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In the context of physical education teacher education (PETE), content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) are constructions of different forms of teacher knowledge that have been used to address knowledge of a subject and knowledge of teaching a subject to young people (Herold & Waring 2009, Siedentop 2009, Tinning 2010). This paper addresses how these two forms of teacher knowledge are valued through a study of learning outcomes (LOs) in syllabus documents at a sample of PETE universities in New South Wales, Australia. The US educationalist Lee Shulman (1987) originally defined CK as “the accumulation of literature and studies in content areas, and the historical and philosophical scholarship on the nature of knowledge in those fields of study” (p. 8-9). In the PETE context, CK is constructed by various sub-disciplines (Tinning 2010). According to Siedentop (2009), one of the most fundamental as well as the most marginalized of these sub-disciplines, is PE teacher students’ knowledge of movement. In this study, specific interest is devoted to how CK and PCK are expressed in documents regulating sport and movement courses within PETE. Regarding PCK, Shulman (1987) suggests it to be “that special amalgam of content and pedagogy that is uniquely the province of teachers, their own special form of professional understanding” (p. 8. Globally, there seems to be an agreement for the importance of future PE teachers to experience movement and sport practices during their education. However, there also seems to be different ideas about whether CK or PCK should by prioritized in the teaching and assessment of movement and sport practices during PETE (Backman & Pearson 2016, Capel, et al 2011, Herold & Waring 2009, Johnson 2013, Tinning 2010). The study of how LOs are expressed in an educational context can inform us not only of what forms of knowledge are most valued. It might also say something about PE teacher educators’ abilities to formulate his/her expectations of the student’s performance. For this instance, the discussion of learning objectives as formulated in university courses has lately been intensified. In Europe, this discussion has been strongly related to the intentions in the Bologna-declaration (Adam 2008, Brooks et al 2014, Hussey & Smith 2008). Some of the issues raised in the literature have concerned ways of formulating verbs in learning outcomes, student activity built into learning outcomes, and level of difficulty in learning outcomes (Adam 2008, Biggs & Tang 2007). Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyse LOs formulated in syllabus document for sport courses at a sample of Australian PETE institutions. Further, the aim is to discuss these LOs through a framework regarding teacher knowledge originating from Lee Shulman (1987). Although PETE, like university programs in other subjects, are historical and cultural constructions, research from European countries such as UK, France, Sweden (Backman &Pearson 2016, Capel, et al 2011, Loquet & Ranganathan 2010) display similarities with the Australian PETE context. One characteristic feature of PETE in all these countries is the relative emphasis on constructivist epistemology and critical pedagogy, although this feature appears to be somewhat stronger in Australia compared to Europe and US. In times where the content in PETE is crowded and the time for teaching is short, a study of what forms of PE teacher knowledge are valued in some Australian PETE institutions, a context where the production of PETE research has been significant during the last decades (see e.g. Forrest 2015, Garrett & Wrench 2012, MacDonald et al 2002, Tinning 2010), can therefore serve as a valuable contrast for the discussion of knowledge forms in European PETE contexts.    

Methods/methodology (up to 400 words) 

By the end of 2014, there were 24 universities across Australia offering PETE, eight in New South Wales (NSW). These eight universities in NSW makes the total sample (N=8) in the study reported in this paper. To the collection of the empirical material in form of written documents, five PETE-universities (n=5) of the total sample have contributed. Each university was asked to contribute with two unit outlines for courses in sport and movement for PETE students. A unit outline is a written document intended to give the student more specific information compared to what a curriculum document for a course will provide (e.g. regarding examination, schedule, expectations, etc). Further, a unit is generally only a part of a whole course. The collected unit outlines contained a the total number of 73 LOs. The sample of unit outlines can be described as a strategic and purposeful sample (Patton, 2002). The empirical collection from the participating universities was carried out during November and December 2014. After information about the study through e-mail and phone, a total number of 10 unit outlines were sent to the author by e-mail. In the analysis Alvesson and Sköldberg (1994) description of analytical induction or abduction has served as an inspiration. This means trying to let, on one hand, the empirical material inform the choice of theoretical perspective while on the other hand, acknowledging that some specific theoretical perspectives, in this case Shulman’s (1987) forms of teacher knowledge, have been viewed as more relevant than others before conducting the study. The primary analysis has been divided into two steps. In the first step, when reading through the collected and transcribed material questions such as: ‘What movement and sport practices do students meet during PETE in NSW?’ and ‘How are movement and sport practices expressed through the LOs in the unit outlines?’ has been asked. Asking these questions to the material has involved a process of clustering described by Patton (2002) as convergence which has been followed up by a process of divergence, that is, an exclusion of formulations and quotes that do not fit into the identified pattern. In the second stage of the analysis, the choice of Shulman’s (1987) concepts for forms of teacher knowledge was confirmed and strengthened as we discovered that the different views of assessment of movement and sport practices were clearly related to our chosen definitions of CK and PCK.

Expected outcomes/results (up to 300 words) 

The preliminary analysis of the LOs shows that the knowledge in sport and movement courses at the investigated PETE institutions is sometimes formulated as CK and sometimes as PCK (Shulman 1987). Within these two main categories there were also sub-categories related to abilities expressed through different verbs. With regards to PCK one such main sub-category addressed the students’ ability to “plan, arrange, carry out and assess different forms of teaching situations”. Further, another ability expressed within the PCK category was the ability to “observe, analyse and critically reflect over educational practices”. These two PCK sub-categories clearly reflect research emphasizing critical pedagogy in Australian PETE (Garrett & Wrench 2012, MacDonald et al 2002, Tinning 2010). Further, two other forms of sub-categories, expressed both as CK and as PCK, was firstly, the ability to “perform movements” and secondly, the ability to “demonstrate an understanding” of different forms of movement and sport practices. Findings will be discussed in relation to research criticizing the decrease of sport performances in PETE (Herold & Waring 2009, Siedentop 2009) as well as work emphasizing the importance to teach and assess movement practices to PETE students in contextualized situations (Backman & Pearson 2016). The concept of “understanding” was found to be very commonly used in LOs both when expressed as CK and as PCK. Generally, students were encouraged to “demonstrate an understanding” of different forms of knowledge. In literature of how to formulate knowledge in higher education, the concept of understanding has been discussed, sometimes criticized as lacking precision (Adam 2008, Biggs & Tang 2007), sometimes claimed to be under-contextualised (Hussey & Smith 2008). Part of the discussion will focus on various meanings of understanding in sport courses at some Australian PETE-institutions and how these meanings can differ depending on whether CK or PCK is addressed.

Intent of publication:  

References (400 words)

Adam, S. (2008). Learning Outcomes Current Developments in Europe: Update on the Issues and Applications of Learning Outcomes Associated with the Bologna Process. Retrieved 12 May 2015, from http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/hogeronderwijs/bologna/BolognaSeminars/documents/Edinburgh/Edinburgh_Feb08_Adams.pdf

Alvesson, M. & Sköldberg, K. (1994). Tolkning och Reflektion. Vetenskapsfilosofi och Kvalitativ Metod. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

Backman, E. & Pearson, P. (2016) ‘We should assess the students in more authentic situations’: Swedish PE teacher educators’ views of the meaning of movement skills for future PE teachers. European Physical Education Review, 22, 47–64.

Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for Quality Learning at University. Third edition. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Brooks, S., Dobbins, K., Scott, J. J., Rawlinson, M., & Norman, R. I. (2014). Learning about Learning Outcomes: The Student Perspective. Teaching in Higher Education, 19, 721-733.

Capel, S., Hayes, S., Katene, W. and Velija, P. (2011). The interaction of factors which influence secondary student physical education teachers’ knowledge and development as teachers. European Physical Education Review, 17, 183–201.

Forrest, G. (2015). Systematic assessment of game-centred approach practices – the game-centred approach Assessment Scaffold. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 20, 144-158.

Garrett, R. & Wrench, A. (2012). ‘Society has taught us to judge’: cultures of the body in teacher education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 40, 111–126.

Herold, F. & Waring, M. (2009). Pre-service physical education teachers’ perceptions of subject knowledge: Augmenting learning to teach. European Physical Education Review, 15, 337–364.

Hussey, T., & Smith, P. (2008). Learning Outcomes: A Conceptual Analysis. Teaching in Higher Education, 13 (1), 107-115.

Johnson, T.G. (2013). The value of performance in Physical Education teacher education. Quest, 65, 485-497.

Loquet, M. & Ranganathan, M. (2010). Content knowledge in teaching, an investigation into an adequate ‘milieu’ for teaching dance: The case of Indian dance in France. European Physical Education Review, 16, 65–79.

MacDonald, D., Hunter, L., Carlson, T. & Penney, D. (2002). Teacher Knowledge and the Disjunction between School Curricula and Teacher Education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 30, 259-275.

Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. London: Sage Publications.

Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-21.

Siedentop, D. (2009). Content Knowledge for Physical Education. In R. Bailey & D. Kirk (Eds.), The Routledge Physical Education Reader (pp. 243-253). Abingdon: Routledge

I september 2014 bytte Leeds Metropolitan University, trots studentprotester, namn till Leeds Beckett University; universitetets första colleges låg i Beckett Park, vilken i sin tur fått namn efter bankiren och konservative parlamentsledamoten Ernest Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe (1856–1917), vars alma mater faktiskt var Trinity College, Cambridge. Leeds-studenternas motstånd hade sin grund i att namnändringen beräknades kosta en kvarts miljon pund, alltmedan inte minst universitetets idrottsanläggningar tillåtits förfalla. Vi vet inte hur universitetets personal ställde sig till namnförändringen, och särskilt nyfikna är vi ju på vad professorn i Leisure Studies (fritidsforskning, fritidsvetenskap) vid Leeds Beckett University, Karl Spracklen, tyckte om förändringen. Detta är dock blott "idle curiosity"; Spracklen är aktuell av ett helt annat, och viktigare, skäl, nämligen för sin bok Leisure, Sports & Society (Palgrave Macmillan). Spracklen, som är sociolog och vars forskningsintresse också inkluderar "metal music" (som sekreterare för International Society for Metal Music Studies och redaktör för Metal Music Studies) och "whiskey tourism" (som drivande i British Sociological Associations Alcohol Study Group) är en centralfigur inom det brittiska fritidsforskningsetablissemanget – han har bland annat varit ordförande i viktiga LSA, Leisure Studies Association från 2009 till 2013. Han har därtill en lång rad publikationer bakom sig, böcker, antologibidrag och vetenskapliga artiklar inom idrotts- och fritidsforskning i vid mening. Den nya boken ges här en grundlig recension av Erik Backman, som ju vet ett och annat om fritidsforskning, Spracklen bottnar teoretiskt i Habermas, i sig ovanligt bland brittiska forskare, men också i Marx, Weber och Bourdieu, bland andra, i sin utforskning av sambandet mellan fritid, fysisk aktivitet och sport ur ett tvärvetenskapligt perspektiv som innefattar idrottsvetenskap, sociologi, cultural studies, historia, filosofi och psykologi. Och vår recensent är imponerad över bredden, djupet och ambitionsnivån – även om det kan bli lite tjatigt från och till.

During the last decade, expanding research investigating school subject Physical Education (PE), indicates a promotion of inequalities regarding which children benefit from PE teaching. Outdoor education and its Scandinavian equivalent friluftsliv, is a part of the PE curriculum in many countries and these practices have been claimed to have the potential to contribute to more equity in PE teaching. Through an investigation of how stipulations regarding friluftsliv in the national Swedish PE curriculum are transformed and interpreted into 31 local PE syllabus documents, this paper investigates the possibilities for friluftsliv to fulfil this potential. In an analysis inspired by educational sociologist Basil Bernstein, I claim that Swedish PE teachers’ marginalised interpretation of friluftsliv indicates its weak classification when a part of PE. When friluftsliv is addressed in PE, the strong dominance of a performance code transforms it into mere sport activities. The results of this study highlight questions regarding PE teachers’ interpretation of learning aims and their work with text documents. It also discusses alternatives to implementing friluftsliv through PE and the role of teachers in curriculum reforms. 

Introduktion

Samtida och senmoderna processer i form av globalisering, individualisering kommersialisering och medialisering påverkar samhället och därigenom även människors utövande av idrott och friluftsliv. Många friluftsaktiviteter tenderar att bli alltmer sportifierade och äventyrsinriktade. Denna utveckling påverkar möjligheterna att implementera friluftsundervisning med utgångspunkt i den nya läroplansreformens starka positionering av friluftsliv och utevistelse inom ämnet idrott och hälsa.

Syfte & teoretisk ram

Syftet med denna studie är att analyera och diskutera idrottslärares syn på hur friluftsundervisningen i grundskolans ämne idrott och hälsa påverkas av läroplansförändringar, idrottslärares friluftsutbildning samt nutida sportifierade och äventyrliga uttryck inom friluftsliv.   

Metod

Mot bakgrund av ett empiriskt material bestående av 12 intervjuer med idrottslärare i grundskolans senare år, utvalda ur det landsomfattande projektet Skola-Idrott-Hälsa, diskuteras hur ungdomars intresse för friluftsliv kan stimuleras genom skolans undervisning.

Resultat

Resultaten från studien bekräftar problemen i att förverkliga friluftslivets framskrivna position i styrdokument för idrott och hälsa och även friluftslivets svaga position som fritidssysselsättning bland ungdomar. Ett äventyrligt friluftsliv bestående av längre utomhusvistelser inkluderande övernattningar, matlagning och utmaningar framhålls som framtidens friluftsundervisning och ett sätt att möta ungdomars behov av stimulans. Resultaten bekräftar även tidigare studier av friluftsutbildning inom lärarutbildningen som svagt anpassad till idrottslärarstudenters kommande yrkeskontext.

Diskussion

I strävan att realisera en friluftsundervisning som engagerar ungdomar och samtidigt verkar inkluderande diskuteras olika perspektiv på äventyr, formuleringar inom kursplanen för idrott och hälsa, friluftsutbildningen för blivande idrottslärare samt gränsöverskridanden inom skolans kunskapsområden.

The aim of this thesis is to examine some of the educational and sociological conditions underlying the production of teaching in friluftsliv within the Physical Education (PE) subject in Swedish compulsory school. Despite the value awarded to the Scandinavian outdoor practice friluftsliv, in both the national PE curriculum document and in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) in Sweden, it does not seem to be thoroughly implemented in compulsory school teaching. Through analyses of interviews with PE teachers and PE teacher educators, as well as of curriculum documents, using the perspectives of Basil Bernstein and Pierre Bourdieu, I explore conditions underlying the expressions of friluftsliv teaching in Swedish PE.

The pedagogic discourse for friluftsliv in Swedish PE is described as a teaching that should take place in a natural setting remote from civilisation, involve risks, and require time, technical equipment, financial resources, and cooperation. This discourse for friluftsliv is shown to be similar to the values emphasised in friluftsliv education in PETE. Although proven to be difficult to implement in school, this discourse appear to form the conception of friluftsliv teaching for PE teachers in Sweden. Under the influence of the performance code, friluftsliv is transformed into outdoor activities with which the PE teachers are familiar, or is totally left out of PE teaching.

A turn towards options that are seen as unthinkable in relation to the current pedagogic discourse may benefit the achievement of the aims set out in the national PE curriculum. Values such as environmental awareness, sustainable development and cultural perspectives on the landscape could strengthen the classification of friluftsliv and PE in compulsory school. Further, an increase of socially critical and constructivist perspectives during PETE could make unthinkable options in friluftsliv thinkable and contribute to a break with the reproduction of teaching practices in PE.

Introduktion

Idrotten har alltid förändrats i förhållande till samhället i övrigt. Inte minst har det funnits ett dynamiskt samspel i dess ”gränstrakter” till delvis överlappande samhällsfenomen som sport, friluftsliv och naturturism. Två dagsaktuella och sammanlänkade tendenser i dessa gränstrakter som denna studie vill uppmärksamma handlar om friluftslivets sportifiering (traditionella friluftsaktiviteters transformering till tävling) och friluftslivets landskapsdekontextualisering (aktiviteternas frigörelse från landskapet).

Syfte & teoretisk ram

Studiens syfte är att öka kunskaperna om äventyrsidrott och friluftssport med särskild fokusering på frågor om sportifiering och landskapsdekontextualisering. Utifrån ett moderniseringsperspektiv har följande mer specifika frågor har studerats:

1. Hur ser det svenska och internationella forskningsläget ut avseende ovan beskrivna fenomen?
2. Hur ser svenska och internationella exempel ut avseende aktiviteter, platser och perspektiv inom friluftssport och äventyrsidrott?

Metod

Studiens syfte och frågor har besvarats genom en bred, konventionell litteratursökning bland internationella forskningstidskrifter (fråga 1) och genom explorativa litteraturstudier där text, foton och reklam är ger underlag för frågor om aktivitetstyp och typ av landskap/miljö (fråga 2).

Resultat

Resultatet visar att tendenser till sportifiering och friställning från landskapet är mycket påtagliga. En bred gråzon håller på att etableras i den konventionella idrottens gränstrakter till friluftslivet som innehåller en mängd nya aktiviteter och mycket dynamik. En i studien uppmärksammad tendens är att inom mer upplevelsebaserad kroppsövning med äventyrlig prägel är människans medvetenhet om den ”inre kroppen” lika stor, eller större, i jämförelse med den fysiska ”yttre kroppen”. En annan central tendens är skärningen mellan klimatdebatten och tidigare starkt naturanknutna aktiviteter som idag kan byggas upp inomhus. Ytterligare ett av studiens resultat är att frågor rörande tillgänglighet, inte minst för ungdomar i såväl formaliserade som icke-formaliserade lärandesammanhang, bör beaktas i relation till den ökade specialisering, certifiering och professionalisering som följer av friluftssporters utveckling. 

Diskussion

Den omförhandling som nu pågår om ideal, aktiviteter, platser och miljöer knutna till friluftstraditionen respektive sporttraditionen diskuteras, bland annat avseende:  

a) konstruerade anläggningar och miljöer för aktiviteter som tidigare bedrivits i naturpräglade landskap.

b) tillgänglighet till friluftsliv för ungdomar.

c) traditionellt resp sportifierat friluftsliv och dess relation till livslång hälsa

d) inkludering resp exkludering inom sportifierat friluftsliv

e) fysisk planering och hållbar utveckling i relation till sportifierat friluftsliv

f) tävling och naturmöten i relation till sportifierat friluftsliv.

It has been claimed that issues of assessment in school and education is of particular interest in contemporary society with many conflicting demands, theories and practices (McDowell 2010). In the field of Physical Education (PE), assessment issues, grading and examination practices has received attention on the school level during the last decade (MacPhail & Halbert 2010, Penney 2009, Lopez-Pastor et.al 2013, Redelius & Hay 2009). However, on the level of PE teacher education (PETE), the knowledge base of these issues is not as significant. Based on the relative reduction of movement practices in PETE following the academisation of teacher education in general (Kirk 2010), there are reasons to investigate the what- and the how-question regarding examination in movement practices in PETE.

The aim with this paper is to analyse and discuss what is assigned value in the formulation of tasks for examination of movement in subject courses on seven Swedish PETE departments. Inspired by Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic capital (Bourdieu & Wacquant 1992) and its use in PE research (Backman 2008, Brown 2005, Redelius et.al. 2009), a preliminary analysis of formulations in curricula documents has showed that the examination of movement practices is a silent, constant and ongoing process, rather than out-spoken and performed at specific occasions during a course. The analysis has also shown that the ability to perform movements is, within examination tasks, formulated separate from the ability to teach, rather than integrated with one another. Illuminating these issues, not only on the level of school PE but also on the PETE level, might develop and strengthen assessment practices not only in PE but also in PETE.

Friluftsliv uppvisar ett uppsving som för många säkert är oväntat men som nog till stor del är i samklang med den skandinaviska tidsandan. Visserligen är det ett i huvudsak urbant fenomen, de senaste årens fokus på fysisk aktivitet, konditionsträning och fitness, aktiviteter som dessutom ofta äger rum inomhus i speciella kommersiellt drivna träningshallar – där är luften inte fri! – men trenden tar sig också uttryck i löpning eller joggning i urbana parkområden eller i lagom tuktad natur i anslutning till städer. Man kan tänka att steget inte skulle vara långt till verkliga naturupplevelser, och, som sagt, det finns ett uppsving. Det nymornade intresset för autentiska naturupplevelser kan säkert också bottna i en civilisationskritisk trend i det tidiga tredje millenniet, vars beståndsdelar spretar på ett sätt som gör det omöjligt att närmare skärskåda företeelsen i detta sammanhang. Istället konstaterar vi att forskningen varit kvick att fånga upp friluftsintresset, vilket inte minst märks i recensionsfloran på den här webbplatsen, som denna gång utvidgas med en recension av Friluftsliv: Natur, samfund og pædagogik av Peter Bentsen, Søren Andkjær och Niels Ejbye-Ernst (Munksgaard Danmark). Erik Backman, som disputerat i ämnet, har läst och recenserar, och han bjuder redaktörerna på många tips till förbättringar inför nästa upplaga av boken.

I samband med att idrott och sport kommit att ta allt större utrymme på olika plan i samhällslivet så har friluftsliv, med dess tydliga samhörighet till många av idrottslivets kärnvärden, också fått förnyad aktualitet. Forumet har varit lite sen att uppmärksamma denna förändring, även om det inte är det enda skälet till att vi först nu recenserar en av nyckelböckerna i området (det handlat också om att friluftsforskarna i Norden står varandra ganska nära). Men som är det är med selektiv perception, när vi väl hade noterat en eller två nya böcker om friluftsliv så hittade vi bara fler och fler, avhandlingar och antologier. Snart kommer en ny temasida om friluftsliv i forumets mer om-sektion. Boken som nu blivit föremål för kritisk granskning är Klas Sandells och Sverker Sörlins antologi Friluftshistoria: Från «härdande friluftslif» till ekoturism och miljöpedagogik (Carlssons) i dess andra upplaga från 2008 – den första kom 2000. Den recenseras av en relativt nybakad doktor i friluftsliv, Erik Backman, vars avhandling recenseras i dessa spalter under våren. Som sagt, detta är en grundsten i den svenska friluftsforskningen, men vår recensent dristar sig att föra fram flera förslag till förbättringar inför kommande nya utgåvor.

In Sweden, as in many European countries, Outdoor Education (OE, or its Scandinavian equivalent as friluftsliv) is in the formal school setting positioned within the subject Health and Physical Education (HPE). In the curriculum for compulsory school, implemented in 2011, OE is organized as one of three areas of knowledge along with Health and Lifestyle, and Movement. In order to meet the increasing call for a more equal assessment and grading in Swedish Schools, the Swedish National Agency of Education (SNAE) completed the curriculum in HPE with a material (text and film) named Support For Assessment (SFA) in 2012. As responsible for the construction of OE in SFA the author followed up the implementation of the SFA with several presentations and workshops for teachers in HPE during 2013 and 2014. The purpose of this presentation is to describe how OE was constructed in the SFA in Swedish HPE for compulsory school and further to analyse and discuss reactions from Swedish HPE teachers expressed in evaluations after the mentioned presentations and workshops. The results suggest that while a part of the HPE teachers found the SFA useful and effective, another part called for more concrete advices on what to assess in OE and how to assess it. Drawing on Basil Bernstein’s theories of how pedagogical messages are communicated and evaluated in school systems, the results will be discussed in relation to the classification of OE within Swedish HPE.

This seminar takes its departure in PETE-programmes and PESP-research at The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden. After a brief description of the activity at this university with regards to history, culture, structure, content and extent, the main focus of the seminar will be devoted to a discussion of the challenges following partly from acting within a multidisciplinary academic (sport) context and partly from insights after comparing Swedish PETE-programmes and PESP-research to its similarities in other countries. Issues with regards to equity, equality and power, and the educational impact of these perspectives, will be acknowledged during this seminar. 

Research indicates that outdoor teaching practices within a physical education (PE) context are controlled by several factors with the potential to weaken or strengthen PE teachers' communication of pedagogic messages. Drawing on 12 qualitative interviews with PE teachers in compulsory schools in Sweden, the findings in this study suggest that factors claimed to control teachers' pedagogic communication of friluftsliv (the Scandinavian equivalent to outdoor education) are based on the construction of a dominating pedagogic discourse for outdoor teaching in Swedish schools. Inspired by Basil Bernstein's theoretical concepts of the pedagogic device, the analysis of this discourse indicates that Swedish PE teachers and PE teacher education appear to reproduce friluftsliv as a teaching practice carried out in a remote wilderness setting involving specific equipment, financial resources and a certain amount of risk. In relation to these results, alternative ways to think of outdoor teaching in relation to the achievement of the national aims in Swedish PE are discussed.

It has been claimed that issues of assessment in school and higher education is of particularinterest in contemporary society with many conflicting demands, theories andpractices. In the field of Physical Education (PE), assessment issues, gradingand examination practices has received attention on the school level during thelast decade. However, on the level of PE teacher education (PETE), theknowledge base of these issues is not as significant. Based on the relativereduction of movement practices in PETE following the academisation of teachereducation in general, there are reasons to investigate the what- and thehow-questions regarding examination in movement practices in PETE. In thisstudy, expressions of examination regarding movements in PETE departments in Swedenand in Australia have been investigated and compared. Building on analysis ofsyllabi documents from PETE departments in Sweden and Australia, and oninterviews with PE teacher educators from these departments, the specific aimof the study is to analyse and discuss what is assigned value in theexamination of movements on a sample of PETE departments in Sweden andAustralia. Inspired by the sociological and educational theories of PierreBourdieu and Basil Bernstein, and particularly the concepts of social field andsymbolic capital (Bourdieu) as well as classification, performance code andcompetence code (Bernstein), the preliminary analysis  of the investigated syllabi documents hasshowed that there is a tension regarding whenthe examination of movements is taking place. There are expressions of instantaneousexamination, i.e. examinations that take place at one or a few occasions withspecific and outspoken tasks, as well as of continuous examination, i.e.examination as a silent, constant and ongoing process often combined withdemands of participation. The preliminary analysis of the interviews with thePE teacher educators has revealed a tension between viewing the importance ofmovement as subject matter knowledge, i.e. as an ability to perform movements,or as didactic knowledge, i.e. as a means for the ability to teach. Thesetensions will be further analysed with regards to similarities and differencesbetween PETE departments in Sweden and Australia. Illuminating these issues mightdevelop and strengthen examination practices not only in PETE but also in PE.

Vandra, klättra eller paddla i naturpräglade landskap blir tävlingar i multisport. Samtidigt blir sådant som kiting och brädsporter upplevelseorienterade och tävlingskritiska.

Aktiviteter friställs också alltmer från landskapet genom äventyrsbad och klätterväggar, skidåkning inomhus och forspaddlingsbanor med vattenpumpar.

Håller friluftslivet och naturen – som i skidåkning på natursnö, skogsvandringar och paddling på forsens och havets villkor – att helt tappa sin betydelse?

Eller är det i stället en nytändning för friluftslivets lekfullhet och en väg till nya naturmöten som vi ser i trendiga aktiviteter och uppbyggda miljöer?

Boken vänder sig till blivande och verksamma idrottslärare, entreprenörer och ledare i idrott, friluftsliv, fritid och turism. Den kan dessutom med fördel rekommenderas som inspirerande läsning för den breda allmänheten med intresse för friluftslivets varierande möjligheter.

In recent decades there has been an increasing dynamic interplay in the “borderlands” of sport between closely related phenomena like outdoor recreation and nature tourism (see e.g. Bale 2006, Fredman et al. 2008a and Wheaton 2007). Two trends within these “borderlands” are explored in this study: the sportification of traditional outdoor activities and the liberation of outdoor activities from the landscapes in which they were originally performed. From a perspective of modernization, the following questions are addressed:

1.          What is the state of knowledge regarding trends within outdoor adventure- and lifestyle sports?

2.          How are examples of activities, places and perspectives within outdoor adventure- and lifestyle sports expressed?

To answer these questions, conventional literature studies of, firstly, academic journals and, secondly; magazines, photographs and commercials, have been conducted. The result shows that tendencies towards the sportification of outdoor adventure- and lifestyle sports (see e.g. Breivik 2010 and Wheaton 2004) and the liberation of these activities from their “original” landscape (see e.g. Daniel 2007 and Bottenburg & Salome 2010) are significant. Of importance from a practitioner perspective is that a “grey-zone” containing several new activities and dynamics is being established in the “borderlands” between sport and outdoor recreation (Sandell, Arnegård & Backman 2011). From an academic perspective, the identified intersection between the climate debate and the nature-related activities that can now be performed indoors is important (see e.g. Sandell 2011 and Sandell & Öhman 2010). Another result that indicates a need for further research is that issues of accessibility, especially for young people, should be considered in relation to the increasing certification and specialization that characterizes the development of outdoor activities (see e.g. Bäckström 2011, Fredman et al. 2008b, Lundvall 2011 and Odden 2008). The current renegotiation of ideals, activities, places and environments related to the traditions of outdoor recreation and sport is discussed, most notably regarding:

a)         Constructions and environments for activities previously performed in “natural” landscapes.

b)         Accessibility to outdoor adventure- and lifestyle sports for young people.

c)          The health aspect of traditional and sportified outdoor activities.

d)         Inclusion and exclusion in relation to outdoor adventure- and lifestyle sports.

e)         Physical planning and sustainable development in relation to outdoor adventure- and lifestyle sports.

This paper is a comment to Ward et al. (2020) on the irresponse to a previous paper in which we elaborate on a phronetic perspective on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in physical education. In our previous paper, we point to what we see as limitations in PCK-work in physical education. In their response, Ward et al. (2022) argue that we have misrepresented their research as well as the behaviorist epistemology. In this comment, we acknowledge distinctions in PCK-research that were not captured in our original paper. We also argue for why our understanding of the PCK-research was based on interpretations rather than a case of misrepresentation. Further, we argue for the constant acknowledgment of ideology in research. Finally, we discuss the need for clarity regarding the meaning of perfor-mance when viewed as content knowledge.

During the past few decades, research into the social stratification in physical activity and sport has indicated that these practices are undisputedly correlated to possession of socioeconomic and cultural capital. Although sometimes claimed as socially equal, the practice of outdoor recreation appears to display the same pattern. However, recent studies of outdoor recreation-participants with low socioeconomic and cultural capital, indicate that the proportion also engaged in general physical activity is disproportionately high. Drawing on this finding, experiences of nature appears to be particularly important when striving for a life-long physically active lifestyle. The aim of this study is to further investigate the relation between the interest for outdoor recreation and the interest for physical activity.

This study is part of a longitudinal Swedish study of habits regarding physical activity and sport during adolescence and adulthood. The individuals included in this study were first contacted in 1968 when they were 15 years old. The sample originally consisted of 2144 individuals, divided into 91 randomly selected school classes in Year 8 in four counties in Sweden. Since then, follow-up contact and information gathering have been conducted on six additional occasions, primarily via questionnaries sent by post. At the last collection, in 2007, a total of 1518 responses were recieved. By comparing groups in the mentioned empirical material, with various interests for outdoor recreation and/or physical activity, regarding variables such as: gender; social position; leisure habits; and previous experiences of sport and outdoor recreation; the relation between the interest for outdoor recreation and the interest for physical activity will be further explored.

Through a multipel logistic regression analysis, preliminary results indicate that practice of physical activity and practice of outdoor recreation are related. Among outdoor recreation-participants with low socioeconomic and cultural capital, the proportion also engaged in physical activity appears to be disproportionally high. This finding motivates a further analysis of factors explaining the relation between the interest for physical activity and the interest for outdoor recreation. The results will be discussed in relation to the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and taste.

Baksidestext:

An increased globalization and growth of cities also highlights the boundaries between nature and civilization from educational and experiential perspectives, especially with regards to issues of democracy and inclusion. From this perspective, much of modern outdoor education can be understood as 'urban' wherever the people come from or wherever the activity takes place. This book, building upon papers presented on the EOE Seminar 2013, takes its departure within how our notions of nature are related to the urbanization of people.

The following authors have contributed to this book: Erik Backman, Barbara Humberstone, Chris Loynes, Klas Sandell, Sue Waite, Rowena Passy, Martin Gilchrist, Maija Venäläinen, Laura Kuusinen, David Brown, Katharina Seyfferth, Jakob F. Þorsteinsson, Diane Collins, Elizabeth Nasimbwa, Steve Bowles, Fiona Nicholls, Mark Leather and Peter Becker.

The EOE Seminar 2013 - «Urban nature: inclusive learning through youth work and school work», hosted by The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH) in partnership with Friluftsfrämjandet, The European Institute for Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning (EOE) and the European Union (Youth in Action Programme), took place at GIH in Stockholm over four days from 5th to 9th June 2013.  Collaborating partners were also Svenska Turistföreningen (STF) and National Centre of Outdoor Education (NCU).

In Physical Education (PE), as well as in several other school subjects, the content knowledge has been proven to be reproduced through strong subject traditions. In PE, this reproduction has promoted children who are already privileged in school and society. In this paper, explanations to the difficulties of influencing subject traditions in PE are searched within Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE). Learning objectives stipulated in curricula documents within teacher training courses at six Swedish PETE institutions have been investigated. The preliminary results of the study indicate that the learning objectives expressed appear to reproduce the dominance of (natural) scientific and behaviouristic traditions in PETE and a dualistic approach to PE teacher knowledge. These results will be discussed in relation to theories of teacher knowledge.  Exploring learning objectives within PETE may be of significance for the construction of PE knowledge at a school level and may also offer explanations to the promotion and marginalisation of children in PE teaching.

Teaching outdoors is an obligatory part of physical education (PE) in most countries; therefore, PE holds great potential to contribute to learning about nature, the environment and environmental sustainability (ES). This paper reports the investigation of whether Swedish PE teachers perceive ES as part of their subject, and if so, how do they implement it? Drawing on 60 PE teachers' answers to five opened questions (53 written answers and 7 oral interviews), and using British sociologist Basil Bernstein's concepts of classification and codes, this study have asked the following research questions: 1. What influences the position and legitimisation of ES in PE? 2. How does the subject culture of Swedish PE influence the introduction of ES? The result from the study shows a complexity regarding the strength of the boundaries that surround ES in PE and what this complexity might offer in terms of enablers and constraints. The result also displays a strong connection between outdoor education and its potential for teaching ES. Various options are discussed with regard to where (in what content areas in PE) and how to implement ES.

Research indicates that Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) has only limited impact on how physical education (PE) is taught in schools. This paper offers possible explanations for the difficulties of influencing subject traditions in PE through analysing PETE curriculum documents. The purpose is show how knowledge is expressed through learning outcomes in local curriculum documents at six PETE institutions in Sweden. Inspired by Fenstermacher’s ideas about teacher knowledge, our ambition is to discuss the potential educational consequences of the epistemological assumptions underlying specific learning outcomes. From the total number of 224 learning outcomes described in the curriculum documents, different types of knowledge were identified and clustered together into the following themes: Teaching PE, Interpreting curriculum documents, Physical movement skills, Science, Social health, Pedagogy, Critical inquiry, and Research methods. In most of the identified themes, learning outcomes are formulated with an integrated perspective on so called performance knowledge and propositional knowledge. However, particularly in the themes Science and Physical movement skills, two very influential themes, the concept of knowledge is limited and unilateral in relation to ideas of different forms of teacher knowledge. Drawing on the work of Tinning, we offer an explanation as to how teacher knowledge in the themes Science and Physical movement skills, emanating from behaviouristic and craft knowledge orientations, is formulated.

Idag finns relativt mycket kunskap om skolämnet idrott och hälsa, eller ’kroppsøvning’ och ’idræt’ som det heter i Norge respektive Danmark. Dock vet vi inte lika mycket om den utbildning som ska förbereda de lärare som ska undervisa i idrott och hälsa i skolan. I den här boken ställs befintlig kunskap om idrottslärarutbildningen i relation till pågående förändringsprocesser i skola, utbildning och samhälle. Hur påverkas idrottslärarutbildning av problem och utmaningar inom skolämnet idrott och hälsa? Hur förbereds studenter för uppgiften att forma unga människors förhållande till hälsa och kroppsrörelse? Vilka olika framtidsscenarior är möjliga för idrottslärarutbildning? Det är några av de övergripande frågor som behandlas i den här boken.

I boken ger författarna en samlad bild av den skandinaviska forskningen om idrottslärarutbildning. Utbildningen beskrivs och diskuteras utifrån historiska, utbildningspolitiska och professionsrelaterade perspektiv. Boken vänder sig till studenter och doktorander inom idrottslärarutbildning samt till utbildare inom nämnda utbildning, såväl de som jobbar inom högskola som inom grund- och gymnasieskolan. Vidare är boken angelägen för personer inom myndigheter och organisationer som fattar beslut som rör idrottslärarutbildning.

Innehåll

• Idrottslärarutbildning – en kontextualisering / Lena Larsson och Erik Backman
• Från frisk- och sjukgymnast till lärare i idrott och hälsa / Jane Meckbach och Suzanne Lundvall 
• Reproduktion och förändring / Lena Larsson 
• Utdanningsmarkedet, kroppsøvingslærerutdanninger og læresteders pedagogiske diskurs / Svein Kårhus
• Utvärdera lärarutbildning i idrott och hälsa – utifrån vilka normer / Håkan Larsson
• Kjønn? ”Ikke noe problem!” / Fiona Dowling
• Undervisnings- og læreprocesanalyse – et redskab til kompetenceudvikling / Mia Herskind og Helle Rønholt
• Å lære å undervise for elevenes læring i kroppsøving / Glenn Kjerland
• Vad ska en idrottslärare kunna? / Erik Backman
• ”Tyst” men skickligt. Bedömning av lärarstudenter i idrottslärarpraktik / Henrik Hegender
• Didaktiska trianglar / Konstantin Kougioumtzis och Claes Annerstedt
• Idrott och hälsas didaktik / Katarina Schenker
• Forandringslæring i innovation af uddannelsesundervisning / Lars Elbæk
• Målet med kroppsøvingslærerutdanning / Kjersti Mordal Moen
• Idrottslärarutbildning för framtiden / Erik Backman och Lena Larsson

The general knowledge base of Health and Physical Education Teacher Education (HPETE) is growing stronger. As a part of that knowledge base there is an ongoing discussion of the meaning of HPETE students’ movement capabilities (Brown 2013, Capel et al 2011, Johnson 2013, Siedentop 2009, Tinning 2010). Lee Shulman’s (1987) framework of Content Knowledge (CK) and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) have been used by scholars to examine how students’ ability to move and their ability to teach are valued in HPETE (Backman & Pearson 2016, Herold & Waring 2016, Ward et al 2015). However, the students’ own voices about these issues have rarely been acknowledged. The aim with this paper is therefore to examine how HPETE students at one university in Sweden experience the assessment of movement knowledge in and about aquatics, dance and ice-skating. Semi-structured interviews with two groups including a total of seven students were performed by the one researcher at three different occasions. The interviewing researcher’s regularly work is not at the same university as the participating students. The interviews focused specifically on the teaching and assessment of aquatics, dance and skating within the first semester of HPETE. The transcription of the six interviews was performed by external assistance and the students were all anonymized in the transcribed material. The following analysis, performed by two researchers stationed at the same university as the participating students, focused on how the transcribed material related to the aim and the concepts of Shulman. Preliminary results show several expressions of that the students in our study were not sure of what kinds or what level of movement knowledge were expected of them as they entered HPETE. Further, several students expressed limited possibilities to develop movement ability merely through HPETE teaching but at the same time, practicing unfamiliar movements outside HPETE teacher-led teaching was rare. Although assessment of movement knowledge were most commonly expressed as a qualitative process, some students mentioned that they occasionally experienced assessment of movement knowledge as “a-tick-in-a-box”. Interestingly, the cognitive aspects of movement knowledge (i.e. describe, observe, analyse, discuss, etc.) were on the one hand expressed as vital, but on the other as less characterized by learning compared to the practice of movement skills. The results will be analysed and discussed in relation to research within the field and in relation to Lee Shulman’s framework of CK and PCK. Although making no claims to generalize the results in this study based on the limited number of participants, they might contribute to the discussion of what forms of knowledge to prioritise in HPETE, and thereby also help develop HPE on a school level.

References

Backman, E. & Pearson, P. 2016. “We should assess the students in more authentic situations”. Swedish PE teacher educators’ views of the meaning of movement skills for future PE teachers. European Physical Education Review. 22(1): 47-64.

Brown, T.D. 2013. “A vision lost? (Re)articulating an Arnoldian conception of education ‘in’ movement in physical education.” Sport, Education and Society 18 (1): 21-37.

Capel, S., Hayes, S., Katene, W. and P. Velija. 2011. “The interaction of factors which influence secondary student physical education teachers’ knowledge and development as teachers.” European Physical Education Review, 17 (2): 183–201.

Herold, F. and M. Waring. 2016. “Is practical subject matter knowledge still important? Examining the Siedentopian perspective on the role of content knowledge in physical education teacher education.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/17408989.2016.1192592

Johnson, T.G. 2013. “The value of performance in Physical Education teacher education.” Quest 65 (4): 485-497.

Shulman, L.S. 1987. “Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform.” Harvard Educational Review 57 (1): 1-21.

Siedentop, D. 2009. “Content Knowledge for Physical Education. In The Routledge Physical Education Reader, edited by R. Bailey and D. Kirk, 243-253. Abingdon: Routledge

Tinning, R. 2010. Pedagogy and human movement: theory, practice, research. Abingdon: Routledge.

Ward, P., Kim, I., Ko, B. and W. Li. 2015. “Effects of Improving Teachers’ Content Knowledge on Teaching and Student Learning in Physical Education.” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 86 (2): 130–139.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss physical education teacher education (PETE) students’ conceptions of teaching and assessment of movement capability as a part of content knowledge in aquatics, dance and ice-skating at a university in Sweden. The theoretical perspective involves Shulman’s concept of content knowledge, the further elaboration of content knowledge into common content knowledge, and the theoretical perspective underpinning movement capability. The sample consists of two groups with a total of seven PETE students who volunteered to take part in group interviews. Semi-structured interviews with the two groups were conducted on three occasions. Findings display that the students’ conceptions of movement capability seem to be focused around performance of movements. Further, the participants felt the messages to be unclear in terms of what they are to know regarding movement capability before entering PETE. There was also a contradiction in that the PETE students felt it to be obvious that they would ‘know’ certain movements, and at the same time they requested clear and distinct criteria when it came to the performance of movements. This study shows that expectations in terms of PETEstudents’ levels of movement content knowledge need to be further investigated and discussed.

This study also highlights the importance of conceptualising what PETE students need to learn if they are to see the need to develop their movement capability on their own. Assessments of students’ reflections on what it means to master movements are discussed as an alternative to assessment of performance of movements.

The general knowledge base of Health and Physical Education Teacher Education (HPETE) is growing stronger. As a part of that knowledge base there is an ongoing discussion of the meaning of HPETE students’ movement capabilities. Lee Shulman’s framework of Content Knowledge (CK) and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) have been used by scholars to examine how students’ ability to move and their ability to teach are valued in HPETE. However, the students’ own voices about these issues have rarely been acknowledged. The aim with this paper is therefore to examine how HPETE students at one university in Sweden experience how movement knowledge in certain movement activities are valued in the assessment. Semi-structured interviews with two groups (3-4 students in each) with a total of seven students was performed at three different occasions focusing specifically on how aquatics, dance and skating was taught and assessed within the first semester of HPETE. Preliminary results of our first analysis of the students’ expressions of their education in aquatics show that the students experience qualitative dimension in the assessment of their performances in aquatics as well as a quantitative measurement. They also expressed a lack of teacher-led occasions for learning in and about aquatics before they assessed. Students were also uncertain of how their own practical performance was acknowledged in the assessment of aquatics in relation to their ability to observe and give feedback on their peers’ performance. The results will be analysed and discussed using Lee Shulman’s framework of CK and PCK. By extension, these results might contribute to the discussion of what forms of knowledge to prioritise in HPETE, and thereby also help develop HPE on a school level.

Research display mixed results regarding the impact that teacher education have on teaching practices in schools. While some studies indicate weak influence of teacher education, others display that some content and perspectives in teacher education seem to find their expressions in school practice. Despite the lack of research about the impact of physical education teacher education (PETE), a few existing studies display the same twofold result as for teacher education in general. In this study, we have chosen a certain content, assessment of learning (AFL) in order to investigate the influence that PETE can have for newly qualified teachers (NQT) in physical education (PE). The aim of the project is twofold. Firstly, inspired by Bernstein’s theory of the pedagogic device, the aim is to investigate how AFL is constructed in university courses, re-contextualised in practicum courses, and realised in teaching practice in school PE. Secondly, and inspired by Ball’s theory of performativity, the aim is to analyse fabrications of AFL in the transitions from PETE to PE teaching practice. The design of the project is to follow a total of 10 PETE students recruited from two different PETE universities in Sweden to study how their understanding and teaching practice of AFL is transformed from PETE to PE. Empirical material will be gathered from recordings of seminars, observations for teaching, stimulated-recall-interviews, and participation in social media.

The discussion of what constitute subject matter knowledge in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) has been intense and ongoing, particularly in the US and in Australia. One central part of this discussion have concerned the movement and sporting practices that students meet during their education. While most PETE scholars agree on the value for PETE students to experience movement and sport practices during their education, there are different ideas about the extent and in what form these should be taught and as to whether, and in what form, these should be assessed. In Australia, the discussion of movement and sport practices in PETE has very much been focused on various adaptations of the Sport Education model, the Game Centered Approach and Teaching Games for Understanding. However, given the limitations of time and resources, the issue of whether to prioritize movement and sport practices seen as a form of knowledge in itself or as means for teaching pupils in, through and about movement, has only been slightly dealt with in research of Australian PETE. Inspired by Shulman’s division of different forms of teacher knowledge, and in particular subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, we want to address gaps in the Australian research on movement and sport practices in PETE. Illuminating the local construction of dominant as well as marginalized research discourses might help identify issues in need of research. 

The question of what knowledge a student of Physical Education (PE) needs to develop during PE teacher education (PETE) was recently discussed. One form of knowledge is the movement practices that students must meet during their education. Given the limited time, a delicate matter is whether to prioritize movement knowledge and consider it as subject matter knowledge (e.g. performance of the freestyle stroke) or as pedagogical content knowledge (e.g. teaching how to perform the freestyle stroke). The aim is to investigate Swedish PE teacher educators’ views on the meaning of movement skills for future PE teachers and to analyse the learning cultures made visible in the ways the meaning of movement is expressed. We conducted interviews with 12 teachereducators and collected documents with tasks for assessment from five PETE universities in Sweden. Inspired by Bourdieu’s field metaphor, and particularly its use by Hodkinson et al. on learning cultures, we then analysed the collected material. In the results, different views on the meaning of movement skills are made visible. The PE teacher can be seen as an instructor, as well as a facilitator of movements. Movement skills can be seen as essential for a teacher in PE, as well as valuable but not essential. Movement quality can also be viewed as universal, as well as contextual. Swedish teacher educators in PE appear to ascribe value to all the positions made visible in this study. These results are discussed from the perspectives of epistemology, assessment and learning cultures.

The purpose of this paper is to describe, analyse and discuss the  statements made by Australian physical education teacher educators (PETE) in terms of how they perceive and value movement content knowledge (CK) in their assessment of  movement courses. Drawing on Shulman’s perspective of CK, this paper builds on qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with nine teacher educators from a total of seven PETE universities in New South Wales as well as written unit outlines including  assignments from these PETE universities. The main results from the study show that among the participants, movement CK is conceptualised as physical movement performance. This conceptualisation limits the value placed on movement CK in the assessment of PETE students. Further, movement courses are  often assessed using written assignments rather than practice oriented  assignments. The findings have been analysed and  discussed in relation to Shulman-inspired concepts of CK and  pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), as well as in relation to  epistemological perspectives in PETE.

It is well established that students in higher education need to develop evaluative skills in order to become effective learners (Guest & Riegler 2022). Assessment for Learning (AfL) is a model for assessment that strengthens learning in schools as well as in higher education (Black et al 2002). This is also the case in physical education teacher education (PETE) (Eather et al 2017, Macken et al 2020) and in school physical education (Leirhaug 2016). One of the key learning strategies in AfL is to activate peers as resources for learning, often operationalised as peer assessment. In PETE, peer assessment (or peer-assisted learning in a broader meaning) has proven to strengthen learning for both the observer and the observed (Lamb et al 2012). 

One dimension of peer assessment, that has only scarcely been covered in the PETE context (Macken et al 2020) but that is more highlighted in research of peer assessment in general teacher education (see e.g. Kilic 2016, Tait-McCutcheon & Bernadette Knewstubb 2018), is the tensions inherent in giving feedback to peers on their work, peers who might also often be friends. According to Kilic (2016, 137) preservice teachers “do not feel comfortable when critiquing another student” and Tait-McCutcheon and Knewstubb (2018, 773) argues that “peer assessment could reflect friendships more than learning outcomes”. 

Research demonstrates a complexity with regards to the potential for peer assessment in PETE. On the one hand, preservice teachers have expressed that giving feedback to peers creates a positive, safe, equal and relaxed learning environment (Lamb et al., 2012) and peer assessment has been reported to improve competence, confidence and self-efficacy among preservice teachers (Eather et al., 2017). On the other hand, a study by Macken et al. (2020) reported that preservice teachers believe their students would be mean to each other if implementing peer assessment during their school placement practice in PETE.

In this paper, we aim to further explore the complexity involved in peer assessment in PETE to get a deepened and more differentiated picture of this phenomenon. Our overall aim is to contribute to more knowledge about how to involve  preservice teachers in PETE and students in school physical education as resources for learning without risking to cause harm. Drawing on the call from Scanlon et al. (2022) for more studies on how assessment is taught in PETE, our specific aim in this paper is to investigate preservice teachers’ views on what as well as how peer assessment is taught in PETE, to be used in school physical education. We will use Pierre Bourdieu’s (1990) concept of capital, as well as the work of Hay and Penney (2013) on how accountability mechanisms functions in assessment, in order to analyse what is assigned value in peer assessment. The two questions that will guide our analysis in this paper reads: What mechanisms are assigned value in peer assessment according to preservice teachers in PETE? And: How do the mechanisms that are assigned value in peer assessment in PETE function according to preservice teachers? More knowledge about the what and the how in teaching of assessment practices in PETE can improve these practices within school physical education.

Methodology

The study presented in this paper is conducted as part of a greater project with the aim of exploring how PETE matters for school physical education. In the overall project we have recruited preservice teachers, with physical education as one of their subjects, during their last year in teacher education. During this last year, one campus-placed course in assessment and one school placement course, constituted the contexts from which we collected empirical material to this study (Authors 2021).  

The participants in this study were 21 preservice teachers from two different PETE institutions in Sweden (10 from uni A and 11 from uni B). The empirical material analysed in this study compriced of: 

1.      Three audio-recorded seminars (90-120 min each) from the campus-based assessment courses (one seminar from uni A and two from uni B) conducted before the preservice teachers’ school placement studies. 

2.      Seven individual semi-structured interviews (40-70 min each) (Kvale 1996) conducted during visits at the preservice teachers’ school placement studies (all from uni A). 

3.      Five individual Stimulated Recall (SR)-interviews conducted during visits at the preservice teachers’ school placement studies (one from A, four from B). 

4.      Two audio-recorded and semi-structured group interviews (40-60 min each) (Kvale 1996) from the campus-based assessment courses (both from A) conducted after the school placement studies. 

After having had the empirical material transcribed by an external part, a thematic content analysis was initiated by a process of familiarisation in which all four researchers were engaged (Braun et al 2017). Inspired by an abductive approach (Alvesson & Sköldberg 2017), we allowed ourselves to be open to alternative theories that could help explain the empirical material. The choice of research object was initiated by the impression from the interviews that giving feedback to peers is surrounded by a complexity, both in PETE and in school physical education. The identification of social relationships and certain types of bodies and movements as assigned with value when giving feedback to peers guided our attention towards Bourdieu-inspired interpretations of the social capital (Beames & Atencio 2008) and the physical capital (Redelius & Hay 2010).   

Educational challenges following when ‘the what’ is reflected in ‘the how’

The findings indicate that when the what-aspect of ‘social relationships’ is to be implemented into an how-aspect, the preservice teachers calls for continuous interaction ‘over time’ in order to build a safe and an allowing climate for learning. While this interaction can be implemented in PETE and in school physical education, allowing for school children to build social capital (Beames & Atencio 2008), a result from this study that calls for further discussion is how PETE can make continuous interaction between preservice teachers and school students possible during school placement studies. 

When the what-aspect of ‘articulating what to learn’ is mirrored in relation to the how-aspect of giving ‘correct feedback’ in peer assessment, this displays that physical capital in school physical education is strongly connected to standards of excellence and norms of right and wrong movement technique (Redelius & Hay 2010). These golden norms seem to be upheld by the displayed lack a common language for learning (Larsson & Redelius 2008). A question following from this study is what resources preservice teachers are offered within PETE to embody a language for learning in school physical education? 

This study also made visible that ‘the emphasis of certain forms of knowledge ’ is highly valued when preservice teachers are to give feedback to their peers, to their students (during school placement) or when they engage students to give feedback to each other.  The preservice teachers claim to handle this ‘what-aspect’ of peer assessment by focus their attention on ‘managing the sensitivity’ arising when themselves or their students are to comment on each others’ bodies in movements. 

In conclusion, the combination of social and physical capital decides what is possible to say to whom when preservice teachers and students are to give feedback to peers in PETE and in school physical education.

References

Alvesson M and Sköldberg K (2017) Tolkning och Reflektion. Vetenskapsfilosofi och Kvalitativ Metod [Interpretation and Reflection. Philosophy of Science and Qualitative Method]. Lund: Studentlitteratur. [In Swedish.]

Beames, Simon and Atencio, Matthew (2008)'Building social capital through outdoor education', Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning,8:2,99 — 112

Black, P., C. Harrison, C. Lee, B. Marshall, and D. Wiliam. 2002. Working Inside the Black Box. Assessment for Learning in the Classroom. London: GL Assessment

Bourdieu, P. (1990). The logic of practice. (Richard Nice, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Polity Press.

Eather, N., Riley, N., Miller, D., Jones, B. (2017) Evaluating the Effectiveness of Using Peer-Dialogue Assessment for Improving Pre-Service Teachers' Perceived Confidence and Competence to Teach Physical Education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 

Guest J & Riegler R (2022) Knowing HE standards: how good are students at evaluating academic work?, Higher Education Research & Development, 41:3, 714-728

Hay, P. J., and D. Penney. 2013. Assessment in Physical Education. A Sociocultural Perspective. London: Routledge.

Kilic, D. (2016) An Examination of Using Self-, Peer-, and Teacher-Assessment in Higher Education: A Case Study in Teacher Education, Higher Education Studies, 6(1), 136-144. 

Kvale, Steinar (1996). Interviews. An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. California: Sage Publications.

Lamb P Lane K & Aldous D (2012) Enhancing the spaces of reflection: A buddy peer-review process within physical education initial teacher education, European Physical Education Review 19(1) 21–38

Larsson H & Redelius K (2008) Swedish physical education research questioned—current situation and future directions, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 13:4, 381-398, DOI: 10.1080/17408980802353354

Leirhaug 2016 Exploring the relationship between student grades and assessment for learning in Norwegian physical education, European Physical Education Review, 22(3) 298–314

Macken S, MacPhail, A & Calderon, A (2020) Exploring primary pre-service teachers’ use of ‘assessment for learning’ while teaching primary physical education during school placement, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 25:5, 539-554

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