High School students’ experiences of being ‘seen’ by their physical education teachers

Abstract

The study examines the association between students’ level of physical fitness and experiences of being ‘seen’ by their physical education (PE) teachers, by interviewing 26 high school students (13 with low physical fitness, and 13 with high physical fitness). The analyses indicated that being ‘seen’ in PE seems to be related to experienced opportunities for students to display their skills, teachers’ caring behaviours, feedback from teachers, and the quality and tone of dialogue with teachers. The results showed that, whereas all 13 students with a high level of physical fitness experienced being ‘seen’ by their PE teachers, only six students with a low level of physical fitness had the same experience. These findings suggest that PE teachers possess a limited narrative of their students with a low level of physical fitness. The results may also indicate the prevalence of a pedagogical approach, according to which teachers focus more on physically-fit students. Overall, teachers seem to play a key role in determining whether students experience being ‘seen’. The results have important implications for both teacher education and PE education in schools.