Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan, GIH

Introduction: main topic of the paper 

The notion that children and young people are physically inactive dominates the research community and in the news media. Alarmistic reports result in school interventions to remedy the problem, often with minimal effect (Larsson & Thedin Jakobsson, 2024). It’s a gloomy picture of children’s movements being painted. But, after spending one year in an ethnographic study at two school-age educare centers in Sweden, I would dare to disagree. As a matter of fact, I find movement everywhere. 

Theoretical framework 

The study explores which movement discourses govern ways of moving in the school-age educare center. This entails exploring how discursive practices – such as rules and routines, physical environments, what is being said about movement, and the ensemble of movements occurring – produce different discursive patterns about movement. The study uses Foucault’s notion of discourse as “the ensemble of more or less regulated, more or less deliberate, more or less finalized ways of doing things” (Foucault, 1998, s. 463). 

Research question(s) 

The study in the presentation is part of a thesis project that explores how movement is constructed in school-age educare. This paper addresses the following research question: What movement discourses can be identified in school-age educare? 

Methodology 

The study is part of a year-long ethnographic research project at two school-age educare centers in Sweden, that uses observations and interviews. The material for this study consists of field notes from 84 occasions (approximately 180 hours). 75 children (ages 7-8) and 18 pedagogues participated in the study. The data was analyzed using discourse analysis. 

Results 

Preliminary analysis shows an overarching school-age educare discourse in terms of movement that is built up from two sub-discourses: (i) movement as something natural, and (ii) movement as something that must be promoted and organized. In the presentation I will go more in-depth into the discourse of movement as something that must be promoted and organized, and illustrate with empirical examples. Some elements of discussion (scientific relevance, practical implications, etc.)

Swedish school-age educare is in the middle of a schooling process, and there is pressure towards more goal-directed activities (Ackesjö & Haglund, 2021). “Daily physical activity” is part of the Swedish curriculum (Skolverket, 2022) and can be addressed by, for example, organized movement activities. However, this study shows that the adult’s view on meaningful movement may not always coincide with the children’s view. Giving space to children’s self-organized movement in school-age educare is one way of promoting daily, meaningful physical activity.