Teacher’s talk about girls and boys in PE and Health in a Swedish context

• Statistics from the Swedish National Agency of Education (SNAE) reveal that PE and Health (PEH) is the only subject where boys receive higher grades than girls. Previous research indicates that the subject “in practice” is constituted in a sports discourse and that teaching is conducted on boys’ terms. According to the latest national evaluation of the subject, teaching in PEH is dominated by ball games and fitness training, activities that most boys favour. The purpose of this presentation is to look upon factors related to PEH teachers´ ways of reasoning about aims and teaching in the subject, and their view of equity issues.PEH teachers (17) from schools in the region of Stockholm were selected for interviews. The selection was based on statistics from SNAE and four criteria: that the school had i) a high share of students acquiring Passed with special distinction (PSD) in PEH, ii) a high share of students that did Not pass (NP), iii) an equal share of girls and boys acquiring PSD, and iv) an unequal share of boys and girls acquiring PSD.The results suggest that teachers from schools with a high share of students acquiring PSD seem to focus on learning processes and reflections about learning. These teachers seem well aware about gender issues in PEH. Teachers from schools with a high share of students that NP report that many students are frequently absent and cannot swim. Gender issues seem not to be of primary concern to these teachers, and they seem to focus on keeping the students active. Teachers from schools with an equal share of girls and boys acquiring PSD seem to reason about the subject and girls’ and boys’ conditions in the same way as the teachers in the first category. Teachers from schools with an unequal share of boys and girls depict their students as ‘sporty types’, they do not reflect upon equity issues.It must be emphasised that these findings also mirror the general social conditions of the schools in question. In effect, gender equity issues can, paradoxically, be described as something of the icing of the cake in PEH.

Keyword

gender

equity

PE and Health

assesment

PE-teachers

Samhällsvetenskap/Humaniora

Social Sciences/Humanities

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)