Facts

Contact person:
Gunn Nyberg
Financer:
  • The Swedish Research Council
Responsible at MaU:
Gunn Nyberg
External project members:
  • Dean Barker - Örebro universitet
  • Håkan Larsson - Gymnastik och idrottshögskolan i Stockholm
Time frame:
01 January 2026 - 31 December 2030
Faculty/department:
Research environment :
Research subject:

Project description

Knowledge in movement is produced in various practices such as dance and association sports. It is then reproduced as content knowledge by teachers and teacher educators in physical education (PE) contexts. Despite its prevalence in schools and universities, little is known about how this knowledge gets produced in the first instance. Most often, educators simply accept knowledge in movement, including techniques and tactics, as ‘fundamental’, rather than knowledge that is socially and historically situated.

The scientific aim of this project is to generate an understanding of how knowledge in movement is produced in different epistemic cultures in movement practices. To achieve this aim, we will conduct two studies.

  • Study One is a document analysis of scientific and non-scientific accounts of new knowledge in movement being produced in the past.
  • Study Two is ethnographic in nature, where we will observe and speak with participants in three movement practices to understand the epistemic cultures that are being created.

In both studies, Knorr-Cetina’s notions of epistemic cultures, objects of knowledge, and unfolding, provide the theoretical basis for investigation and analysis. The findings will form the basis for development of research and practice in physical education teacher education.