Disciplinary literacy and verbal language in physical education
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7168803 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matilda Lindberg (0000-0001-5516-6049, Malmö University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 368-382 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sport Education and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1357-3322 • E-ISSN: 1470-1243 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13573322.2024.2318394 |
| OpenAlex | W4392058191 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 38 |
Supporting pupils’ development regarding subject knowledge and disciplinary literacy is a complex and challenging task for teachers. Research shows that language-integrated physical education (PE) can assist children’s language development. However, it tends to reduce the time for physical activity, which is problematic since youth’s physical inactivity is a growing problem. This article examines how teachers can emphasize disciplinary literacy and stimulate pupils’ use of verbal language to enhance their learning in PE in a culturally and linguistically diverse context in Sweden. In this practice-based research study grounded in action research methodology, 20 ten-year-old pupils with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds participated with a teacher-researcher in 10 PE lessons in which disciplinary literacy and verbal language were intertwined with exploratory circus assignments. The theoretical framework is based on Biesta’s concept of risk. Data were collected through participant observation, video observation, interviews, and field diary. The data analysis was abductive, oscillating between the theory and the data. A thematic analysis was carried out. The results show that the exploratory circus assignments offered opportunities to emphasize disciplinary literacy and stimulate pupils’ use of verbal language. Focusing on language to ensure all pupils could partake and develop knowledge required time, which encroached on the pupils’ opportunity to be physically active. This was resolved through adding time before the PE lesson to activate the pupils’ background knowledge, anchor the language, and create pre-understanding. Further, including all pupils was challenging, and the pupils had different expectations regarding PE. The findings suggest that inviting pupils to speak involves an embedded risk in communication, but also carries dialogical potential. In collaboration with teaching colleagues, PE teachers can support and strengthen the pupils’ literacy development
Discipline · Linguistics · Literacy · Pedagogy · Social science · Sociology · Health, Education, and Physical Culture · Philosophy · Physical Education and Pedagogy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching
A Dialogic Teaching Companion
The Action Research Planner
Educational Responses to Newly Arrived Students in Sweden
The study of talk between teachers and students, from the 1970s until the 2010s
World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour
The Routledge Circus Studies Reader
How much circus is allowed? – Challenges and hindrances when embracing risk in physical education
Using Content Literacy Tools to Create Anticipation in Physical Education
Bilingual physical education
Does the teaching of physical education in a foreign language jeopardise children's physical activity time? A pilot study
Action Research
What Is Disciplinary Literacy and Why Does It Matter
Foregrounding the Disciplines in Secondary Literacy Teaching and Learning
Habits of Practice
The social inclusion of immigrant girls in and through physical education. Perceptions and decisions of physical education teachers
Bodies, Meanings and Movement
Pedagogy and human movement. Theory, practice, research
Instruction or pedagogy? The need for a transformative conception of education
The Beautiful Risk of Education
How Is Education Possible? Pragmatism, Communication and the Social Organisation of Education
Social Circus as an Organised Cultural Encounter Embodied Knowledge, Trust and Creativity at Play
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |