Governing school physical education through discursive technologies
A Foucauldian archaeology of policy in South Korea
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21783837 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hyunwoo Jung (0000-0001-9711-2233, Seoul National University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-18 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1740-8989 • E-ISSN: 1742-5786 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17408989.2026.2674997 |
| OpenAlex | W7163070164 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 40 |
Background Over the past two decades, school physical education (PE) in South Korea has evolved from a curriculum-based subject into a cross-sectoral policy platform. This transformation has been driven less by coherent pedagogical planning and more by crisis-responsive governance, shaped by political contingencies, media-amplified crises, and global discourses linking PE to public health, student rights, and social regulation.Purpose This study investigates the governance of school PE policy in South Korea through discursive technologies within historically specific regimes of truth. Adopting a Foucauldian archaeological approach, it examines how dominant policy discourses are constituted, legitimised, and reconfigured, and considers their implications for pedagogical coherence and educational meaning. The study also situates the Korean experience within international debates on surveillance-oriented governance in PE.Methods The analysis draws on 20 annual School PE Promotion Plans (2005–2024) and three National Master Plans for Promoting School PE (2014, 2018, and 2023) issued by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Using Kendall and Wickham’s (1999) three-stage framework for archaeological discourse analysis, informed by discourse-historical methods, the study identifies dominant discourses, traces their legitimisation through discursive technologies, and situates them within broader political contingencies.Findings Three policy periods were identified: Introduction (2000–2010), Diffusion (2011–2020), and Transformation (2021–present). Across these phases, discourses surrounding health, citizenship, performance, and student rights were rearticulated through technologies such as the Physical Activity Promotion System (PAPS), student-athlete rights regulations, and fitness monitoring regimes. These technologies constructed differentiated subject positions, including the ‘studying student-athlete’ and the ‘active general student’, thereby normalising surveillance-based governance. Epistemic ruptures, most notably the 2003 Cheonan dormitory fire and the COVID-19 pandemic, enabled policy shifts but largely reinforced short-term, crisis-responsive interventions rather than sustained pedagogical reform. This process gradually displaced pedagogical values such as inclusion and creativity, while intensifying regulatory oversight and constraining teacher agency.Conclusion School PE in South Korea has been reconfigured as a regulatory apparatus rather than a pedagogically rich learning environment. Reclaiming its educational purpose requires governance aligned with long-term pedagogical goals, meaningful teacher involvement in policy making, and critical engagement with surveillance-based discourses.Impact statement This study contributes to physical education and sport pedagogy by demonstrating how school PE policy operates as a form of governance rather than a coherent pedagogical project. It offers internationally relevant insights into how surveillance-oriented policy logics shape educational meaning, professional practice, and democratic possibilities in school PE
Ethnic group · Ethnography · Governmentality · Physical education · Politics · Public policy · Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Physical Education and Pedagogy
Society and Discourse
Understanding Physical Education
Politics, Policy and Practice in Physical Education
Like a Fish in Water
Discipline and Punish
Education, Development, and Politics in South Korea
Foucauldian Discourse Analysis
An archaeological discourse analysis of physical education as challenging in South Korea primary schools
Routledge Handbook of Youth Sport
Folk Devils and Moral Panics
Foucault and Education
The changing status of school sport and physical education
Primary physical education, coaches and continuing professional development
Physical education and the art of teaching
Evolving discourses on student-athlete policies in South Korea
Curriculum interpretation and policy enactment in health and physical education
Crisis Discourse in Physical Education and the Laugh of Michel Foucault
Explaining differences in sport participation rates among young adults
The outsourcing of health and physical education
Education reform policies and classroom teaching in South Korea
Schooling Bodies Through Physical Education
Managing Uncertainty
Using Foucault's Methods
Physical education for health and wellbeing
Exploring the Truth
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |