‘But in PEH it still feels extra unfair’: students’ experiences of equitable assessment and grading practices in physical education and health (PEH)

Abstract

Assessment has been identified as an ongoing problem in physical education (PE). Since the student perspective on assessment is often neglected in research, in this paper, we will report on a study that explored students’ experiences of assessment in the Swedish school subject physical education and health (PEH). In particular, the aim of this study was to examine the students’ experiences of having equal opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and skills when being assessed in PEH. Data was collected by conducting focus group interviews with a total of 38 students from four different upper secondary schools in southern Sweden. Data analysis was conducted by drawing on Scott’s ([2008]. Institutions and organizations: Ideas and interest. Sage) institutional theory in order to demonstrate how regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive conditions shape assessment practices and students’ experiences of these in PEH. The results show that both teaching and assessment/grading practices in PEH are shaped more by cultural-cognitive conditions as associated with the norms and values of competitive and club sports rather than the regulative and normative conditions outlined in the Swedish Education Act and PEH curriculum that put emphasis on equal opportunities, equitable learning outcomes and explicit assessment criteria. The results also demonstrate how both teachers and students are actively involved in reproducing such teaching and assessment practices in PEH. To conclude, we, therefore, call for further work to be done with students, teachers and teacher educators of PEH to draw more attention to and more successfully implement the learning and achievement objectives of the curriculum. In addressing the ongoing problem of assessment in PEH we in particular need to better align assessment processes with the curriculum intentions of an equal quality education and teaching for equity.