Physical education at preschools: practitioners’ and children’s engagements with physical activity and health discourses

Abstract

This paper focuses on one aspect of a qualitative study concerned with investigating the place and meaning of ‘physical education’ to practitioners and children at three preschools in Scotland. We examine the ways in which the participants engaged with discourses related to physical activity and health in order to construct their subjectivities. Fourteen practitioners and 70 children participated. Research methods employed were observations, interviews with adults, a group drawing and discussion activity with children, and interviews with children. Both the adults’ and children’s talk illustrated the dominance of neoliberal, healthism meanings that position individuals as responsible for their own health. While the children’s talk primarily centred on health as a corporeal notion, the practitioners tended to talk about physical activity and health in both corporeal terms and in relation to the self more holistically. The practitioners also talked about physical activity as a means of regulating children’s behaviour.

Keywords:

• physical education
• preschool
• discourses
• healthism
• neoliberalism.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express sincere thanks to the practitioners and children at Oakdale, Cheery Faces and Sunnyland. Thanks also to Dr Mike Jess and the Developmental Physical Education Group at The University of Edinburgh for funding the research. Finally, thanks to the anonymous reviewers for their feedback and advice on an earlier draft of this paper.

Notes

1. Children in Scotland are entitled to free part-time preschool education from the term after their third birthdays. They usually move to primary school when aged four or five years (The City of Edinburgh Council 2013).

2. The Care Commission regulated and inspected all care services in Scotland. On 1 April 2011, its work passed to a new body, Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland.