Background: In school-based physical education (PE) programs, teachers' task to identify, assess, manage and communicate risk and safety and balance these with other pedagogical concerns is complex. Teachers' knowledge is essential in generating quality PE and their specialized knowledge of risk and safety management (RSM) is crucial for creating safe learning environments and educative opportunities for students. However, studies of teachers' RSM knowledge seem scarce and particularly studies including teachers' perspectives. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how teachers develop their RSM knowledge for PE programs. Methods: To gain data on teachers' perspectives on RSM semistructured in-depth interviews were used to generate data. The study involves 17 primary and lower secondary PE teachers from Norway. To emphasize the participants' voices for empirical sensitivity In-vivo and focused coding were employed in the analysis. These codes comprised a further basis for the generation of categories representing core meaning in the material. Findings: The results of this study suggest that teachers' institutional arrangements provide teachers with limited formal RSM training. In PE teacher education (PETE) the preparations of pre-service teachers for the use of RSM approaches might be restricted to selected physical activities according to these teachers. Moreover, due to a lack of resources and training in the teachers' in-service period they seem compelled to develop an individual approach to and knowledge dimension for RSM. The attention teachers give to RSM in PE is consequently widely differing. As their RSM knowledge is individualized and privatized, personal preferences and experiences from teaching are central in developing teachers' RSM knowledge. In this environment however, accountability, close calls and accidents might have a critical function for teachers' conscious development of RSM knowledge. Conclusions: PE teachers' RSM knowledge development is embedded within an institutional environment where teaching experience is vital. Teachers' RSM knowledge may become tacit and bespoke to the teachings of PE with extensive experience. According to the results presented here, beginner teachers might be in a vulnerable position; lacking formal training and teaching experience to deal with risk and safety concerns in PE programs. This study therefore suggests a need for strengthening and widening RSM training in PETE programs for developing and expanding pre-service teachers' RSM knowledge.

In 2008, the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training implemented a new circular with directives for water activities in schools and with a call for testing teachers’ water competence. This circular seems to align with international school safety policies, where additional regulations and safety guidelines are put into practice in school programs such as physical education. Despite this, studies that have applied a critical discourse perspective on regulative texts in physical education seem scarce. The purpose of this article is to examine how teachers’ risk and safety management in physical education is constructed in five regulative documents governing primary and secondary schools in Norway. Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse methodology has been applied to conduct a linguistic and contextual analysis of language. The analysis seems to reveal a discourse that challenge teachers’ autonomy and position. Because the discourse can appear to be neutral and imperative, it might be taken for granted in the field. The entrancement of a controller in examining teachers’ water competence seems to reflect ideals of revision and central control. This article therefore contributes to the understanding of regulative discourses and their power, in education and physical education.

The aim of this article is to explore and understand teachers' risk and safety management (RSM) practices in physical education (PE) programs in Norway. A survey questionnaire and semistructured interviews were therefore used to generate quantitative data on trends from a larger sample of teachers (n = 698) and rich in-depth qualitative data concerning teachers' (n = 17) practices. By providing the teachers' perspectives, a better understanding of the complexity of RSM in PE may be possible. The results from both the survey and interviews suggest that teachers employ multiple strategies: from safety procedures, complying to compulsory risk measures, to the use of common sense in their RSM practices. The interviewees, on the other hand, initially claim that their RSM practice is quite scarce and, in some respects, not appropriate for PE. They emphasize measures that cater to the students' needs and modification to physical activities in their teaching. However, the interview data suggest that teachers do not primarily conceptualize this part of their practice as RSM but as measures of other pedagogical concerns. Combined, the results from both the survey and the interviews may characterize a RSM practice that relies on teaching experience and the use of discretion. The results in this article both converge and diverge and emphasize the importance of multiple data sources in investigating teachers' RSM practices.

Bodily movement is a central component in students’ educational experiences in school-based physical education (PE) programs. PE unavoidably involves physical risk. In some respects, the risk of play, sports and adventure is portrayed as necessary and healthy for children’s development. However, concerns about students’ safety and teachers’ liability might generate risk aversion among teachers. This article explores teachers’ perceptions of risk and safety management (RSM) in PE. Designed as a mixed methods study, the data include an online survey questionnaire (n = 698) and semi-structured interviews (n = 17) among primary and lower secondary PE teachers in Norway. A majority of the survey respondents report that their students only experience minor injuries in their PE classes. The interview data coincide with these results and indicate that minor injuries are rather common. While the survey results show that teachers mostly perceive RSM to be important in PE, the interview data suggest that the teachers’ perceptions of risk are characterized by uncertainty, which restricts the teachers’ control by means of RSM. Teachers also accept risk for enhancing students’ educative experiences in PE. Consequently, this study contributes to the knowledge of the complexity of risk and teachers’ perceptions of RSM in PE.