germov and Williams, 1999;Heyes, 2006;Stinson, 2001), commercial dieting programs have been largely ignored by recent Foucauldian research addressing weight-related issues, which has instead tended to focus on initiatives targeting childhood obesity (e.g. Burrows, 2011;Evans et al, 2008;Leahy, 2009;Rich and Evans, 2009;Wright and Dean, 2007;Wright and Halse, 2013). This study seeks both to bring dieting regimes back into focus and to begin to explore the new domains and modes in which they operate in the context of the broader discourse of obesity.…”

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confidence: 99%

Governing the dieting self: Conducting weight-loss via the internet

Clarke

2014

Journal of Sociology

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Recent critical scholarship on bodyweight issues has taken a step back from debates regarding the veracity of claims made about the 'obesity epidemic' and its dietary causes and solutions. Instead, researchers have begun to explore the 'truth effects' of obesity discourse: how this discourse is translated into interventions that target how people relate to, and act upon, themselves and others. The study contributes to this scholarship through an analysis of a commercially distributed online weight-loss program, where participants are required to govern their own dietary conduct with the assistance of tools and resources supplied via the internet. Adopting a governmentality approach, I demonstrate that the program's operationalisation of bodyweight and dietary discourse in its attempt to affect the dietary conduct of dieters is dependent upon techniques for governing conduct 'at a distance' that are derived from broader innovations in the techniques through which power is exercised in 'advanced liberal' societies.

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A balancing act - problematising prescriptions about food and weight in school health texts

Cited by 9 publications

References 24 publications

Promoting physical activity in secondary schools

Promoting physical activity in secondary schools

Teaching ‘health’ in physical education in a ‘healthy’ way (Abordar la «salud» en la Educación física de forma «saludable»)

Governing the dieting self: Conducting weight-loss via the internet

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