Communicating aims and learning goals in physical education: part of a subject for learning?

In a significant article from 1993, Crum describes the purpose of physical education (PE) as a 'planned introduction into movement culture'. In broad terms, this purpose is tantamount to the stated purpose of Swedish PE in national steering documents. Crum contends, however, that physical educators do not prioritise learning, which is largely due to the different 'movement cultures' that constitute the PE lessons. This article explores how practice unfolds in movement cultures that are included in Swedish PE and their implications for teaching and learning in the subject. Some 30 (indoor) PE lessons in eight secondary schools in four cities throughout Sweden were video recorded. At 'first glance' these lessons indicated the prevalence of four logics of practice: a physical training logic, a sports logic, a sport technique logic and a dance logic. However, further analysis revealed that the teachers' and students' actions were not entirely in line with a logic of practice of training the body, winning the game, learning sporting skills or learning to dance. Instead, the PE practice largely unfolded as a 'looks-like-practice', where the purpose of teaching was blurred, and where any 'planned introduction into movement culture' was difficult to identify. In the final section, the authors discuss how physical activity logics can be recontextualised in a PE setting in order to emphasise the educational contribution of PE.

Section: The Pe Lesson Looks-like-dancingmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Pe-a Subject Undergoing Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Physical education cultures in Sweden: fitness, sports, dancing … learning?

Larsson

Karlefors

2015

“…What makes the TLC program unique amongst many alternative schooling programs is its partnership with a local Australian (National) rugby league or NRL club whereby players are actively engaged in classroom pedagogy. This paper seeks to understand what is it the teachers and players 'do' when they teach in the TLC and 'how' they do it, and also what and how the learners' 'learn', what is actually taking place, which is often overlooked in research into learning in PE (Redelius, Quennerstedt, & Öhman, 2015;Quennerstedt, Öhman, & Armour, 2014). The discussion is framed by Bernstein's (1990) understanding of the social reproduction of pedagogic discourse, whereby teaching and learning is conceptualised as a 'pedagogic relay', constituted by continuous and inter-related teacher and learner decisions and actions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-engaging ‘youth at risk’ of disengaging from schooling through rugby league club partnership: unpacking the pedagogic practices of the Titans Learning Centre

Whatman

Main

2016

The youth learning re-engagement program known as the Titans Learning Centre (or TLC) is an approved alternative schooling program, developed in partnership with state education and a local National Rugby League (NRL) club, the 'Titans'. Students typically in Grade Three or Four complete a 10 week program, interacting with professional A grade NRL players on a weekly basis during classroom learning time and lunch time 'handball' sessions. The project sought to understand the pedagogic practices of the TLC, using Bernstein's social construction of pedagogic discourse, with its underlying instructional and regulative discourses, particularly the contribution by the players to what and how the students were learning. The ethical consent of recruiting children to the study was achieved via acceptance of a position in the program for classroom observations, with further consent sought for accessing students' school performance data, student and parent surveys and interviews. Using case study methodology, Productive Pedagogies classroom audits (n = 26) were adapted for classroom observation. Interviews with relevant program stakeholders were conducted, including players (n = 12), NRL game development staff (n = 1) and teachers and teacher aides (n = 4). The findings revealed the pedagogic approaches of teachers and NRL players emphasised making regulative discourses visible to these young learners, developing supportive classroom environments and building students' sense of connectedness to learning. The players articulated a genuine sense of contribution to the lives of the young learners and saw themselves as role models. The use of high profile athletes in youth re-engagement programs has been questioned in recent times, particularly their effectiveness in terms of student learning outcomes over time. However, we conclude that the depth of involvement in pedagogic action connected to student learning indeed enabled the NRL players to be considered role models for youth re-engagement in learning. ARTICLE HISTORY

“…Then, as Redelius et al (2015) remind us, comes the matter of accounting for such learning in education systems that increasingly demand evidence of that learning. While the papers in this collection attempt (successfully I might add) to account for learning in PE via their theorizing and empirical studies, there is a danger that making explicit links between the stated outcomes of a curriculum and assessment of learning can inadvertently take us on the slippery slope of implicitly accepting a sort of linear relationship between outcomes and expectations (the articulation of purposes).…”

Section: Commentary On Research Into Learning In Physical Education 677mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We are told by Redelius et al (2015) that the Swedish school system is driven by goals. However, we learn that teachers of PE are uncertain about the goals of their subject and in Sweden there is a "striking lack of clarity over the purpose of the subject, particularly in terms of its educational purpose" (p. 12).…”

Section: Commentary On Research Into Learning In Physical Education 677mentioning

confidence: 99%

Commentary on research into learning in physical education: towards a mature field of knowledge

Tinning

2015

In this commentary, I consider each of the papers in this special issue in regard to their contribution to a debate on the nature of learning in physical education (PE). I also discuss how we might take this aspiration further by moving beyond a 'mere' debate over learning theories to a knowledge building process in which knowledge claims are 'tested' against their compatibility (or non-compatibility) with other 'knowings'. In this regard, I introduce the idea of vertical integration or compatibility as a consideration for building a more mature field of study of learning in PE.