Crisis Discourse in Physical Education and the Laugh of Michel Foucault

Thorpe, Stephen

doi:10.1080/13573320309253

Cited by 39 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…A focus on the activity and health behaviours of individuals may lead to a 'medical view' which stigmatises and blames those deemed as 'unhealthy' Á particularly children who are overweight. As Thorpe (2003) notes, particular populations become ''victimised, excluded, misrepresented and disciplined'' (p. 137) by such discourses. Ken Green (2002a) argues that health promotion alone in PE is unlikely to impact on physical activity levels in later life as it is the quality of the actual physical experience and enjoyment that is more likely to encourage future adult participation.…”

Section: Policies and Politicsmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Locating quality physical education in early years pedagogy

Marsden

Weston

2007

Sport, Education and Society

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Government Ministers, health care professionals and sporting organisations throughout the UK are presently engaged in the promotion of extending the length of time each school child spends participating in quality physical education. Agendas may differ from a crackdown on obesity and sedentary lifestyles to basking in reflected glory of British champions on the podium at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. However, a definition of what in fact constitutes good quality physical education is hard to find as it appears to be a much disputed territory. The growing tendency to equate 'sport' with 'physical education' has been prevalent in secondary schools for some time but it is beginning to cascade into primary schools where many young children may find themselves trailing in the wake of only a few who have the ability, talent and drive to be successful; competition is not an inclusive concept. Early-years pedagogy, on the other hand, is inclusive. This paper examines the apparent mis-match between the needs of children in their early years of compulsory schooling and the present philosophy of sports based physical education. The search for good quality physical education for our youngest school children leads to consideration of physical literacy, developmental movement and movement play with the emphasis on enjoyment, participation and building self esteem. In order for children in their early years to receive good quality physical education, there is a need to develop a new model which is inclusive, holistic and aligned with early-years pedagogy. Presently, the basis for physical education policy in the UK is largely uniformed rhetoric. Whilst this is the case and other conceptualisations of physical education remain on the sidelines, then ''the possibilities of realising quality physical education remain slim'' (Kirk, 2004, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 9(2), p. 194).

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Section: Policies and Politicsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Thorpe (2003) identifies the Olympic Games as a force behind the shaping of PE in Australia prior to the Sydney games in 2000. The danger is that the culture of sport begins to shape educational provision, and national aspirations determine what is seen as 'success'.…”

Section: Policies and Politicsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Locating quality physical education in early years pedagogy

Marsden

Weston

2007

Sport, Education and Society

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“…Thorpe uses the idea of betrayal in his discussion of how a discourse projected by an interest group may be hijacked by others and used to attain ends that betray the interest group. In discussing physical education experts' employment of crisis discourses to shape understandings of physical education and effect change, Thorpe (2003) argues that such discourses were instead effectively deployed as a political technology. For example, he shows how the Australian government co-opted these discourses to justify increased expenditure, prior to Sydney's hosting of the 2000 Olympic Games, not to public schools and physical education programmes, but to the Australian Institute of Sport, which caters for elite sports men and women.…”

Section: Risk-colonised Regulation and 'The Laugh Of Foucault'mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In considering how early childhood advocates might lobby for a more effective QIAS and NSW Regulation, notions of 'betrayal' (Thorpe 2003) and 'the laugh of Foucault' (de Certeau 1986) provide some useful insights. Thorpe uses the idea of betrayal in his discussion of how a discourse projected by an interest group may be hijacked by others and used to attain ends that betray the interest group.…”

Section: Risk-colonised Regulation and 'The Laugh Of Foucault'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulation and risk: early childhood education and care services as sites where the ‘laugh of Foucault’ resounds

Fenech

Sumsion

Goodfellow

2008

Journal of Education Policy

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This article problematises the construction of regulation as an effective manager of risks to children in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. Adopting a Foucaldian, governmentalist approach to regulation and risk, the authors suggest that governments in Australia have 'risk colonised' regulation to meet their own interests rather than make effective use of regulation as a mechanism for quality assurance. They propose that the risk colonising of regulation has not effectively addressed societal risks to children in ECEC services, and has generated its own risks to quality standards through a preoccupation with institutional risk. In these ways, 'the laugh of Foucault' resounds in the regulation of ECEC services.

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“…During the early nineties a groundswell of interest regarding an Australia-wide common curriculum for students in Years 1Á10 (ages 5Á15) resulted in the identification of eight broad areas of education, subsequently organized into Key Learning Areas (KLA) (Dinan- Thompson, 2006). These national initiatives in curriculum development stimulated much debate and contestation amongst those who had vested interests in the HPE field, some even claiming a crisis of identity for PE (Kirk & Tinning, 1990;Kirk, 1996;Thorpe, 2003). Despite these often heated debates, HPE was established as one of the eight national KLAs.…”

Section: In the Fishbowlmentioning

confidence: 97%

Sitting on the fishbowl rim with Foucault: a reflexive account of HPE teachers’ caring

McCuaig

2007

Sport, Education and Society

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This article draws on Bourdieu's analogy of a fish in water, to provide a four-stage self-reflexive account of one Health and Physical Education (HPE) teacher's acquisition of a Foucaldian analytic lens, one with which to explore the moral and governing practices of HPE. Drawing on this research journey, the author seeks to demonstrate her growing capacity to 'feel the weight of her water' and to subsequently critique the resilience of care within Australian HPE contexts and the role these care discourses play in the constitution of healthy, active citizens. This narrative is used to illustrate the complex, contingent trajectory of research endeavours and the value of reflexive strategies for those undertaking the journey from teacher to researcher.Upon first hearing of Bourdieu's analogy of a fish in water, I was struck by the way in which his thoughts epitomized the challenges I faced as a new social science researcher. A 14-year Health and Physical Education (HPE) teaching career encompassing four schools, eight years as HPE Head of Department (HOD) and, more recently, time as a drug education project officer had resulted in a desire to make sense of HPE, its teachers and their impact on the health and well-being of young people. This decision to investigate my HPE 'world' was characterized by a naïve, enthusiastic optimism concerning the insights and 'solutions' I would gain from a research endeavour. I was quickly to discover, however, the challenge of sourcing and employing a critical lens on a world within which I had taken so much for granted. How would I, a product of this social world, be able to 'feel the weight'

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Crisis Discourse in Physical Education and the Laugh of Michel Foucault

Cited by 39 publications

References 17 publications

Locating quality physical education in early years pedagogy

Locating quality physical education in early years pedagogy

Regulation and risk: early childhood education and care services as sites where the ‘laugh of Foucault’ resounds

Sitting on the fishbowl rim with Foucault: a reflexive account of HPE teachers’ caring

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