Göran Gerdin

The politics of pleasure: an ethnographic examination exploring the dominance of the multi-activity sport-based physical education model

Kirk warns that physical education (PE) exists in a precarious situation as the dominance of the multi-activity sport-techniques model, and its associated problems, threatens the long-term educational survival of PE. Yet he also notes that although the model is problematic it is highly resistant to change. In this paper, we draw on the results of a year-long visual ethnography at an all-boys secondary school in Aotearoa New Zealand to examine the workings of power that legitimate this model of PE. Our findings illustrate that the school conflates PE and sport, to position PE as an appropriate masculine endeavour and valued source of enjoyment, as it articulates with good health, social development and competitiveness. We argue that student experiences of pleasure within PE—as co-constitutive with discourses of fitness, health, sport and masculinity—(re)produce the multi-activity sport-based form of PE as educationally appropriate and socioculturally relevant, thus making the model somewhat resistant to change. We stress that our study should not be read as a vindication of this PE model.

‘It's not like you are less of a man just because you don't play rugby'—boys' problematisation of gender during secondary school physical education lessons in New Zealand

ABSTRACT Despite clear messages from current physical education (PE) curricula about the importance of adopting socially critical perspectives, dominant discourses of gender relating to physical activity, bodies and health are being reproduced within this school subject. By drawing on interview data from a larger ethnographic account of boys’ PE, this paper aims to contribute to our understanding of boys’ experiences of gendered discourses in PE, particularly by acknowledging boys not only as docile or disciplined bodies but also as active subjects in negotiating power relations. In the analysis of the data, particular emphasis is placed on whether the boys recognise the influence of gendered discourses and power relations in PE, how they act upon this knowledge and how they understand themselves as gendered subjects through these particular discourses/power relations. Using Foucaults (1985. The use of pleasure: The history of sexuality, vol. 2. London: Penguin Books) framework related to the ‘modes of subjectivation’, this paper explores boys’ problematisation of dominant discourses of gender and power relations in PE. In summary, these boys perform gendered selves within the context of PE, via negotiation of gendered discourses and power relations that contribute to an alternative discourse of PE which creates spaces and opportunities for the production of more ethical and diverse masculinities.

The disciplinary and pleasurable spaces of boys’ PE – The art of distributions

In taking heed of the so-called ‘spatial turn’ in social theory this paper explores how the spatial intersects with boys’ performances of gender and (dis)pleasures in school physical education (PE). In particular, the paper aims to contribute to our understanding of how the organisation and implementation of physical and social spaces in PE can be seen as enabling or restricting boys’ participation and enjoyment in this subject. The research setting was a multicultural single-sex boys’ secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand which is widely known for its strong focus on sports and especially rugby. The data was generated through a participatory visual research approach involving video recordings, focus groups and individual interviews. In order to interpret the data I draw on Foucault’s theorising of the disciplinary use of space, what he calls ‘the art of distributions’, to examine the co-construction of gender, space and (dis)pleasures within boys’ PE. I demonstrate how through their performances of gender, as shaped by discourses and relations of power associated with sport and masculinity, the boys capitalise on the spaces of PE to highlight them as productive and pleasurable spaces.

The productive effect of power: (dis)pleasurable bodies materialising in and through the discursive practices of boys’ physical education

ABSTRACT Background: Pleasure is often a key feature of school physical education (PE) and, indeed, a lot of students find pleasure in and through PE while others do not. However, pleasure is rarely considered to be of educational value in the subject [Pringle, R. (2010). “Finding Pleasure in Physical Education: A Critical Examination of the Educative Value of Positive Movement Affects.” Quest 62: 119–134]. Further, since pleasure is linked to power [Foucault, M. (1980). Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972–1977. New York: Pantheon; Gerdin, G., and R. Pringle. (2015). “The Politics of Pleasure: An Ethnographic Examination Exploring the Dominance of the Multi-Activity Sport-Based Physical Education Model.” Sport, Education and Society. doi:10.1080/13573322.2015.1019448] it is in fact not entirely straightforward to legitimise the educational value of PE in relation to pleasure. Purpose: In this paper, we explore how a group of boys derive pleasures from their involvement in PE, but also how these power-induced pleasures are integral to gender normalisation processes. The findings presented are particularly discussed in terms of inclusive/exclusive pedagogical practices related to gender, bodies and pleasures. Research setting and participants: The research setting was a single-sex, boys’ secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. Participants in this study were 60 Year 10 (age 14–15) students from two PE classes. Data collection and analysis: Using a visual ethnographic approach [Pink, S. (2007). Doing Visual Ethnography. London: Sage] involving observations and video recordings of boys participating in PE, the boys’ representations and interpretations of the visual data were explored during both focus groups and individual interviews. The data were analysed using (a visually oriented) discourse analysis [Foucault, M. (1998). “Foucault.” In Michel Foucault. Aesthetics, Method and Epistemology, edited by J. D. Faubion, 459–463. New York: The New Press; Rose, G. (2007). Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials. London: Sage]. Findings: By elucidating the discursive practices of PE in this setting and employing (Butler, J. (1993). Bodies that Matter: On the Discursive Limits of ‘Sex’. New York: Routledge] concept of ‘materialisation’, we suggest that boy’s bodies materialise as productive and pleasurable or displeasurable bodies through submitting/subjecting to certain bodily regimes, developing embodied mastery when it comes to certain sports, and displaying bodies in particular ways. The analysis indicate that the discursive practices of PE contribute to boys’ bodies materialising as pleasurable or displeasurable and the (re)production of gender in the subject as shaped by discourse and the productive effect of power. Discussion and conclusions: In line with [Gard, M. (2008). “When a Boy’s Gotta Dance: New Masculinities, Old Pleasures.” Sport, Education and Society 13 (2): 181–193], we conclude that the focus on certain discursively constructed bodily practices at the same time continues to restrict the production of a diversity of bodily movement pleasures. Hence, traditional gender patterns are reproduced through a selection of particular sports/physical activities that all the students are expected to participate in. We propose that the ongoing constitution of privileged forms of masculinity, masculine bodies and masculine pleasures as related to fitness, health and sport and (certain) boys’ subsequent exercise of power in PE needs further critical examination.

It is only an intervention, but it can sow very fertile seeds: graduate physical education teachers’ interpretations of critical pedagogy

ABSTRACT The role that school health and physical education (HPE) plays in the making of physically active and healthy citizens continues to be rearticulated within the field of HPE practice. In Australasia, for example, this is evident in HPE curricula changes that now span almost two decades with ongoing advocacy for greater recognition of socially critical perspectives of physical activity and health. This paper reports on one part of a larger collaborative project that focused on how HPE teachers understand and enact socially critical perspectives in their practice. The paper draws on interview data obtained from 20 secondary school HPE teachers, all of whom graduated from the same physical education teacher education (PETE) programme in New Zealand, a programme that espouses a socially critical orientation. The teaching experience of the study participants ranged from 1 to 22 years of service. The preliminary analysis involved deduction of common themes in relation to the research questions and then, drawing on the theoretical framework of Bourdieu [1990. The logic of practice. Cambridge: Polity Press], these themes were analysed in more detail to gain insight into how and why the graduate teachers’ expressed their particular understanding of HPE and critical pedagogy. The findings suggested that this PETE programme did have some impact on the participant teachers’ perceptions of physical activity and health, and the role of socially critical thinking. However, there was also evidence to suggest that many of them did not have a clear understanding of the transformative agenda of critical pedagogy. We conclude by suggesting that although this PETE programme did plant ‘seeds’ that had an impact on the graduate teachers’ awareness and thinking about socially critical issues in relation to physical activity and health, it did not necessarily turn them into critical pedagogues.

A 'culture of everyone doing it' and 'playing games' - discourses of pleasure in boys' physical education.

ABSTRACT Gard [(2008). When a boys gotta dance: New masculinities, old pleasures. Sport, Education and Society, 13(2), 181–193], Booth [(2009). Politics and pleasure: The philosophy of physical education revisited. Quest, 61(2), 133–153] and Pringle [(2010). Finding pleasure in physical education: A critical examination of the educative value of positive movement affects. Quest, 62, 119–134] argue that if critical physical education (PE) scholars want to change the social influence associated with dominated discourses of gender, which have previously been subject to sustained critique, there is a need to examine the discourses of PE pleasure. By drawing on visual ethnographic data from an all-boys’ secondary school this paper employs Foucaults [(1985). The use of pleasure: The history of sexuality: Volume 2. London: Penguin Books] discourse/power/pleasure combination to make meanings and understand the boys as gendered subjects. The findings from this study demonstrate how some boys derived pleasures from merely participating in PE whereas others seemed to relate their pleasures to instrumental/developmental goals based on discourses of fitness, health and sport. It is argued that PE teachers need to be aware that they not only enable students’ experiences of pleasures, but that they can also be influential in (re)producing gendered understandings about the pleasures (and displeasures) of learning in, through and about movement in PE.

Relative Age Effect in Swedish Male and Female Tennis Players Born in 1998–2001

The relative age effect (RAE) has been extensively debated and researched in both popular media and academic discourse. This study examined RAE in Swedish tennis players born in 1998–2001. The study was conducted in 2015–2016 and includes all ranked Swedish tennis players (n = 1835) registered in the Swedish Tennis Association database from the year 2014. The results show that when the birth dates of the corresponding Swedish population and all the ranked players are compared, they show a moderate RAE; however, the higher up they are in the ranking system, the greater the RAE becomes. Top 10 players display an average of 64.1% being born in the first half of the year. Some gender differences were also found, with a greater proportion of both higher and lower ranked females being born in the first half of the year. In our discussion of the findings we raise several issues that need to be addressed to provide more equal opportunities for all junior players regardless of birth date. Resolving ongoing problems associated with RAE in competitive sports such as tennis is important both in term of prolonged participation in the sport and increased performance. Suggestions made in this article include recognising RAE when designing the format of competitions/tournaments, not using official rankings until the juniors get older, addressing RAE in a “gender sensitive” way, and conducting further in-depth studies in which RAE is understood/examined as being associated with environmental factors. Although these findings show the RAE effect in Swedish tennis players, thus pointing at the need for further consideration in terms of ranking and selection procedures to ensure equal opportunities for player development, the study also concludes by reasserting an emphasis on a holistic approach to player development in which coaches focus on the developmentally appropriate needs and potential of each individual player regardless of their biological age.

Spatialising health work in schools - exploring the complex interconnection of space, health, physical education and masculinity

The spaces of schooling are not mere settings or backdrops where students’ learning take place, but are implicated in the production of knowledge and identities/subjectivities – spaces embody specific values, beliefs and traditions. In this paper, we draw on visual ethnographic data from an all-boys school in New Zealand to examine how the spaces of schooling and physical education (PE) perform health work in relation to the all-round development of healthy young masculinities. By drawing on a complexivist philosophy, we draw attention to how school policies, spaces, bodies, students, teachers all intersect to provide the boys with a socio-spatial context in which knowledge and learning about healthy young masculinities is constructed. We demonstrate how stereotypical notions of what boys should be doing and what they like doing is, for instance, materialised by the design and provision of schooling and PE as sporting spaces, based on a form of ‘healthism’, which privileges individualistic notions of health and the assumption that sport=fitness=health. We conclude that although the design and provision of schooling and PE spaces based on healthism is an important source of pleasures for young men, it also reinforces narrowly defined and even problematic forms of healthy young masculinities.

Boys’ Visual Representations and Interpretations of Physical Education

This chapter discusses the methodological underpinnings of a doctoral study that examined boys’ performances of gender in physical education (PE) at a single-sex secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. Initial findings are also presented; however, they only serve to demonstrate the potential of such an approach and not as an exhaustive report of findings. Using a participatory visual research approach involving video recordings of boys participating in PE, the boys’ representations and interpretations of the visual data were explored during both focus groups and individual interviews. The boys’ visual representations and interpretations highlight how their performances of gender are embedded in the design and structure of the physical spaces and places associated with PE. Through a Foucauldian (poststructural) lens the boys’ responses also illuminate how the gendered self is performed in multiple, contradictory and fluid ways involving particular technologies of the self. Visual research methods that focus on young people’s visual representations and interpretations might help identify (gendered) identity issues that are seen as important to the students themselves. It creates a space for young people to critically think about, reflect, articulate, and reason their lived experiences, their relationships with their peers and more importantly themselves. The use of such research approaches has the potential of realizing one of the key aims of symbolic interactionism by opening up new analytical possibilities for understanding young people’s lived experiences in both formal and informal pedagogical contexts.

Coaching and ethical self-creation: problematizing the “efficient tennis machine”

Abstract In this paper we draw from Foucault, particularly his writings on the technologies of self, to problematize and reimagine understandings of what it means to coach effectively and ethically. In recognising the difficulty of operationalising Foucauldian ideas, we provide a narrative-of-self to reveal how an elite tennis coach, Göran Gerdin, adopted Foucauldian ideas in a process of ethical self-creation. The narrative reveals how Göran experienced the tragedy of youth player suicide and how he critically reflected on his coaching role in relation to this tragedy. Through specifically problematizing the insidious influence of technologies of dominance on athletic subjectivity, Göran reveals how he drew from Foucault to develop alternative coach practices and a related telos. We conclude by reflecting on pragmatic issues associated with coaching with Foucault.