Session Information
18 SES 01, Inclusive Agendas in Physical Education and Youth Sport
Paper Session
Contribution
If we are just a little bit inclined to agree with some of the critiques about the uncertain and uncontested future of physical education (PE) suggested by Kirk (2010) alongside the complex global social, emplaced and embodied uncertainty suggested in the conference themes, then it follows that seeking out ways to change the future storyline might be a worthwhile task. This paper offers a future storyline by engaging with the discomfort of change in PE and physical education teacher education (PETE), alongside the tiresome and limiting narrative around the ‘problem’ of/with young women and movement (Fisette, 2011; Oliver & Kirk, 2016). It uses these new stories and associated emotions/feelings/senses as a way to nudge the discipline towards critical pedagogies that are better able to cater for our shared complex and uncertain world as well as the various and diverse needs of young women in it, both now and in their futures (Kirk, 2010; Oliver & Kirk, 2016).
This paper builds upon previous work by Lambert (2018) which considers embodied learning as an educative outcome and pedagogical antecedent for engaging young women in movement and for teaching them ways to value movement now and in their future. Arguing that embodied learning is felt and sense based, and that the essence of an experience can be shared, Lambert (2018) suggests that attending to the sensory aspects of moving (e.g. the look, feel, smell, sound and taste) whilst ‘in’ the movement moment sheds some light on what an embodied form of learning ‘in’ PE might look like for young women. This is done by undertaking a pedagogical case study that deploys Peter Arnold’s (1979) three dimensions of ‘in, through and about’ movement as an analytical framework, paying specific attention to his oft ignored and misunderstood notion of education ‘in’ movement (Brown, 2013; Stolz, 2015) in order to inform the development of future focussed skills and movement capabilities in young women. This analysis is then used to design new kinds of ‘pre-text’ embodied pedagogies (e.g. in the form of vignettes, artefacts, texts or stimulus material) for use in PE/PETE classrooms
Method
The aim of this paper is to share a number of ‘pre-texts for movement’ informed by and created from data collected from thirty-nine (n=39) female identified participants aged 14-19 years who attended one of three (n=3) Summer ‘fire-fighting camps for girls’ held in North America in May-July 2017. The research project is a sensory ethnography which takes a narrative inquiry approach to exploring the embodied, felt and sensed experiences of the young women during the camps. Data was collected using a variety of methods including focus groups/interviews, participant observation, fieldwork notes and visual methods (photography and videography). Data was analysed using a typical two stage coding process which started with initial or open coding of words, images and observations followed by a more focussed and selective coding process to refine the initial codes, and tease out moments of meaning making in the texts (Ryan & Bernhard, 2003). Representation This paper engages with 21st century PETE disciplinary challenges alongside the uncertainties of gender and movement to think about embodied pedagogies of the future. It starts from the four themes previously identified in Lambert’s (2018) research, namely discourses of the mind, pleasure, body and other. By using Arnold (1979) as an analytical framework they are then used to generate a set of ‘pre-text’ embodied pedagogical work samples ‘found’ (or moulded) in and across the data collected, and re-presented in the form of cards, images, video, a poem, letter, and short play. These are also scaffolded and ready for use in PETE and/or school classrooms. Therefore, representational choices are central to the pedagogical project of this paper, with ‘pre-texts’ demonstrated as suitable ways in which to engage young women and prompt meaning making ‘in’ physical education, as well as build lifelong movement and social capacities. A number of 'pre-texts' are shared with attendees and opportunity is provided to complete scaffolded teaching and learning activities to test the hypothesis that an in movement moment from one person may inspire or inform the movements of another.
Expected Outcomes
The world of the 21st century is complex and fast; it’s unfolding rapidly necessitating pedagogical as well as disciplinary changes in education to match the flux of uncertainty. Yet one thing remains constant, the need for educational systems to be able to bend with the flux in innovative and agile ways to change the storyline and make new kinds of promises whilst remaining dedicated to enhancing the skills and capacities of young women to live, work and act in uncertain times. This includes valuing movement in lifelong ways, and using one’s body with confidence and competence. This paper proposes that embodied pedagogies could be used in PE and PETE to bring young women closer to the experience of moving and that this may provide a way in which to move them towards movement in their future. Importantly the movements shared don't come from traditional physical education thus novelty may also peek attention alongside the occupational elements bought to this research context. This paper shares a distinctly practical process and set of resources that educators could use to plan, organise and teach in ways that engage young women 'in' movement in safe and supportive ways. The 'pre-texts' are offered for collegial consideration and feedback in order to inform a broader scholarship of learning and teaching purpose in the future.
References
Arnold, P. J. (1979). Meaning in movement, sport and physical education. London: Heinemann. Brown, T.D. (2013). A vision lost? (Re)articulating an Arnoldian conception of education ‘in’ movement in physical education, Sport Education and Society, 18(1), 21-37. Fisette, J. L. (2011). Exploring how girls navigate their embodied identities in physical education, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 16(2), 179–196, doi:10.1080/17408989.2010.535199 Kirk, D. (2010). Physical education futures. London: Routledge. Lambert, K. (2018). Girls on fire: alternative movement pedagogies to promote engagement of young women in physical activity, Sport, Education and Society, 23(7), 720-735, DOI: 10.1080/13573322.2018.1483909 Oliver, K. L., & Kirk, D. (2016). Towards an activist approach to research and advocacy for girls and physical education, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 21(3), 313–327. doi:10.1080/17408989.2014.895803 Stolz, S.A. (2015). Embodied Learning, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 47:5, 474-487, DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2013.879694
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