Andrew Horrell

‘I want to look like that’: healthism, the ideal body and physical education in a Scottish secondary school

Teachers and pupils are increasingly inundated with power laden ‘truths’ regarding health and the body as they attempt to construct their subjectivities. Drawing on insights from the works of Foucault, namely technologies of power and technologies of the self, this study investigated how healthism and ideal body discourses were (re)produced, negotiated, taken up and resisted by pupils and Physical Education (PE) teachers in one Scottish secondary school. Using semi-structured interviews, we found that pupil and teacher discourses varied in the way they influenced their thoughts and practices. Analysis of the data indicated that discourses can be resisted and (re)interpreted. In many cases, this was not without the creation of internal tension for pupils. Teachers demonstrated an understanding of the salience of these discourses, and their increased responsibility for health issues, but also internalised ‘truth’ differently. The study concludes by recommending the introduction of a critical enquiry focus around the construction of health in Scottish PE.

Infographics for student assessment: more than meets the eye

Infographics are attracting attention as a mechanism for conveying health messages to the general population and healthcare professionals.1 Infographics are also appearing within traditional scientific publications as a form of a ‘visual abstract’ to summarise findings,2 or as a stand-alone publication.3 This suggests that students as well as professionals1 should be aware of these forms of visual communication. Therefore, it seems logical to incorporate infographics within academic courses where they could have a range of teaching, learning and assessment roles. Producing an infographic may be an effective way of helping students appreciate their value. This editorial describes how production of an infographic was used as part of an assessment task on a sport nutrition course delivered to sport and exercise science students, and seeks to raise awareness of their use in academic courses. It is important that students in the sport and exercise sciences develop the ability to communicate their knowledge effectively. This includes scientific audiences and athletes and patients, as well as …