Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan, GIH

Gender(ed) patterns in Swedish school physical education and health: a problem of equity?

In the spring of 2009 the Swedish National Agency of Education commissioned the physical education and sport pedagogy research group at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm to survey and problematize girls' and boys' conditions in Swedish physical education and health (PEH). The overarching theme of this symposium is to present the results from this project and to discuss different kinds of factors that influence gender equity in PEH.

Gender and gender equity in PEH has been on the research agenda both in Sweden and in other countries for several decades, in particular the masculine and heteronormative character of the subject. What is specific, and perhaps new, about this project is that it takes its starting point in statistical data about 15-16 year old girls' and boys' distribution of grades, parents' educational level, and students' and parents' place of birth (Sweden/not Sweden). The Swedish National Agency of Education (SNAE) has access to statistics from every Swedish school about this kind of information.

The project consist of three studies:

-                    a survey, where questionnaires were sent to 350 secondary schools to be answered by a PEH teacher (with questions about aims and content of PEH teaching, gender equity, assessment, etc.);

-                    an interview study with 17 PEH teachers in mid-Sweden (focusing on how teachers reason about their subject and about gender equity issues in the subject);

-                    an observation study of PEH lessons with 6 classes at different schools in a big-city area (focusing possible relation between the school’s socio-economic and ethnic conditions, gender patterns during class, and content and organisation of PEH teaching)

The survey study has added information from teachers about PEH teaching that can be related to the previously mentioned statistical information about the pupils and the distribution of grades. The teachers and classes participating in the interview and observations studies were selected based on the same statistical information. Each paper to be presented at the symposium will deal with one of the three studies.