Göran Patriksson

Conceptions of Children and Adolescents with Physical Disabilities about Their Participation in a Sports Programme

Sport and leisure can be of significant importance for the well-being and social support of children and adolescents with physical disabilities. However, it has been established that organized sport sometimes has a social construction, in that those without disabilities are favoured at the expense of others. The aim of this study was, therefore, to describe conceptions of children and adolescents with physical disabilities about their participation in a sports programme. Using questions based on a holistic view of the human being, 20 children and adolescents were interviewed. The method of analysis used was inspired by phenomenography. Six categories emerged: getting new friends, learning, strengthening one’s physique, becoming someone, experiencing nature and having a good time. The findings show the great diversity of sports participation. Further, the conceptions mirror the difficulty of dividing people into groups and of delimiting important areas. The findings highlight the importance of programmes where actors from different sections of society cooperate. Even if the findings cannot be generalized, they nevertheless demonstrate that physical activity involves many positive factors both at the individual and at the society level.

Physical education teachers’ professionalization: A review of occupational power and professional control

This article reviews research on physical education (PE) teachers’ professionalization considering their relative position at schools and in the community as well as their control over the lesson formation. The position considers issues of prestige, status and esteem while lesson formation regards constitutional, organizational and physical frames. Despite limitations connected mainly to cross-country generalization issues, some major tendencies can be described. In relation to prestige there is a shortage of qualified personnel, while portraying status, signs of marginalization and isolation at schools can be showed. Depicting esteem, PE teachers’ own perceptions are rather positive, while pupils, colleagues and parents show some mistrust. Focusing on constitutional frames, PE teachers’ role in curriculum implementation is complex. The impact of organizational frames is obvious as available teaching time for PE is eroded. The issue of physical frames is serious as a gap exists between curriculum and facilities, equipment as well as available educational material. La professionnalisation des enseignants d’éducation physique: une revue du pouvoir institutionnel et du contrôle professionnel. Cet article fait une recension des recherches sur la professionnalisation des enseignants d’EP considérant leur position relative dans les écoles et dans la communauté, ainsi que leur degré de contrôle dans la conception des leçons. La notion de position réfère au prestige, au statut et à l’estime, alors que la conception des leçons renvoie à une analyse des contraintes institutionnelles, organisationnelles, et physiques. En dépit des limites inhérentes à la généralisation des résultats aux différents pays, des tendances importantes peuvent être décrites. Concernant le prestige, il y a un manque de personnel qualifié, et par rapport au statut, des signes de marginalisation et d’isolation peuvent être soulignés. Pour ce qui est de l’estime, les perceptions que les enseignants d’EP ont d’eux-mêmes sont plutôt positives, alors que leurs élèves, leurs collègues et les parents expriment un manque de confiance. Concernant les contraintes institutionnelles, le rôle des enseignants d’EP dans l’implémentation des programmes est complexe. L’influence des contraintes organisationnelles est évidente en ce qui concerne la réduction du temps d’enseignement effectif. La préoccupation relative aux contraintes physiques est réelle dans la mesure où un fossé existe entre les programmes, les installations sportives et le matériel éducatif disponible. Profesionalización de profesores de Educación física: una revisión sobre el potencial de ocupación y el control profesional. Este artículo revisa la investigación de los profesores de EF, considerando su relativa posición en los colegios y en la comunidad, así como su control sobre la formación. La posición se basa en temas de prestigio, estatus y estima mientras que la formación se refiere a marcos constitucionales, organizativos y físicos. A pesar de las limitaciones encontradas, principalmente para encontrar generalizaciones entre países, las tendencias pueden ser descritas. En relación al prestigio hay una escasez de personal cualificado, mientras que, retratando el estatus, los signos de marginación y aislamiento pueden ser mostrados en colegios. Estima que significa que las propias percepciones de los profesores de EF son más bien positivas, mientras que los alumnos, colegas y padres muestran cierta desconfianza. Centrándose en los marcos constitucionales, el papel de los profesores de EF en la aplicación del currículum es complejo. El impacto de los marcos organizativos es evidente ya que el tiempo disponible para la enseñanza de EF es limitado. La cuestión de los marcos físicos es visto como una brecha que existe entre el currículum y las instalaciones, el equipamiento, así como el material educativo disponible. Die Professionalisierung des Sportlehrers: Ein Überblick zu Berufsstand und professoneller Kontrolle Im Artikel werden Forschungen zu Professionalisierung von Sportlehrern besprochen hinsichtlich ihrer relativen Positon in der Schule und der Gemeinde sowie ihrer Kontrolle über die Unterrichtsgestaltung. Zur Position werden Themen wie Prestige, Status und Ansehen betrachtet, während zur Unterrichtsgestaltung konstitutionelle, organisatorische und physische Rahmenbedingungen zählen. Trotz der Beschränkungen, die hauptsächlich durch eine Generalisierung über Ländergrenzen hinweg entsteht, können einige vorherrschende Tendenzen beschrieben werden. In Bezug auf Prestige gibt es einen Mangel an qualifiziertem Personal, während bei der Statusbeschreibung sich Zeichen der Marginalisierung und Isolation an Schulen zeigen. Bei der Darstellung des Ansehens ist die eigene Wahrnehmung der Sportlehrer ziemlich positiv, während Schüler, Kollegen und Eltern einige Zweifel zeigen. In Hinblick auf die konstitutionellen Rahmenbedingungen ist die Rolle der Sportlehrer bei der Curriculumimplementierung komplex. Der Einfluss von organisatorischen Rahmenbedingungen \wird deutlich an der abnehmenden verfügbaren Unterrichtszeit für den Sportunterricht. Die Frage der physischen Rahmenbedingungen zeigt eine Diskrepanz zwischen dem Curriculum einerseits und den vorhandenen Sportstätten, den Sportgeräten sowie den verfügbaren Unterrichtsmaterialien andererseits.

Parents' conceptions of the influences of participation in a sports programme on their children and adolescents with physical disabilities.

Parents of children and adolescents with physical disabilities have an important role in strengthening and supporting their children in everyday life. Children and adolescents with physical disabilities do not ordinarily have natural access to club activities, nor do they receive the same supportfor physical activities as their peers without disabilities. The aim of this Swedish study was to describe parents’ conceptions of the influences of participation in a sports programme on their children and adolescents with physical disabilities. The data were collected from 20 parents of children and adolescents with disabilities in the 9–15 year age group through interviews based on a holistic view. The method of analysis used was inspired by phenomenography. Three descriptive categories emerged: achievinggood health, being part of a social group and learning a sporting activity.The findings show that the parents regarded sport as a form of health education and as a means for their children to achieve increased participation in society. The findings also show that the learning process was important for empowering the children to influence their life situation.

Orthorexia nervosa: An integrative literature review of a lifestyle syndrome

Bratman first proposed orthorexia nervosa in the late 1990s, defining it an obsession with eating healthy food to achieve, for instance, improved health. Today, in the Swedish media, excessive exercising plays a central role in relation to orthorexia. A few review articles on orthorexia have been conducted; however, these have not focused on aspects of food and eating, sport, exercise, or a societal perspective. The overall aim of this study was to provide an overview and synthesis of what philosophies of science approaches form the current academic framework of orthorexia. Key questions were: What aspects of food and eating are related to orthorexia? What role do exercise and sports play in relation to orthorexia? In what ways are orthorexia contextualized? Consequently, the concept of healthism was used to discuss and contextualize orthorexia. The method used was an integrative literature review; the material covered 19 empirical and theoretical articles published in peer-reviewed journals. This review demonstrates a multifaceted nature of orthorexia research; this field has been examined from four different philosophies of science approaches (i.e., empirical-atomistic, empirical-atomistic with elements of empirical-holistic, empirical-holistic, and rational-holistic) on individual, social, and societal levels. The majority of the articles followed an empirical-atomistic approach that focused on orthorexia as an individual issue, which was discussed using healthism. Our analysis indicates a need for (a) more empirical-holistic research that applies interpretive qualitative methods and uses a social perspective of health, e.g., healthism and (b) examining the role of sports and exercise in relation to orthorexia that takes the problematizing of “orthorexic behaviours” within the sports context into account.

School‐based teacher collaboration in Sweden and Greece: formal cooperation, deprivatized practices and personalized interaction in primary and lower secondary schools

During recent years, educational restructuring efforts have commonly regarded schools as both learning communities and sites for teachers’ professional development. A plethora of attributes influence prerequisites as well as outcomes of the efforts, while teachers’ local cultures constitute a cornerstone. More specifically, enhanced school‐based teacher collaboration is associated with upgraded school effectiveness and enhanced professional growth. However, the comparative study of school‐based teacher collaboration remains a subjective research area. The overall aim of this study is to highlight teacher collaboration in Sweden and Greece utilizing nationwide surveys with physical education teachers in both countries. The final sample consisted of 707 Swedish and 451 Greek professionals. The high response rate combined with restricted internal dropout forms the basis of the generalization of the findings. The presentation of the results is connected with issues of formal cooperation, deprivatized practices and personalized interaction in four teachers groups: primary and lower secondary schools in Sweden and in Greece. According to the data, formal cooperation and deprivatized practices occur more frequently in Sweden than in Greece. However, personalized interaction is rather high in Greek lower secondary schools. Despite differences between the four contexts, a second order model represents obtained information adequately with very good fit indexes. It seems that school‐based teacher collaboration in authentic settings can be connected to complex processes with multifaceted characteristics in different national contexts as well as in educational stages within one country as well. Manipulating distinct aspects of schooling may consequently jeopardize expected outcomes, as development ambitions should be targeting several interdependent dimensions. Swedish schools generally and lower secondary schools specifically constitute original examples of enhanced school‐based teacher collaboration, while an intensification of combined endeavours is needed in Greece. The comparative mapping of interconnected collaboration characteristics might contribute to more holistic restructuring struggles towards schools as learning communities and sites for teachers’ professional development.

Empowering young female athletes through a self-strengthening programme : A qualitative analysis

The aim of this study was to describe how young female athletes perceived the influences of a self-strengthening programme. The self-strengthening programme for young female athletes was run by the Swedish Sport Confederation. The programme was designed to empower young female athletes. The study methodology was based on a phenomenographic approach and entailed interviews with a strategically selected group of 14 participants in the programme. The informants were between 13 and 20 years of age and came from individual and team sports. The findings show that perceived influences of the programme were: a feeling of self-confidence; a feeling of being seen and confirmed; awareness of women’s issues; a feeling of belongingness; and an improvement in coaching skills. The self-strengthening programme empowered young female athletes due to increased self-efficacy and an increased awareness of women’s issues.

An Experimental Study of Relaxation Training in Swedish Schools: Psychological and Physiological Results

In recent years there has been a growing interest in different techniques of tension control in many-fields, such as sport, education and medical treatment. In spite of this increased interest, it is remarkable that the amount of systematic research is small in relation to the frequency with which these techniques are used. This is particularly true with regard to research on children and adolescents, where few studies have been carried out. The studies that have been conducted have generally had a clinical approach and have usually been based on very few subjects. The situation is similar with regard to studies in school, where systematic large-scale investigations (Jacobson and Lufkin, 1968; Angers, Bilodeau, Bouchard, Tuthe, Mailhot, Trudeau and Vallieres, 1975; Engelhardt, 1976) are virtually non-existent. The lack of serious and well-documented research in the tension control area was one of the reasons why this project was started. Another, but quite different, reason was the belief that learning different kinds of tension control techniques could be of value for school pupils in our complex and often stressful modern society. A pilot study (Setterlind and Unestahl, 1978) showed some promising results, which strengthened the belief that such methods could be helpful in a variety of situations both in school and in leisure time. An important task in today’s schools ought to be to increase the pupils’ health consciousness by means of sport and other kinds of physical activity, to teach them the value of a well-balanced diet, the danger of drugs etc. These issues are usually emphasized in school curricula and other documents relating to the goals of education, but in Sweden, as in most other countries, the role of relaxation and other tension control techniques have been neglected (Setterlind and Patriksson, 1981).

Book Reviews : Sex Differences in Attitudes and Patterns of Youths at School. By Bente Orum. The Danish National Institute of Social Research, Publication no. 59, 1973, (Original title: Konsforskelle blandt skoleungdom)

tural sense of Dahrendorf. This construct is obtained if we stress too much the vexatious character of society. &dquo;Sociology has paid for the exactness of its propositions with the humamty of its intentions, and has become a thoroughly inhuman, amoral science. &dquo;(p. 59) This sentence puts the problem in a nutshell. After having separated individual and society, Dahrendorf wants to integrate both again. Because he described society as a vexatious fact role-definitions must be ex-