The problematisation of ethnic and cultural diversity in physical education teacher education (PETE): an analysis of PETE course syllabi from Norway, Aotearoa/New Zealand and Canada

Abstract

An increasing number of studies have focused on policies in physical education and physical education teacher education (PETE). Policies are important because they prescribe behaviours or a course of action, and they legitimise some knowledge and perspectives while discrediting others. In the field of physical education (PE), a white, male-centric, middle-class, heteronormative and able-bodied understanding of bodies and sports has been the frame of reference for a long time, which can lead to the marginalisation, exclusion and alienation of pupils, students and faculty. In this paper, I investigate how ethnic and cultural diversity are represented in three PETE programmes in Norway, Aotearoa/New Zealand and Canada, respectively. Carol Bacchi’s ‘What’s the Problem Represented to Be?’ (WPR) approach for analysing policy was used to analyse course syllabi from the three selected PETE programmes. The findings suggest that ethnic and cultural diversity are represented in different ways, however, the course syllabi from all three countries were underpinned by liberal and critical approaches to multicultural education. This study has several implications. Teacher educators are reminded to pay attention to how the problematisation of ethnic and cultural diversity in course syllabi can allow or constrain different ways to think about these issues, and that policies can create certain types of ‘problems’ and ‘subjects’, which can lead to real-life consequences. Furthermore, they are reminded that these problematisations can be resisted and challenged.