Förståelse av och förhållningssätt till hälsa : några elevers syn på hälsa och skolämnet idrott och hälsa

The concept of health should not be viewed as one-dimensional, but rather a complex interplay between physical, psychological and social factors (WHO, 2014). The Swedish curriculum highlights that the school’s responsibility is to support pupils’ knowledge and promote health. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to consider pupils understanding of and attitudes towards health in the context of the subject Physical Education and Health (PEH) at school. Data was collected through the use of focus groups, questionnaires and epistolary dialog. The pupils’ ways of describing health were analysed through Zygmunt Bauman’s (2008) consuming theory and Thomas Ziehe’s (1986, 1999) concepts of cultural liberation, cultural expropriation, the performance principle and authenticity. The result shows that the pupils in the study had a good level of understanding about health. They described health as a complex concept in physical, psychological and social terms. This understanding of health affected the pupils in different ways. For example a feeling of pleasure was described by pupils who appeared well-grounded and spontaneous, while those who experienced pressure in their daily life expressed feelings of higher expectations regarding their own health practices. PEH teachers need to consider not only knowledge content of the subject area, but also variations of self-image among the pupils in their class, and the impact this can have on the way pupils un-derstand the health messages being taught in the classroom