The doxa of physical education teacher education – set in stone?

Abstract

In this paper, we critically examine the potential of assessment components in physical education teacher education (PETE) to either reinforce or challenge PETE students’ conceptions of what a physical education (PE) teacher needs to know to teach this school subject. To understand the mechanisms that may contribute to the difficulty of challenging these taken-for-granted beliefs (doxa) within PETE, we draw on the theories and concepts of Pierre Bourdieu. Two different kinds of empirical material are analysed: one consists of 62 essays, written by PETE students before starting their degree programme, dealing with their conceptions of PE teachers’ competencies, while the second consists of course booklets and assessment components used within one PETE programme. The study shows that implicit prerequisites and conditions in assessment components are very similar to the conceptions of competencies in PETE students’ statements. The study also shows that taken-for-granted beliefs may be challenged, but at the same time, we argue, the use of socially critical perspectives in PE practice may also (in the name of the doxa) stigmatise those who are not physically active in their leisure time as well as those who do not look fit and sporty, and thus does not challenge the way power and social superiority or inferiority appear in PE.

Between ideal teaching and ‘what works’: The transmission and transformation of a content area from university to school placements within physical education teacher education

“…However, the PETE students' conceptions of the pupils' preferences (that physical education should mainly be about fun and enjoyment) tended to prevent them from planning lessons that aimed at progression. Further, if the PETE students' experiences are taken as evidence, the predominant assessment culture of physical education and teaching traditions mediated through the cooperating teachers, such as introducing a wide range of physical activities for the benefit of joy and variation, seems to be resistant to change (Larsson et al, 2018).…”

“…All of these scholars thus highlight the need for sociocritical approaches that challenge PETE students' views of what is important to master as a teacher in physical education. However, Larsson et al (2018) have shown that many assessment components in PETE tend to reproduce and verify beliefs that emphasise the importance of skills proficiency in different sport techniques. As practical skills are often assessed in isolation from pedagogical contexts, Backman and Pearson (2016) argue that PETE students' ability to teach movement activities should be part of their overall assessment.…”

”Den følelse kan jeg ikke skabe, hvis jeg bare står og fortæller” – Lærernes erfaringer med en handlingsorienteret tilgang til bevægelse i folkeskolen

“…Laererens undervisning tyder dog på, at bevaegelsesaktiviteterne har en paedagogisk kvalitet, men at laereren stadig arbejder på at acceptere den nye praksis som en del af sin almene undervisning. Jørgensen 2019 (Larsson, Linnér & Schenker, 2018). Laerernes didaktiske refleksioner i interviewene kan vaere et skridt på vejen til den forandring.…”

“It’s Groundhog Day”: Foucault’s Governmentality and Crisis Discourses in Physical Education

“…Further, physical education teachers are probably more accustomed to positivistic discourses, which dominate the physical education teacher education content in physiology, biomechanics, motor control and public health, as well as competitive sports, all of which are frequently recurring in physical education teacher education (cf. Kirk, 1992;Larsson, Linnér & Schenker, 2016;Tinning, 2010), which highlights expert knowledge and is based on a strong division between researcher and researched; in this case teachers and teaching. In addition, science discourses designate a quest for certainty rather than the ambiguities and contingencies that underpin much educational discourse (Kelly, Hickey and Tinning, 2000).…”