Pedagogy, the Body and Christian Identity

Abstract

The body is integral to the discourses of health and physical education just as it is to the discourses of religion. When teachers of health and physical education hold particular religious views, there are implications for how the body is positioned in concert with questions of identity and lifestyle. This paper draws on interviews with health and physical education teacher education students, who self-identify as Christians, to explore a range of beliefs and tensions with respect to their personal and professional lives. The growing visibility of the students' religious beliefs in their engagements with professional and curriculum issues has in tum presented new challenges to our critical pedagogies.

Bodies as bearers of value: the transmission of jock culture via the ‘Twelve Commandments’

“…In recent years, the term 'jock culture' has been closely associated with the production and maintenance of hegemonic forms of heterosexual masculinity via a range of social practices and ideological formations that, according to McDonald and Kirk (1999), celebrate "mesomorphy, anti-intellectualism, sexism, homophobia, 5 competitiveness and binge drinking" (p. 2) These characteristics have been identified in a number of studies that have focused on 'jock' culture within the domain of higher education to reveal the gendered dynamics of identity construction. For example, in a North American context, Dewar (1990) focused on how gender identities were understood and negotiated within a Physical Education (PE) university programme in 10 relation to the jock label by four different groups of students: super jocks, women jocks, ordinary jocks, and non-jocks.…”

Social processes of health and physical education teachers’ identity formation: reproducing and changing culture

“…Recent research to understand HPE teachers' identities and practices reveals that physical activity and sport occupy a central defining place (Macdonald and Kirk 1996), as does an ideology of healthism (Gard and Wright 2001). Moreover, there is evidence that many HPE teachers tend to be sexist, elitist, and insensitive to social issues (Evans, Davies, and Penney 1996;Macdonald and Kirk 1999;Tinning 2007;Wright 1999). Despite these findings, less is known about ITE students' identities shaped through their practicum experience.…”

“…Second, we consider teachers' identities to be interconnected with their practice in that their attitudes, thinking and identities inform and shape their curricular decisions and pedagogical practices (cf. Brown and Evans 2004;Macdonald and Kirk 1999;O'Connor and Macdonald 2002).…”

“…This growing body of research reveals ITE students' perspectives and identity formations to be influenced by their past experiences and biographies (Devis-Devis and Sparks 1999; Macdonald and Kirk 1999;Rossi and Hopper 2001), as well as their relationships with school supervisors (also known as mentors) (Brown 2005;Brown and Evans 2004). Recent research to understand HPE teachers' identities and practices reveals that physical activity and sport occupy a central defining place (Macdonald and Kirk 1996), as does an ideology of healthism (Gard and Wright 2001).…”

Religion, Spirituality, and Sport: FromReligio AthletaeTowardSpiritus Athletae

“…Religion, Judaism for example, should be a determinant in understanding physical Spiritual Health: Teacher and Coach Activity Goal 295 activity (Kahan, 2002). Religious views (such as Christianity) definitely play a role in identities and lifestyles, including health and physical education, as well as in the relationship between teachers and students (MacDonald & Kirk, 1999). However, this fact does not mean that religion is a part of sport or the intrinsic value of sport.…”