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Study aim: Although exercise enjoyment is well studied in behavioral context, its associations to aerobic fitness adaptations during exercise interventions have received less attention.

Background and purpose: In school physical education (PE) lessons, gender is often produced heteronormatively. Lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, intersexual, and queer (LGBTIQ+) students have reported experiences of discrimination and obstacles to participation. This study analyzed Finnish PE teachers and LGBTIQ+ students' talk about discrimination and problematic practices in PE and how equality in PE might be improved. Theoretical background: We draw on the concepts of heteronormativity and habitus. Habitus provides insight on how gendered norms and inequalities become embodied and contested in different social fields. In the PE context, we define social on the one hand as the heteronormative 'feel for the game' and on the other as the queering of practices. We then demonstrate both the habitual elements of gender and sexuality and how expectations and categorizations are socially attached to bodies. Methods: Thematic interviews were conducted with ten heterosexual and cisgender PE teachers and with ten LGBTIQ+ students aged 13-17. First, thematic analysis was conducted to identify each group's perceptions on discrimination in PE lessons, on PE practices in relation to LGBTQI+ students, and on ways of promoting equality in PE. Second, applying the concepts of heteronormativity and habitus, we studied the identified themes to ascertain whether discrimination, practices, and equality were reproduced or challenged in the PE teachers' and LGBTQI+ students' perceptions. Findings: The PE teachers' perceptions, informed by the ethos of individuality, reduced LGBTQI+ students to 'minorities' whose practices diverged from the heteronorm. Hence, the non-heterosexuality and gender diversity of LGBTQI+ were constructed predominantly as 'tolerated' and even invisible in PE lessons. However, some teachers reported paying attention to diversity in gender and sexuality in their thinking, speaking, and practices, thereby challenging heteronormativity. While the teachers aimed to protect LGBTQI+ students from discrimination, the majority also defended existing practices. Queering the status quo was considered challenging. In turn, the LGBTQI+ students focused more on lived power relations and structural discrimination and challenged existing practices by queering the status quo. For them, the best ways to promote equality in PE would be teacher familiarity with diversity in gender and sexuality, reduced gender stereotyping and the use of more inclusive language. The students also supported coeducational PE groups and unisex locker rooms or changing facilities for LGBTQI+ students. Conclusions: PE teachers' tendency to defend heteronormative practices creates a paradox of 'tolerance' which works to marginalize non-heterosexuality. The interviews with both groups indicate challenges in implementing the objectives of gender-awareness in school PE in Finland.

In many countries, sex equality is an essential aim of physical education (PE) curricula, while the PE grouping practices are widely hetero-normative. As far as there is a discrepancy between the curricula and practice, equality will not fully take place. This study examined the associations between PE teachers' perceived teaching efficacy (student engagement, instruction, class management) and preferences for single-sex (i.e. juridical sex) vs. coeducational grouping in PE. The analysis, based on a cross-sectional online survey of 175 Finnish PE teachers, showed that higher perceived class management was associated with the stronger preferences for single-sex PE. Associations of teacher's age and teaching experience with the preferences for coeducational vs. single-sex PE showed considerable heterogeneity. PE teachers' teaching efficacy, especially in class management, for teaching diverse groupings of students could be improved through in-service teacher training in accordance with the national curriculum.

Homogeneous teaching efficacy profiles of in-service physical education (PE) teachers (N = 175) from a variety of educational institutions, elementary to higher education, were examined. In addition, associated gender bias and equality beliefs in PE were investigated. Three profiles (Low, Intermediate, High) were identified using cross-sectional data collected via an anonymous online survey. The PE teachers with the highest teaching efficacy reported the highest higher gender equality beliefs. In the low efficacy profile, females and PE teachers with a master's degree scored higher on gender equality beliefs than males or teachers with other tertiary education, and longer compared to shorter teaching experience was associated with higher gender bias. In the intermediate and high teaching efficacy profiles, males reported higher gender bias beliefs than females, whereas longer service was associated with lower gender equality beliefs only in the high teaching efficacy profile. Teacher education may be the most effective channel to tackle gender bias beliefs in PE classes, which should be free from all types of discrimination.

This study investigated the relationships between sexual (verbal and non-verbal sexual harassment) and physical violence against physical education (PE) teachers and work-related stress. Participants were 175 (females 122, males 53) Finnish PE teachers aged between 27 and 62 years. The findings showed that (1) higher perceived physical violence was positively associated with higher perceived non-verbal sexual harassment and work-related stress; (2) teachers with a sport science degree perceived higher work-related stress mediated by physical violence than other teachers; (3) longer-serving PE teachers reported lower verbal sexual harassment than teachers with less teaching experience; and (4) female PE teachers reported higher work-related stress than male teachers. These results indicated that violence against PE teachers is multidimensional. To prevent work-related stress in PE teachers, school authorities could encourage teachers to report student threats as a violence prevention strategy in schools and provide appropriate support for teachers who have been victims of violence.

In this case study, theoretically rooted in peer-assisted learning (PAL), ten female high school students, acting as peer teachers, taught hip hop dance in a voluntary physical education course. The data, derived from questionnaires and interviews with the peer teachers, were analysed using content analysis. The results showed that the peer teachers considered dance an important subject in the weekly curriculum. On the one hand, peer teachers enjoyed the freedom of making the class look like their own, the fast learning of their students, and the increased self-confidence acquired over the course. On the other hand, most of them were self-critical and felt ashamed when making mistakes. They also felt uncomfortable teaching same-aged or slightly older peers, and were surprised at the unwelcoming and rather arrogant attitude of their students. This article illustrates not only the difficulties that a peer-teaching experiment can encounter, but also the value of peer teaching in offering positive experiences and engaging students in school PE through urban youth culture.

This study investigated the effectiveness of a creative physical education (CPE) intervention on students' perceptions of motivational climate in physical education (PE), leisure-time physical activity (PA) motivation, and overall PA. A sample of 382 fourth to sixth grade students (M[subscript age] = 10.87[0.93]) from two elementary schools were assigned to the CPE intervention (n = 196; M[subscript age] = 10.84[0.95]) and control 'PE-as-usual' (n = 186; M[subscript age] = 10.90[0.90]) groups. Students' perceived task- and ego-supportive climate in PE, leisure-time PA motivation, and overall PA were measured before and after the one-year intervention. Analyses of covariance and path analyses were implemented to test the effectiveness of the intervention. The intervention had a positive effect on students' perceptions of task-supportive climate in PE (p < 0.001) and a negative effect on ego-supportive climate (p < 0.001). Students' perceptions of task-supportive climate had a positive effect on their leisure-time PA motivation (p < 0.001), which, in turn, had a positive effect on their overall PA (p < 0.001). The results suggest that CPE-based PE may increase students' perceptions of task-supportive climate in PE, which predicts their later leisure-time PA motivation outside the school context and overall PA.

This study focuses on transgender experiences in martial arts. Interviews with three Finnish and two British transgender martial artists were thematically analyzed, and findings were interpreted through the lens of queer theory. Two themes were identified related to the ways that transgender martial artists experience their sporting contexts, namely martial arts as an empowering and inclusive context and the challenges related to being transgender in martial arts. Two themes were also identified when it comes to participants' strategies for coping with cis-/heteronormativity in martial arts. Whenever possible, participants employed social change strategies, whereas other times, they drew on self-care strategies. Following this, we suggest a need for context-specific, protective policies; nonbinary means of organizing sport; and gender diversity education for instructors to better cater for the specific needs of transgender people in sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When physical education (PE) teachers change their programs to incorporate something new, the process always involves some effort at interpretation and adaptation. The perceived benefits must outweigh the labour required to think through the possibilities and to then manage the political and logistical challenges that go hand in hand with achieving change of this magnitude. This paper tells the story of one such change process, which involved the interpretation by a small group of teachers in Finland of a set of pedagogical ideas and practices developed in Australia known as Creative Physical Education. The story involves a range of characters (including the authors) and conveys the struggles and successes experienced through the course of understanding and implementing something new, developed in a different country. Benefits accrue to this work, such as more creative thinking and a higher level of engagement in PE of a wider section of the student population, but they are only briefly mentioned in this paper, with the main focus being to convey and explain the program adaptations made, or not made.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in children's social skills after their participation in a physical education programme named ESPEC ("Early Steps" Physical Education Curriculum). The evaluators of the children's social skills were the trained educators who implemented the curriculum as well as parents of the participating children. This study was conducted in three European countries and was part of a European transnational project. The participants were 286 preschoolers from Cyprus, Greece and Italy. Twelve educators and 286 parents completed the "Social Behaviour Instrument" (SBI) before and after the implementation of the ESPEC. This four months' physical education curriculum was designed for preschool-aged children and it included 24 lesson units. The results showed an improvement in children's social skills after ESPEC implementation in all three countries. It can be concluded that the implementation of physical education activities for preschool-aged children can be a way to improve preschoolers' social skills.

The present two-wave longitudinal study examined the extent to which physical education (PE) teachers' democratic and socially supportive behavior, pupils' goal orientations, and the perceived motivational climate in PE explained differences in pupils' intended helping behavior by gender in PE classes. The results of 105 boys and 109 girls based on structural equation modeling revealed at both time points that the PE teachers' democratic and socially supportive behavior was positively related to pupils' concurrent perceptions of the motivational climate as task-involving as well as their higher concurrent intended helping behavior in PE. Pupils' prior perceptions of the motivational climate of PE as ego-involving were negatively related to their later perceptions of their PE teacher as behaving democratically and socially supportively. The study variables explained 50% (in boys) and 77% (in girls) of the variance of intended helping behavior at Time 2. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between students' (100 children aged 8 to 12) help-seeking behavior and impulsivity. Help-seeking behavior was evaluated using a naturalistic experimental paradigm in which children were placed in a problem-solving situation and had the opportunity to seek help from the experimenter, if needed. Impulsivity was analyzed using the Hyperactivity-Impulsivity Scale from the Teacher Rating Form of the Multidimensional Peer Nomination Inventory (TR-MPNI), Circle Tracing Task (CTT), Matching Familiar Figures (MFF), and Impulsiveness and Venturesomeness scales from the Eysenck Junior I[subscript 6] questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that impulsivity was not related to children's question asking. Different correlational patterns were found for question asking and other help-seeking variables (i.e., performance scores and mean reflection time preceding question asking). The two Eysenck Junior I[subscript 6] scales showed no significant correlations with other measures. The importance of considering the many sidedness of both help-seeking and impulsivity constructs is discussed.

This study surveyed 155 gender and sexual minority (GSM) sport participants to examine 1) nonverbal and verbal gender-based and sexual harassment by a coach in relation to psychological ill-being, and 2) differences in harassment due to gender and sexual orientation. Self-reported data from 93 females and 62 males was collected anonymously and analyzed using Spearman's rank-order correlations and cross-tabulation with chi-square tests. Nonverbal and verbal gender-based and sexual harassment by a coach was related to more frequent stress, psychosomatic symptoms and depressive symptoms only in male GSM sport participants. Undermining was related to more frequent depressive symptoms in males. There were no statistically significant gender differences in harassment. As for sexual orientation, there was a statistically significant association between verbal harassment by the coach and sexual orientation. The present findings have scientific, educational and clinical importance for sport psychologists involved in research, coach education and applied work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: In school physical education (PE) lessons, gender is often produced heteronormatively. Lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, intersexual, and queer (LGBTIQ+) students have reported experiences of discrimination and obstacles to participation. This study analyzed Finnish PE teachers and LGBTIQ+ students' talk about discrimination and problematic practices in PE and how equality in PE might be improved. Theoretical background: We draw on the concepts of heteronormativity and habitus. Habitus provides insight on how gendered norms and inequalities become embodied and contested in different social fields. In the PE context, we define social on the one hand as the heteronormative 'feel for the game' and on the other as the queering of practices. We then demonstrate both the habitual elements of gender and sexuality and how expectations and categorizations are socially attached to bodies. Methods: Thematic interviews were conducted with ten heterosexual and cisgender PE teachers and with ten LGBTIQ+ students aged 13–17. First, thematic analysis was conducted to identify each group's perceptions on discrimination in PE lessons, on PE practices in relation to LGBTQI+ students, and on ways of promoting equality in PE. Second, applying the concepts of heteronormativity and habitus, we studied the identified themes to ascertain whether discrimination, practices, and equality were reproduced or challenged in the PE teachers' and LGBTQI+ students' perceptions. Findings: The PE teachers' perceptions, informed by the ethos of individuality, reduced LGBTQI+ students to 'minorities' whose practices diverged from the heteronorm. Hence, the non-heterosexuality and gender diversity of LGBTQI+ were constructed predominantly as 'tolerated' and even invisible in PE lessons. However, some teachers reported paying attention to diversity in gender and sexuality in their thinking, speaking, and practices, thereby challenging heteronormativity. While the teachers aimed to protect LGBTQI+ students from discrimination, the majority also defended existing practices. Queering the status quo was considered challenging. In turn, the LGBTQI+ students focused more on lived power relations and structural discrimination and challenged existing practices by queering the status quo. For them, the best ways to promote equality in PE would be teacher familiarity with diversity in gender and sexuality, reduced gender stereotyping and the use of more inclusive language. The students also supported coeducational PE groups and unisex locker rooms or changing facilities for LGBTQI+ students. Conclusions: PE teachers' tendency to defend heteronormative practices creates a paradox of 'tolerance' which works to marginalize non-heterosexuality. The interviews with both groups indicate challenges in implementing the objectives of gender-awareness in school PE in Finland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarship on gender and sexual diversity in sport has advanced during the last decade and it is nowadays recognised that we need a better understanding of how to facilitate inclusive sport cultures that allow all people to participate as themselves. The purpose of this scoping review was to map research activity on the sporting experiences of gender and sexual minority (GSM) athletes and coaches, identify gaps in the literature and provide suggestions for future research, policy and practice. Our literature search in four different databases yielded 58 relevant studies. Based on their focal areas, five dominant interconnected themes were identified: (1) identity, (2) discrimination, (3) coming out, (4) the body and (5) strategies for social change. More research is needed on bisexual, transgender and intersex athletes, on GSM coaches and junior athletes, as well as on the intersection of gender and sexuality with other identities and social categories of difference. Combining anti-discrimination policy implementation with gender and sexual diversity education for all those involved in sport could lead to positive changes in some of the issues that GSM athletes and coaches face in sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]