Re-conceiving ability in physical education: a social analysis

Abstract

In this paper we explore how 'ability' is currently conceptualised in physical education and with what effects for different groups of young people. We interrogate approaches to theorizing ability in physical education that draw on sociological and phenomenological 'foundations' together with notions of ability as 'physical' and 'cultural capital' drawn from the work of Bourdieu. We also look to data we and others have collected across a number of empirical projects to ask: where do we find talk about what we might identify as 'ability' in the context of physical education and sport; how is it talked about? and in what ways might this further our thinking of the meaning of 'ability' in physical education and school based sport? Our findings suggest that physical ability is far from a neutral concept and that how it is understood has important consequences for young people in relation to gender, race and social class. We argue that ongoing discussions around what we mean by ability, how we use it, and in relation to whom, are crucial in physical education where organized sport, recreation and exercise remain privileged over other constituents of physical culture.3

‘Are PE teacher identities fit for postmodern schools or are they clinging to modernist notions of professionalism?’ A case study of Norwegian PE teacher students’ emerging professional identities

“…Typical for the participants, Birgitte suggested that it entails "…making sure every pupil feels they are seen in your PE lesson, whatever their starting point." The complexities of 'who the pupil is', or indeed, the complexities of 'ability' (Evans, 2004;Wright & Burrows, 2006) and the organisational challenge of providing learning tasks which reflect the variation inevitably present in a group were not a part of their discourse.…”

Evaluation of a proposal for training in gender in Physical Education among students of Physical Activity and Sport Science Studies

“…Este poderoso proceso normativo comienza con la atracción de un determinado tipo de estudiante a los centros de formación en CCAFD (Brown, 2005;Brown & Evans, 2004;Brown & Rich, 2002;Rich, 2001;Wright, 2002): aquellas personas que han tenido una experiencia satisfactoria en los ámbitos del deporte y la EF porque reúnen los capitales físicos asociados a las formas hegemónicas de masculinidad, como son la capacidad para rendir en el deporte competición y la posesión de un físico atlético y musculoso (Wright & Burrows, 2006). Desarrollan así una identidad deportiva masculina que les predispone a entrar en el ámbito de los estudios de CCAFD y que a su vez les cualifica para ello (p.e., mediante la superación las pruebas físicas de acceso).…”

The Development of the Stereotypical Attitudes in HPE Scale

“…In the context of senior PE in Queensland, Hay and Macdonald (2010) highlighted the consensus amongst teachers was that males excel in terms of physical ability whilst females are more academically able. These assumptions have consequences for the ways in which males and females view and act within their social worlds (Wright & Burrows, 2006), and repercussions for the ways in which teachers identify ability and achievement (Hay & Macdonald, 2010).…”

“…Fitzpatrick's (2011) work with Maori and Pacifica youth further highlights the need for enhanced understandings of HPE in particular cultural contexts, and how as a specialised field of knowledge it expresses and legitimates dominant culture and class hierarchies (Bernstein, 1990;2000). Wright and Burrows (2006) point us towards work by a range of authors who have provided valuable insights into the ways in which "physical 'ability' has been used to differentiate between different races and ethnicities" (p.286). They discuss the false dichotomisation of 'black bodies' (they include Maori, Pasifica, Australian Aboriginal and Afro-American bodies) and 'white bodies' with the former assumed to have physical ability, and the latter assumed to have intellectual ability.…”