This article explores the relationship between physical education as a school subject, and physical activity health initiatives in schools. Drawing on curriculum theory and discourse theory we study policy documents related to physical education and school-based physical activity initiatives. We explore the boundaries of knowledge between physical education and physical activity that can be identified in two Norwegian policy documents. We are particularly interested in these documents as ‘texts’ in both the narrow sense, studying statements, words and phrases, and in the broader sense, examining how discourses produce specific understandings, subjectivities and social relations related to physical education and physical activity in school. These analyses and readings lay the foundation for closing discussions and outline of how boundary maintenance and tools for negotiation between physical education and physical activity can be productive for the development of physical education in the future.

This study investigates teachers’ intentions and practices related to teaching outside the classroom. We report on three months of fieldwork consisting of participatory observations and qualitative interviews of teachers in two Norwegian primary schools practising weekly uteskole [outdoor school]. We find that the teachers’ intentions for uteskole are to facilitate first-hand experiences for their pupils. The teachers organise and teach uteskole in two distinct ways: 1) friluftsliv activities [outdoor living activities] and 2) theoretical learning activities. The connections between friluftsliv activities and theoretical learning activities are seldom emphasised. Furthermore, the teachers rarely organise theoretical learning activities that entail pupils’ transacting with their surroundings. We discuss how the teachers’ work can be understood through the Romantic and the Pragmatist perspectives of experiential education and through the representational epistemology of traditional schooling. We outline how a transactional epistemology, operationalised as the “multi-modal model of knowing”, can support teachers in facilitating transaction between the pupils and the environment outdoors and aid in establishing continuity between learning activities outdoors and indoors. We argue that these are important factors that can enhance uteskole as a teaching method for facilitating deep learning in Norwegian primary education.

Overweight and obese adolescents are reported to be less physically active than their peers. Research-based knowledge about their views may contribute to a better understanding of key factors that may foster or undermine motivation for physical activity, and provide knowledge for the future development of interventions. This paper explores experiences of physical activity among overweight adolescents, age 13-14 years, participants in Young & Active, a web-based controlled trial intervention to increase physical activity (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01700309). The theoretical perspective is based on Self-Determination Theory. Two qualitative post-intervention research interviews, with a nine-month interval, were conducted with 21 adolescents, 15 girls and 6 boys to study short-term and long-term changes. The informants were recruited from a total of 84 participants from the Young & Active intervention group. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The participants associated physical activity with organized sports and physical education classes at school, and as a means of promoting good health and attractive bodies. A majority of the adolescents said that they experienced their health as poorer than other youths, and expressed worries about their fitness and future health. Mastering a physical activity, being together with friends and having fun promoted motivation to perform sports. Not mastering an activity, or not knowing the others made them less motivated. None of the adolescents highlighted the importance of informal active living when asked about their understanding and experiences of physical activity. Consistency was found between the first and second interviews. This study adds to limited research on overweight and obese adolescents’ experiences of physical activity. The participants’ views reflect opinions in society about physical activity, and its importance for health. Viewing physical activity as conducted within organized sports makes it necessary to look into how these are organized, structured and led, and what can be done to support self-esteem, autonomous motivation and participation. The ability to choose among available, affordable and desirable physical activities, together with friends, may promote participation and maintenance.

Merk: Denne artikkelen ble publisert i tidsskriftet FOU i praksis. Tidsskriftet skiftet navn til Nordisk tidsskrift for utdanning og praksis i september 2019. Masteroppgaver i lærerutdanning bør utgjøre toppunktet i studentenes teoretiske og praktiske, operative kunnskapsutvikling. I denne artikkelen analyseres profesjonsrelevansen i 65 masteroppgaver i pedagogikk (17), matematikk (18) og kroppsøving (30) ved et norsk universitet. Av de 65 masteroppgavene ble 44 kategorisert som relevante basert på en smal definisjon av profesjonsrelevans, mens alle ble kategorisert som relevante ut fra en videre definisjon. Det var imidlertid viktige forskjeller mellom fagene i hvordan denne relevansen framsto, og disse forskjellene avspeiler temaer som diskuteres i nasjonal og internasjonal forskning i de ulike fagene. Seks masteroppgaver ble analysert nærmere for å se på hvilke lærerroller som manifesterte seg i oppgavene. Alle masteroppgavene diskuterte lærerroller i noen grad, og mange tematiserte det komplekse spillet mellom lærernes eget fagsyn og de forventningene som stilles til lærerrollen fra elever, foreldre og samfunnet. Vi konkluderer med at oppgavene kombinerer de teoretiske kravene til en masteroppgave med høy oppmerksomhet om lærerrollen. Sitér: Skagen, K., Løndal, K., Kleve, B. og Smestad, B. (2018). Masteroppgaver og profesjonsrelevans i pedagogikk, matematikk og kroppsøving. Tidsskriftet FoU i Praksis, 12(3), 7–27. English abstract English title: Master theses in pedagogy, mathematics and physical education: the relevance for the profession Master theses in teacher education should bring students to an apex of both their theoretical and their practical, operative knowledge. In this article, 65 master theses in pedagogy (17), mathematics (18) and physical education (30) from one Norwegian university are analyzed for their relevance for the profession. Of the 65 master theses, 44 were considered relevant for the profession based on a nar-row definition of relevance, while all were considered relevant based on a broader definition. However, there were important differences between the subjects in how this relevance appeared, and these differences reflect themes discussed in national and international research in the different subjects. Six theses were analyzed more closely to see which teacher roles were manifest in the theses. All of these discussed teacher roles to some degree, and many concerned the complex relations between teachers’ own view of their subject and the expectations teachers face from students, parents and society. In conclusion, the theses combine the theoretical demands of a master thesis with close attention to the role of a teacher.

Development of motor competencies and learning of movements in children is dependent on varied physical activity (PA). After-school programs (ASP) might provide opportunities for young schoolchildren to participate in PA. The aim of the current study was to investigate the PA of first graders in ASP and to consider its contribution to the development of motor competencies and the learning of movements. The study was performed utilizing a mixed methods design. A total of 42 first graders were sampled from 14 ASPs in Norway. Direct observations of the children’s activities were conducted for the duration of one entire ASP day. PA intensity was measured using ActiGraph accelerometers. Qualitative data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, while the Mann-Whitney U test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to analyze the quantitative data. The median PA time among the observed children was 61.5 minutes. The median stationary time was 75.9 minutes. There was considerable variation within the sample. Girls were significantly more engaged in stationary behavior than boys. Frequent changes in activity type and intensity were typical features of the children’s ASP day. PA duration and intensity were significantly higher outdoors than indoors. Adult-managed time had longer periods of stationary behavior than child-managed time. The PA at all intensity levels contained barrier-breaking movements—especially at light intensity levels. Most of the first graders studied were engaged in a variety of activity types of different duration and intensity levels, favorable for the development of motor competencies and for the learning of movements. Hence, it is reasonable to highlight that light PA, in combination with moderate and vigorous PA, is also of great importance for children during the time they spend in ASP. Ultimately, there is a need for staff members who can also stimulate varied PA among the most stationary children.