Defining, acquiring and transacting cultural capital through assessment in physical education

Abstract

Assessment is a powerful message system in education, but one which has not received sufficient research and critical or theoretical attention in the field of physical education. Drawing on the physical education and health (PEH) assessment experiences of 16-year-old students in the Swedish education system, the focus in this paper is on what students learn about the purpose, practice and possible consequences of summative assessment. By studying their beliefs about grades and perceptions of the criteria for receiving a high grade in PEH, the aim is to analyse what values students comprehend and learn as important in the subject. Our conclusion is that the students learn, through and as a consequence or outcome of assessment, the valued characteristics and behaviours necessary for acquiring the institutional cultural capital of high grades, as well as information about the value of their capacities and their relative value within the field of PEH.