ABSTRACT

Participation in physical education is often shaped by the gendered experiences of students. This study explored how the experiences of gendered bodies shaped participation in physical education (PE) among students in Nova Scotia, Canada. The study consisted of two phases: 1) focus groups with a total of 18 Grade 8 students (7 girls and 11 boys) attending public school in Nova Scotia, and 2) in-depth semi-structured interviews with six teachers (4 women and 2 men) responsible for teaching the Nova Scotia Grade 8 PE curriculum. Data were analysed through an interpretive phenomenological analysis. The analysis resulted in three main themes: 1) binary bodies, 2) competitive bodies, and 3) fluid bodies. Themes revealed the connections between gender, bodies, and participation in PE for students. Physical education in Nova Scotia (re)creates and (re)produces binary and heteronormative constructs of gender despite changes in the curriculum focused on inclusivity. The results of this study suggest that reviewing PE pedagogical methods and activities in relation to the influence it has on (re)producing gendered bodies would be critical in creating PE spaces that are inclusive to diverse genders and bodies. Such inclusive spaces can help increase student participation in PE.

摘要

对体育教育的参与通常受到学生的性别体验的影响。本研究探讨了性别身体的经历如何影响加拿大新斯科舍省学生的体育教育 (PE) 参与度。该研究包括两个阶段：1) 焦点小组共有 18 名在新斯科舍省公立学校上学的 8 年级学生（7 名女孩和 11 名男孩），以及 2) 对 6 名教师（4 名女性和2 人）负责教授新斯科舍省 8 年级体育课程。通过解释性现象学分析来分析数据。分析产生了三个主要主题：1) 二元体，2) 竞争体，和 3) 流体体。主题揭示了性别、身体和学生参与体育活动之间的联系。尽管注重包容性的课程发生了变化，但新斯科舍省的体育教育（重新）创造和（重新）产生了性别的二元性和异性恋结构。这项研究的结果表明，审查体育教学方法和活动对（再）生产性别化身体的影响对于创建包容不同性别和身体的体育空间至关重要。这种包容性的空间可以帮助增加学生对体育的参与。