‘The teacher sees my absence, not my participation’. Pupils’ experiences of being seen by their teacher in physical education class

ABSTRACT

Previous research shows that understanding pupils’ emotional affiliations with content in physical education (PE) is important. Findings point out the importance of the teacher signaling that the pupil is seen beyond the skill and knowledge aspects in class. However, the research literature does not offer very many detailed elaborations on the pupil’s own experiences of being seen. Contrasting interview data material from 26 pupils (age 17–18) in upper secondary school has been analysed to categorize the concept of ‘being seen’ by the PE teacher in class. In the analysis we found two main themes from the interviews that highlight a wide range of emotions the pupils might have. The first theme illuminates the positive experience of being seen, and such related aspects as learning-promoting feedback, respect and trust. The second theme demonstrates extremes when it comes to being seen: Not being seen at all or seen too much. Either way, PE classes will be experienced as demanding and in part difficult, albeit in different ways. We found that the feeling of being seen—or, for some pupils, ignored—appears to be a relatively stable feeling once it has taken root, eventually becoming an understanding. Moreover, being ignored means there will be low expectations of being seen in the future, unless the teaching practice is changed, and this emotion gives a poor foundation for well-being and learning. The analysis also shows that even if the sense of being seen is the pupil’s property and indisputable, teachers (and researchers) must have a critical attitude to the pupils’ narratives of being seen, as this feeling may be based on a skewed pre-understanding of the teacher.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical education
• pupils’ experience
• being seen by the teacher
• social interaction
• teaching
• pathic knowledge