Spelet på fältet : relationen mellan ämnet idrott och hälsa i gymnasieskolan och idrott på fritid

This study deals with physical education (PE) in secondary school. The purpose of the study is to analyze the relationship between PE in secondary schools and leisure time sports. Questions were directed towards discovering what PE teachers recognise as valuable in their teaching, and how physical education is related to factors that characterize the field of sports. The teaching practice of Physical Education and Health Course A is described. Statements from interviews of sixteen PE teachers regarding educational objectives, content, rating and implementation serve as the empirical basis of this study. A cultural-sociological approach, inspired by Bourdieu, was used to interpret the statements. The results showed that the teachers’ main objectives in teaching PE were to challenge the students physically and to allow them to experience the fun of physical activity. Ball sports, such as football and floor ball, are often used to meet these objectives. The fact that the "weaker" students—those who are dominated by more athletic students—find ball sports to be boring was taken for granted. These students thereby are subjected to symbolic violence. The grading system aggravates the situation, as physical prowess is taken into account. In addition, social skills in sports are included in the teacher's assessment. The study found that teachers used students that play ball sports for club teams to create interest in their classes. These dominant students gained influence in the PE class, and had a say in both the content of the class and in how activities were conducted. How PE is implemented using the logic of the field of sports is discussed. The conclusion addresses why the content of PE classes often fails to match up with the values of the school system, and why PE teaching is influenced by the field of sports, especially competitive sports. The findings of this study bring up many important issues with pedagogical implications for PE programs and their development. Will PE classes continue to be shaped by the logic of the field of sports, or can the content of the classes be modified to integrate into the schools' logic? By paying careful attention to how power and symbolic violence work, it is possible to make the sports-oriented doxa visible and thereby catalyze change