“There wasn't really a place for me”: A post-qualitative inquiry of gender diversity in the Physical Education assemblage and how bodies come to matter

Ferguson, Lois (2024) “There wasn't really a place for me”: A post-qualitative inquiry of gender diversity in the Physical Education assemblage and how bodies come to matter. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

In this thesis I explore how gender diversity comes to matter within the PE assemblage. I examine how gender diverse young people materialise in the PE setting in English secondary schools, unpacking their PE experiences and considering ways to encourage more joyful PE moments. Additionally, I explore how PE teachers come to understand gender diversity in the PE setting, illuminating the entanglements within which these teachers could begin to develop more inclusive knowledges and practices.

This thesis combines new materialist and posthumanist ideas with a creative, post-qualitative methodology to gain insight on the way in which gender diversity emerges (or not) in the PE context through material, human and non-human entanglements. Nine trans and non-binary young people aged 11-18 years old, and 10 secondary school PE teachers from across England shared their thoughts and experiences through creative methods and semi-structured interviews. Following Maggie MacLure’s idea of the ‘data glow’, the empirical chapters take shape through responding to the pull of affective moments, feelings and events that glowed from the fieldwork.

The findings indicate that the PE assemblage goes through periods of continuity and discontinuity in its inclusivity endeavours, with gender diverse youth and PE teachers experiencing moments of progress and empowerment, but also feelings of stuckness and regression. In a climate which is largely inconducive to supporting gender diversity, this research identifies the little pockets of joy that do occur and reflects on how the PE profession might look to facilitate killjoy endeavours which enable more joy in PE through a focus on recognising and celebrating gender diversity. This thesis therefore argues that the presence of gender diversity in PE is essential in encouraging us to consider how PE could be re-imagined in more inclusive and accessible ways, to the benefit of all young people.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	17 Feb 2025 10:15
Last Modified:	17 Feb 2025 10:15
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98508
DOI:

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