‘It’s Gonna Take Time’: Enacting Culturally Relevant Physical Education in Urban Schools

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 11:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Pedagogical Models in Practice

Abstract

Guided by culturally relevant physical education (CRPE), the purpose of this single case study was to examine how one PE teacher in a culturally and ethnically diverse (CED) urban school implemented strategies that reflected cultural knowledge. To accomplish this, one participant completed five semi-structured interviews, five reflection journal prompts, and eight-voice memos over 12 weeks. Three themes were constructed: 1) Teaching beyond the script: Personalizing curriculum to reflect student lives; 2) More than a teacher: Investing in schoolwide change; and 3) Pedagogical and structural adjustments to the class. This research is significant because it highlights strategies PETE programs and in-service teachers may utilize to bridge cultural distance between their own backgrounds and lived experiences and those of their CED students.

Authors

• Craigory Nieman, University of South Florida - Tampa

• Sara Barnard Flory, University of South Florida