Play, games and sport are a part of the content of physical education (PE), and has been the subject of a longstanding debate among educators internationally and in Scandinavian countries. Play refers to something unstructured and free, while sport is a controlled and managed activity. Drawing on Skovbjerg`s (2021) play theory, this article…

Research in the Scandinavian school context has indicated that physical education (PE) is dominated by activities and values from a sports discourse. The main aim of this study was to explore students' experiences of two competitive activities provided by the teacher. The participants were 49 students (13-15 years old) and their two teachers from…

While many students participate autonomously in physical education (PE), research shows that students who do not participate in leisure sport are less likely to perceive PE positively. Attempting to optimise the reciprocal student (?) PE relationship and secure equal opportunities for learning in PE, schools in a Norwegian county developed an…

The pre-service teacher (PST) learning process has been claimed to include multiple and complex forms of learning because various areas of knowledge growth occur at the same time. In the Sport Education (SE) literature, there has been a noticeable dearth of research regarding how PSTs learn, interpret and deliver the model. While several studies…

Bodily movement is a central component in students' educational experiences in school-based physical education (PE) programs. PE unavoidably involves physical risk. In some respects, the risk of play, sports and adventure is portrayed as necessary and healthy for children's development. However, concerns about students' safety and teachers'…

Background and Purpose: Acknowledging that it is critical that researchers design and implement studies that examine teaching as a complex phenomenon (Strom and Martin [2017]. "Becoming-teacher: A Rhizomatic Look at First-year Teaching. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers), the objective of this study was to examine pre-service teachers' (PSTs')…

The aim of the study is to shed light on how physical education (PE) is experienced among a varied group of adolescents in school, and to nurture debate related to the relationship between adolescents' lived experience of PE and their identity-formation processes. Nuanced insights can help to increase teachers' ability to perceive, react to and…

Previous research shows that students have a widespread understanding about the purpose of physical education (PE), including learning about movement, health and also PE as a break from other school subjects. The present study aims at examining more closely the break perspective in light of interview data from 26 students, whose statements in…

In recent years, the judgements that typically determine who is an 'able' physical education (PE) student have been sharply challenged. The research literature suggests that skills in sports, health-related fitness, toughness, competitiveness and effort typically play a significant role in assessment procedures. Although Evans (2004) lamented the…

It is widely believed that school physical education (PE) is or, at the very least, can (even should) be a crucial vehicle for enhancing young people's engagement with physically active recreation (typically but not exclusively in the form of sport) in their leisure and, in the longer run, over the life-course. Despite the prevalence of such…

Background and purpose: Due to attitudinal and motivational aims in the national curriculum, and to lack of research on adolescents' experiences with physical education (PE) in Norway, the purposes of this study were to (1) attain data on attitudes toward PE and self-determined motivation for PE among a representative sample of adolescents (N =…

This study examined the relationship between participation in organized youth sport and attitude to physical education (PE) during adolescence and physical activity in young adulthood. The sample comprised 630 participants who completed questionnaires over a 10-year period. Analysis of variance and regression were used to examine the relationship…

Based on a general belief in society about the good outcome of sport, this article critically examines the meaning--that is both the personal experience of participation and the potential educational outcome--which is derived from participation in two sport contexts under the umbrella of the Sports City Program (SCP) in Norway. With a theoretical…

Seven articles explore ways to meet the needs of elderly people around the world through sport, health, physical education, recreation, and dance. The articles address model service programs, senior athletes, International Elderhostel programs, and programs in the USSR, Great Britain, and Norway. (SM)