Habits, skills and embodied experiences: a contribution to philosophy of physical education

One of the main topics in philosophical work dealing with physical education is if and how the subject can justify its educational value. Acquisition of practical knowledge in the form of skills and the provision of positive and meaningful embodied experiences are central to the justification of physical education. The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between skill and embodied experience in physical education through the notion and concept of habit. The literature on phenomenology of skill acquisition is first considered. In particular, we draw on Merleau-Ponty’s notion of habit. Further, we introduce pragmatist philosophy and in particular the work of John Dewey as a useful complement to the phenomenological perspective. It is in particular Dewey’s emphasis on habits, experience and education that are found to be useful in our exploration of the relationship between the two justifications under consideration, because it allows us to point out the importance of habits of attentiveness.Habits, skills and embodied experiences: a contribution to philosophy of physical educationacceptedVersio

Competition in Physical Education: Avoid, Ask, Adapt or Accept?

This is the final text version of the article, and it may contain minor differences from the journal's pdf version. The original publication is available at tandfonline.com: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2017.1415151Competition is an essential part of youth sport. But should it also be part of the curriculum in physical education? Or are competitive activities incompatible with the educational context? While some researchers have argued that physical education should embrace the sporting logic of competition, others have criticized the negative experiences it can create for some students in school. In this article, we draw on insights from the philosophy of sport as well as educational philosophy, with the aim of questioning and critically examining the integration of competitive activities in physical education. We present and discuss four normative arguments (AVOID, ASK, ADAPT, and ACCEPT) that can each in their own way inform and guide future talks on the topic.Competition in Physical Education: Avoid, Ask, Adapt or Accept?acceptedVersio

Beyond life-skills: talented athletes, existential learning and (Un)learning the life of an athlete

Following developments in educational discourse more broadly, learning discourses in youth sport have been shaped by outcome-based and instrumental goals of developing useful life-skills for ‘successful’ lives. There is, however, a need to expand such traditional understandings of sport-based youth development, which we undertook by exploring existential learning in sport through encountering discontinuity. We conducted in-depth qualitative research with 16 Finnish athletes (seven men/nine women, aged 19–20), five of whom had recently disengaged from the athlete development pathway. In the interviews, we used creative non-fiction vignettes to invite reflections on learning experiences in sport. Although participants reported having learnt many useful skills commonly associated with positive youth development discourses (e.g. goal setting, time-management), many also provided rich descriptions of other, important ‘life lessons’. These involved developing awareness of their bodily limitations, the nature of social relationships, and what it was like to live the life of an elite athlete. The findings revealed problematic features of (elite) sport cultures but also showed that encountering discontinuity could be beneficial as an important trigger for existential reflection, clarification of values, and a search for alternative ways of living

Developing the practising model in physical education: an expository outline focusing on movement capability

Background: Physical educators currently have a number of pedagogical (or curricular) models at their disposal. While existing models have been well-received in educational contexts, these models seek to extend students’ capacities within a limited number of ‘human activities’ (Arendt, 1958). The activity of human practising, which is concerned with the improvement of the self, is not explicitly dealt with by current models. Purpose: The aim of the paper is to outline how a model of human practising related to movement capability could be enacted in physical education. Findings: Building on a theoretical exposition of human practising presented in a separate paper, this paper provides a practically oriented discussion related to: (1) the general learning outcomes as well as teaching and learning strategies of the model; (2) an outline of five activities that describe how the model could be implemented; and (3) the non-negotiable features of the model. Discussion: The model’s potential contribution to the ongoing revitalization of PE as an institutionalized educational practice is discussed. Points concerning how the model relates to wider physical cultures, its position regarding transfer of learning, standards of excellence, and social and cultural transmission are considered. Conclusion: The paper is concluded with some reflections on pedagogical models generally and how they relate to the pedagogical model of practising movement capability presented in this paper.acceptedVersio

Existential Learning in Youth Sport: Lessons Learned through Negativity

Following developments in European educational policy more broadly, the teaching and learning discourse in youth sport in the Nordic countries is increasingly shaped by instrumental and outcome-based frameworks where the aim of sport participation is to develop useful skills for life. From an existential perspective, this competency-based approach appears as a shallow perspective on learning that does not account for the role of sport in the process of ‘subjectification’ of people (i.e., learning associated with the capacity to be a self, and critical awareness; Biesta, 2010). In our study, we sought to challenge and expand understandings of sport-based youth development by exploring the existential dimension of learning in sport, which concerns the way we are attuned to the world, find meaning in life, relate to others and make life choices. We invited young pre-elite athletes (N=16, nine women, aged 19-20) in Finland – five of whom had recently disengaged from elite level sport – to tell us about their learning experiences in sport via phenomenologically inspired interviews (McNarry, Allen-Collinson & Evans, 2019). We used creative non-fiction vignettes to initiate the dialogues on learning and engage the participants in reflecting on their experiences through the experience of others. Our preliminary, phenomenological analysis indicated that while the young people recognised useful ‘skills’ commonly associated with sport participation (e.g., goal setting, time management), many of them also provided rich descriptions of deeper ‘life lessons’ learned in sport. These included (1) coming to terms with one’s limitations; (2) recognising the values on which their relationships are built and how athletic success affects those relationships; (3) persisting over adversity but also not taking sport too seriously; (4) becoming aware of the dangers of perfectionism; and (5) selfishness and the harsh world of elite sport. Often, these types of learning were connected with encountering ‘negativity’ – that is, a collision with something surprising (e.g., unexpected performance, overtraining and injury), which triggered the process of questioning and reflection (Gadamer, 2004). Our findings make visible the athlete-led processes of learning that might be unintended, informal and not always immediately ‘useful’, but nevertheless important for these young people’s development and self ‘becoming’. We discuss the implications of the research for sports coaching and policies concerning the validation of informal learning in sport in the Nordic context

Superwomen? Young sporting women, temporality, and learning not to be perfect

New forms of neoliberal femininity create demanding horizons of expectation for young women. For talented athletes, these pressures are intensified by the establishment of dual-career discourses that construct the combination of high-performance sport and education as a normative, ‘ideal’ pathway. The pressed time perspective inherent in dual-careers requires athletes to employ a variety of time-related skills, especially for young women who aim to live up to ‘superwoman’ ideals that valorize ‘success’ in all walks of life. Drawing on existential phenomenology, and in-depth interviews with 10 talented Finnish sportswomen (aged 19-22), we explored their experiences of lived time when pursuing dual-careers in upper secondary sport schools. Exploring participants’ bodily experiences of inhabiting the achievement life-world, we analyze how these sportswomen either learned ways of living up to this ambitious script or came to understand the detrimental effects of the script, necessitating other ways of being. For those who experience a disjuncture between the ‘perfect’ and their embodied experience, self-care practices are needed to restore life-world harmony, and orient to alternative futures

Defiance in sport

This article examines the role and value of defiance in sport. I argue that defiance is a virtue in sport and make a case for it as a spirited and praiseworthy way of counteracting burdened conditions. To do this, I distinguish between three forms of defiance: 1) ascetic defiance as persistent practising to overcome limits and outdo difficulty, 2) agonistic defiance as intensified efforts to counteract and overcome opponents, and 3) rebellious defiance as counteracting unjust authority. These describe ways in which athletes can counteract burdens in sport, and for each dimension, I present examples from sport to illustrate the relevance of defiance for this particular area. I conclude that defiance is at the heart of the sporting practice and that it is virtuous when enacted towards the right things, at the right time, in the right way and towards the right ends. I round off by briefly pointing to areas for further studies of defiance in sport

Being, having and belonging: values and ways of engaging in sport

This article presents an analytical framework for understanding and studying the value structures that govern participation in sport. We combine insights from a Norwegian Monitor survey with existential philosophical reasoning to present an empirically based value structure and discern three fundamental ways of engaging in sport: being, having and belonging. We argue that distinguishing between these modes of engagement can contribute to describing, analysing and navigating in the variety of ways that participants engage in sport. Using friluftsliv and football as illustrative cases, we analyse how these existential dimensions can be prevalent in different forms of participation. Towards the end of the article, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our approach, and how the existential dimensions may relate and intertwine in practice

Embodying education: A bildung theoretical approach to movement integration

Movement integration (MI) has become a significant part of contemporary educational policy; it implies that teachers of any school subject are responsible for organizing movement activities that are of educative value. In this paper, we use Wolfgang Klafki’s Bildung theoretical analysis to examine contemporary approaches to MI and clarify dominant theoretical and didactic ways of working with MI. We aim to suggest a new understanding of MI by applying Klafki’s conception of categorial Bildung. We argue that it enables educators to emphasize the educative and existential potential of the embodied, social and emotional involvement with the academic content. Our analyses illustrates the thorough didactic consideration needed to transform an educational policy into real-world education