Using the meaningful physical education features as a lens to view student experiences of democratic pedagogy in higher education

Abstract

Background: Higher education (HE) physical education (PE) can provide opportunities for students to develop meaning(s) and values towards movement experiences. However, it is an under researched area in the educational sphere and little is known about what or how students find, meaningful movement. While there has been increasing interest in the features of meaningful PE, few studies have explored how they relate to students' experiences of movement in the context of HE or indeed the meaning held for certain features such as 'fun'. In seeking to address this gap, the purpose of this article was to explore what university students found meaningful in PE. Method:Using data from a larger digital ethnographic study, this research featured six students studying a university PE class taught by an educator with a sociocultural perspective towards education and movement. Digital video narratives and reflective essays served as qualitative data and were analysed using collaborative thematic analysis.Findings: Four themes are described in relation to students' meaningful experiences. These are (a) meaningful PE is fun and contains elements of delight, (b) meaningful PE is a combination of fun and challenge (c) meaningful PE develops motor competency in personally relevant areas, and (d) meaningful PE is a social and personally relevant experience. Our findings demonstrated the interlinking nature of meaningful PE features and, specifically, how they are embodied by higher education students. Conclusion:We argue that students can have meaningful PE experiences, even when educators do not plan for them. Furthermore, the features of meaningful PE, particularly in relation to 'fun' can extend to university settings. Moreover, sociocultural educators with a clear vision for classes can contribute to students developing foundational beliefs towards movement. This is exhibited through employing democratic pedagogies such as high levels of reflection and goal setting.

‘None of my other teachers know my face/emotions/thoughts’: digital technology and democratic assessment practices in higher education physical education

“…The data are drawn from a broader study investigating student experiences of democratic teaching practices and alternative digital assessment methods in HE PE from January 2017 through May 2017 (Lynch & Sargent, 2020). During this study, this study took a digital ethnographic approach, which allowed us to practise ethnography in different ways (Pink, 2016).…”

“…When an educator gets to know students through rapport building activities and students become involved in the learning process, learning can be meaningful to them especially if they have engaged in democratic pedagogies (Lynch & Sargent, 2020). A democratic pedagogue resists traditional norms of authority and the notion that the teacher is a knowledge-broker.…”

“…Shrehan has a democratic view towards education, and the purposes of her classes are to engage students in high levels of reflection that allow them to engage critically with subject matter. The goals and pedagogies used for the class are detailed in Lynch and Sargent (2020). At Shrehan's institution the most common method she observed used for assessment was traditional exams and classroom presentations, whereby students were required to recite information back to the educator.…”

Pedagogical principles that support the prioritisation of meaningful experiences in physical education: conceptual and practical considerations

“…Moreover, Beni, Fletcher, and Ní Chróinín (2019) showed ways that, for example, competition can lead to some pupils feeling excluded, which negatively influenced how they experienced meaningfulness in a primary physical education class. A focus on inclusivity can promote individual and collective ownership of the purpose/s of tasks and experiences, enhance value judgments, and increase feelings of coherence (Lynch and Sargent 2020;Walseth, Engebretsen, and Elvebakk 2018). Taken together, these may result in pupils becoming aware of how meaningfulness is experienced by themselves and others in physical education.…”

“…Greater and direct emphasis on meaningful experiences in physical education has been proposed to address this problem, (Ennis 2017), however, a coherent and practical articulation of principles that can guide teachers' implementation of pedagogies that prioritise meaningful experiences is missing. Recent developments have shown how the development and articulation of pedagogical principles can support how teacher educators can teach pre-service teachers about prioritising meaningful experiences (Ní Chróinín, Fletcher, and O'Sullivan 2018b;Lynch and Sargent 2020), and we feel that articulating a similar set of principles might be useful for both teachers and researchers whose work is based in schools. In addition to an absence of a coherent set of pedagogies, there is a lack of agreement on the boundaries of what meaningful experiences might entail.…”