‘Of course I ask the best students to demonstrate’: digital normalizing practices in physical education

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on the use of digital video technology for instruction in physical education (PE). Physical educators can produce PE instruction videos (PIVs) as educational resources and often use them to enable independent learning situations. Little research has focused on the criteria teachers use to select students for demonstration in such video practices, while such selections may impact the constructions of (un) desirable bodies in PE. The purpose of this study therefore was to uncover discourses that guide teachers in their selection of students to demonstrate in instructional videos and to discuss the possible consequences these selections may have for the privileging and marginalizing of certain students. We recruited six physical educators who participated in a network of early adopters for ICT in PE and we used their own PIV's as instruments for individual stimulated recall interviews. We subsequently discussed issues raised in these interviews with four focus-groups. We analyzed the data inductively by using open, focused and selective coding, looking for themes in the explanations the teachers used about their selection of students. The results suggest that the selection of students to demonstrate was based on a degree of perceived competence to perform well in the video and a degree of perceived resilience to cope with public scrutiny of their bodies. The teachers constructed hierarchies of desirable bodies that were embedded in intersecting discourses of ability, gender and ethnicity. This resulted in the selection of students who primarily embodied practices associated with white, able-bodied masculinities while other bodies were made invisible. We reflect on how these discursive practices may privilege and marginalize certain students and the possible consequences of this and of the use of students in such videos in general.

Sociocultural processes of ability in Physical Education and Physical Education Teacher Education: A systematic review

“…Most studies identified PE teachers as the most influential mediators in defining what constituted the legitimated habitus in the playing field (Hay and lisahunter, 2006; Hay and Macdonald, 2010b). In fact, educators reinforced the traditional ideology of ability (Fitzgerald, 2005; Hay and Macdonald, 2010a, 2010b) through implicit messages and the impact of power relations on pedagogical practices (Van Amsterdam et al, 2012; Van Doodewaard et al, 2018). Hay and lisahunter (2006) explored PE teachers’ educational practices and found that the powerful messages they communicated were grounded in their own personal experiences within the movement culture.…”

“…Specifically, the ‘able’ student was the one who possessed idealized physicality and attitudinal dispositions informed by sport, performance and hegemonic dogmas that celebrated and valued masculine-related dispositions (Hay and Macdonald, 2010b; Hunter, 2004; Van Doodewaard et al, 2018). Physicality was contingent on dual attributes.…”

“…Acquisition of physical capital was not equally accessible for all students, as some constructed categories (e.g. male, white, healthy, slim, fit and able-bodied) were judged to be more admirable and desirable than others (Van Amsterdam et al, 2012; Van Doodewaard et al, 2018). Consequently, those being slim, physically mature, talented at ball games and able to exhibit male-associated attributes continued to occupy the most significant positions in the field.…”

“…This meant that their learning and individual development was restricted (Hay and lisahunter, 2006; Svennberg, 2017; Tiden et al, 2015), often by significant others (Domangue and Solmon, 2012; Van Amsterdam et al, 2012). These experiences hindered the students’ self-esteem, hopes for achievement (Hay and Macdonald, 2010a), self-perception of their bodies as (un)desirable (Van Doodewaard et al, 2018) and self-identification as able (Fitzgerald, 2005; Hay and lisahunter, 2006; Koca et al, 2009). Their sense of physicality was also damaged, as bodies that do not meet normative standards are seen as deviant (Van Amsterdam et al, 2012) and presumed to be inappropriate to perform the movements required in PE (Koca et al, 2009).…”

“…However, Bourdieu's ideas have also been used in combination with critical pedagogy and post-structuralist feminism (Hunter, 2004). Only the studies by Van Amsterdam et al (2012) and Van Doodewaard et al (2018) diverged from the approaches identified above. These two studies drew on Foucault's concept of disciplinary power, and were framed within a feminist viewpoint that served to elucidate techniques of categorization and normalization over bodily differences.…”