Culture, power, and ideology: the purpose and value of physical education (PE) in alternative provision schools in England

Abstract

Much has been said and written about the purpose and value of mainstream education generally and physical education (PE) specifically. However, in contrast, little attention has been given to the purpose and value of alternative provision, and none about PE in those education settings. In this article, we draw upon the concepts of culture, power, and ideology to address this shortcoming. To do so, we conducted individual interviews with eight PE practitioners to generate rich qualitative data. With the permission of participants, all interviews were audio recorded, before being transcribed, and then subjected to thematic analysis. We discuss participant perspectives on the purpose and value of PE in alternative provision schools in relation to the following themes: (1) PE to develop life skills; (2) PE to improve mental health; (3) PE as physical activity and healthy lifestyles; and (4) PE to support young people to engage in sport and physical activity outside of school. During this discussion, we cast light on the PE ideologies and cultural practices that saturate alternative provision settings, before ending by suggesting how PE practitioners can increase the likelihood of their beliefs about the purpose and value of PE being achieved through their practice.