Gud vad jobbigt: Religion och etnicitet i ämnet idrott och hälsa

Abstract in English

This thesis provides knowledge about how religion and ethnicity, in intersection with gender, become significant in physical education (PE). This is achieved through an empirical study at four different secondary schools which investigates (a) how tensions related to religion and ethnicity take shape and are managed in PE, (b) the didactic consequences of these managements, and (c) how religion, ethnicity, and gender intersect when the tensions take shape and are managed. The study is grounded in intersectionality and pragmatism, employing lesson observations and interviews with teachers and students. Unlike previous research, which often concentrates on specific minority groups, this dissertation investigates how religion, ethnicity and gender take shape as tensions and lead to didactic consequences for teachers, students and the subject content. The study highlights how tensions take shape and are managed in various ways and at different levels, with a range of didactic consequences. Furthermore, the study highlights a vast variation in individual attitudes and how religion, ethnicity and gender are not static but become more or less prominent in different contexts. Tensions generally take shape at the encounter between subject traditions and teaching contents in PE and students from religious and ethnic minority groups who are unable or unwilling to do what is expected. Tensions are rarely managed by schools but rather by teachers and students during PE lessons. The managements rarely involve changes in the subject content or the structure of the teaching. Instead, it is often the students who must adapt or change. Regardless of school, tensions often arise around similar issues and are managed in similar ways, yet significant contextual differences emerge depending on whether participants are in a setting where they are part of a minority or a majority. The thesis’ main scientific contribution lies within the field of sport didactics by providing knowledge about events that teachers and students encounter in their daily school life, which have so far not been investigated in a similar way.