‘Feeling better’: embodied self-knowledge as an aspect of movement capability

The literature on movement capability critiques the traditional content of physical education (i.e. the what of physical education) and the subject’s reliance on teacher-led methods (i.e. the how of physical education). By re-focusing the content as well as the teaching methods of physical education, the literature on movement capabilities as providing a more student-centered approach to a form of physical education, which is less focused on developing skills and techniques in sporting activities. One important aspect of movement capability is to develop the students’ bodily awareness of their own way of moving. However, our contention is that the focus on students’ bodily awareness this is done in the service of improving specific movements. Purpose In this paper, we want to explore how embodied self-knowledge itself can be considered a movement capability. More specifically, the question guiding this article is: What is there to learn about oneself as a mover in physical education, when one moves without aiming to perfect a specific movement? Method The paper draws on analyses from an auto-ethnographic study performed by one of the authors [Bratten, J. H. (2017). Aktiviteter med lav puls og liten kraft i kroppsøvingsog breddeidrettsfaget. [Activities with low pulse and little excertion]. Master thesis. Oslo Metropolitan University. Oslo, Norway.]. More specifically, she was investigating her role as a teacher in a specific course unit that she had developed, called ‘Activities with low pulse and little exertion.’ This content, consisting of lessons given over a period of 5–8 weeks, is based on traditionally eastern forms of activity like yoga and Qi-gong, where the aim is to move through certain poses with attention directed inwardly and towards breathing. These analyses are combined with theoretical resources from somaesthetics [Shusterman, 2008 Body Consciousness. A Philosophy of Mindfulness and Somaesthetics. Cambrigde: Cambridge University Press; 2012 Thinking Through the Body: Essays in Somaesthetics. Cambridge University Press] in order to elucidate how the course unit can be understood to work with the students’ embodied self-knowledge. Results By employing Shusterman’s fine-grained descriptions of somesthetical movement practices, we are able to highlight that knowing oneself in movement is a valuable end in itself, not only a means to accomplishing specific movements. Our contribution then has been to give an example of how movement capabilities can be conceived of, when movement is understood as a process that can help students to feel better without the need to perform.publishedVersio

Aktiviteter med lav puls og liten kraft i kroppsøvings- og breddeidrettsfaget. «Hvilke opplevelser og erfaringer peker seg ut som meningsfulle for lærer og elever i aktiviteter med lav puls og liten kraft?»

Jeg har som lærer i videregående skole, vært opptatt av å lære bort yoga, qigong, massasje, dans og avspenningsteknikker, men også opplevd at verdien av aktivitetene har vært omdiskutert i praksisfeltet. I kroppsøvingslitteraturen blir det antydet at faget er dominert av en idrettsdiskurs. Samtidig blir erfaringsperspektivet på bevegelse vektlagt i formålet med faget i ord som bevegelsesglede og i litteratur som søker å legitimere faget. På denne bakgrunn ønsket jeg å undersøke hvilke opplevelser og erfaringer som oppleves meningsfulle ved aktivitetsformene jeg har undervist i. Jeg benyttet en autoetnografisk metode. Undersøkelsen ble utført i et kurs i breddeidrett kalt Lav puls og liten kraft. For å innhente datamateriale førte jeg logg på meg selv i planleggingsfasene og etter utført undervisning. Underveis reflekterte jeg over forholdene som var nedtegnet. Fra elevene ble det innhentet svar på spørsmål både muntlig og skriftlig. Dataproduksjonen ble utført som del av undervisningsopplegget. Det ble gjennomført en tematisk analyse på det produserte materialet. Funnene ble delt inn i hovedtemaene annerledes, kroppslige opplevelser og nytteverdi. Elevene opplever at innholdet i aktivitetsformene er annerledes i forhold til forventningen om at det skal være fysisk aktivitet med høy intensitet i timene. Temaet kroppslige opplevelser redegjør for hvilke opplevelser det blir lagt til rette for i undervisningen og hvilke erfaringer elevene gjør. Nytteverdien kommer fram ved at elevene opplever at det er fint få koblet av, og mener de vil ha nytte av slike ferdigheter senere. Hovedtemaene i undersøkelsen blir videre diskutert og belyst ved hjelp av fenomenologisk teori, særlig Shustermans somaestetikk og van Manens fenomenologiske pedagogikk. Jeg har konkludert med at aktivitetsformene oppleves som meningsfulle for elevene, samt at innholdet i undervisningen er utradisjonell. Somaestetisk teori er godt egnet til både å forklare opplevelsene og begrunne verdien av aktivitetsformene. Synet på nytteverdien forutsetter et holistisk syn på mennesket

Physical education and new forms of activity following the implementation of the core curriculum in Norway in 2020

Teaching physical education is intended to stimulate lifelong joy of movement for students and help them to master life. The core elements of this subject and the interdisciplinary topic of health and life skills, introduced in the new core curriculum (i.e., Fagfornyelsen 2020), enable a broader understanding of students’ holistic development. This article aims to highlight how using movement activities such as yoga, qigong, massage, expressive dance, and visualisation and relaxation techniques, collectively referred to as activities with low pulse and little exertion, can contribute to achieving the aforementioned goals. In 2017, one of the authors conducted an autoethnographic study at the secondary school in Norway where she worked (Bratten, 2017). She studied which feelings and experiences stood out as meaningful ones for students and teachers in activities with low pulse and low exertion, hereinafter referred to as LpLe-activities. The results were divided into the following categories: different, bodily experiences, and usefulness. The phenomenological approach and Shusterman’s theory of somaesthetics were used to clarify the findings. This discussion demonstrates that the aforementioned activities can create inner security and give students faith in themselves and contribute to goal achievement in physical education. This happens through good and deep sensory experiences and inner experiences that students get in the classes. Such an approach to physical education teaching, focussing on what occurs in the body, has been untraditional and requires knowledge and teachers’ desire to enrich the traditional practice of the subject