Disability,Physical Education and Sport: Tom talks Research Completed

Title

Disability,Physical Education and Sport: Tom talks

Lead Author

Morrison, Catherine Mary

Organisation(s)

University Of Otago

Publication Year

2012

Publisher

University Of Otago

Contacts

Unknown

Abstract

Normative discourses of disability, gender and human development inevitably contour a young person’s physical education and sport experience. If schooling is to meet the needs and interests of all, then it would seem imperative to understand the experiences of those whose habits, dispositions and physicalities differ from the “norm”. To date, precious little research has foregrounded the experiences and/or voices of young people with disabilities in relation to physical education and sport. Drawing on poststructural theoretical resources – in particular notions of subjectivity, discourse, power and knowledge – this thesis/study investigates how one young man with a dyspraxia label (Tom) negotiates and understands his physicality and sense of “self” in a climate where physical competence and masculinity are inevitably linked. The study explores the discursive context within which Tom resides, asks what discourses he draws on to constitute himself in relation to physical activity and how his engagement in physical education and/or sport affords (or not) opportunities to negotiate him “self” as a viable young man in the current context. A videoed testimony from this young man comprises the main “data” and discourse analytic strategies are deployed to address the research questions. Analysis suggests that discourses of developmentalism, the body, ability and masculinity contour the ways Tom can experience Physical Education and sport. They also pivotally shape the ways Tom is able to regard himself and how he is positioned in physical activity contexts. Tom’s reflexivity, his capacity to identify what and whom makes a difference to his ongoing attempts to engage in physical culture, is highlighted throughout. His testimony affords physical educators salutory reminders that ‘one-size fits all’ curricula and normative notions of what counts as ‘performance’ in physical education and/or sport, do not serve all young people well. Tom’s story simultaneously yields insights about young people’s agency, pointing to the potential and possibility of negotiating and re-working dominant discourses that seemingly over-determine experience and subjectivity in ways that yield opportunities to feel and do ‘the physical’.

 

Keywords:

Disability, Physical Education, Sport, Masculinity, Secondary School

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1021

Added

October 3, 2012