ERIC Number: EJ1178987
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1357-3322
EISSN: N/A
Using Visual Methodologies to Understand Pre-Service Health and Physical Education Teachers' Subjectivities of Bodies
Varea, Valeria; Pang, Bonnie
Sport, Education and Society, v23 n5 p394-406 2018
Socio-cultural theorists have argued that having a diverse understanding of subjectivities of "normal"/"ideal" bodies is important for Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers. When teachers hold a single understanding and perception of "normal"/"ideal" bodies, such as a thin body as normal or ideal body, which are usually informed by dominant discourses, they may (re)produce narrow understandings of bodies among their students. This paper focuses on how a group of pre-service HPE specialist teachers (11 females and 3 males, aged between 18 and 26 at the time of the first interview) from an Australian university, discuss issues related to subjectivities of bodies. It draws on visual methodologies and semi-structured interviews to understand how these pre-service HPE specialist teachers construct discourses of bodies. Foucault's concepts of normalisation, surveillance and biopedagogies are used to explore discursive constructions of bodies, with a particular focus on how some discourses are normalised via surveillance techniques. The results of the study invite us to reflect on how images may promote certain ways of thinking about and considering the body among pre-service HPE specialist teachers. In light of contradictions which were found across the comments of two participants who constructed different discourses during the interviews, we posit that making sense of subjectivities of bodies is complex and often contradictory. Furthermore, the results suggest that photo elicitation is a useful visual method for theorising issues related to bodies. Results can inform teacher education and policy in how to better prepare pre-service HPE teachers to teach about bodies.
Descriptors: Preservice Teachers, Health Education, Physical Education, Physical Education Teachers, Undergraduate Students, Foreign Countries, Semi Structured Interviews, Teacher Education Programs, Preservice Teacher Education, Research Methodology, Visual Aids, Mass Media Use
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A