Just one of the boys? A life history case study of a male physical education teacher

Abstract

Studies of physical education teacher training have already established that hegemonic forms of masculinity are reinforced and reproduced both in the hidden curriculum (Flintoff, 1997 Flintoff A (1997) Gender relations in physical education initial teacher education in: G. Clarke & B. Humberstone (Eds) Researching women and sport Basingstoke Macmillan [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and the informal student culture (Skelton, 1993 Skelton, A. (1993). On becoming a male physical education teacher: the informal culture of students and the construction of hegemonic masculinity. Gender and Education, 5(3): 289–303. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). Given this, an important feminist concern is whether male PE teachers whose own masculine identities are anchored in their athletic prowess simply ‘teach’ their young male charges to construct hegemonic forms of masculinity through PE and school sport and/or whether they necessarily marginalize and inferiorize female students. This paper provides a life history case study of a male PE teacher’s role both in reproducing and challenging gendered norms in his capacity as coach of a schoolboy and schoolgirl Australian Rules football team.