TITLE – A study of secondary school PE teachers’ perceptions of the barriers that can impact participation for Muslims girls in PE.
Abstract
Participating in PE as a Muslim girl can be difficult due to various factors such as religion and cultural expectations that they must adhere. Ultimately, this does impact their participation in physical activity; however, it would be wrong for PE teachers to assume that these restrictions affect everyone. This study will examine how secondary school PE teachers overcome an array of barriers and any other issues to increase participation levels among Muslim girls specifically. The research was gathered using existing literature and drawing on the results in them. The theory that underpins this study is Bourdieu’s notion of habitus and Field. Previous research has studied Muslim girl’s perception of PE (Dagkas & Hunter, 2015; Stride, 2013; Stride, 2016), whereas PE teacher’s thoughts and feelings about this sensitive topic should also be valued.
Table of content
Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………………………………………………4
- Background……………………………………………………………………4
- Aims and objectives……………………………………………………………6
Chapter 2: Literature Review………………………………………………………………9
Chapter 3: Methodology……………………………………………………………………12
3.1. Data collection…………………………………………………………………12
3.1.1. Semi-structured interviews…………………………………………..12
3.1.2. Systematic observation………………………………………………14
3.1.4. Ethical consideration…………………………………………………14
3.2. Sampling………………………………………………………………………..14
3.3. Data analysis……………………………………………………………………15
Chapter 4: Results……………………………………………………………………………16
Chapter 5: Discussion…………………………………………………………………………19
Chapter 6: Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….21
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1. Background
Some individuals only take part in PE as it is part of the school curriculum, this allows them to learn new skills, developing skills such as competence, autonomy and relatedness, as well as various health benefits (Bizley, 2002). Enabling students with the opportunity to learn fundamental movement skills will build a foundation for them to be lifelong participants in physical activity. Despite the majority of Muslims having similar beliefs, the culture of Muslim people is diverse meaning factors such as family, religiosity and the adoption of the private or public manifestation of faith (Stump, 2008). For instance, a Muslim girl wanting to wear a headscarf during PE. It can be problematic if schools are unable to meet the needs of Muslim girls, which mainly implies body modesty (veil) or favour PE or physical activity that is gender-segregated.
There are several benefits of sport and PE, and politicians and scholars have stressed the significance of it. It can be used to create or grown social cohesion among groups or communities; however, at the same time, problems may arise especially those around Muslim girls that are students. Schmidt (2007, PAGE), suggests that “school PE and sport are amongst the most important tools of social integration, but … for some minority and religious communities … full participation in PE is in many cases, not guaranteed and raises numerous problems that are difficult to resolve … Ethnic minorities have especially low rates of participation in sports activities. The problem of participation is arising already in school time; Muslim girls are an especially sensitive group in this respect)”. This impacts several factors such as actions, reactions and experiences of female students in environments such as schools, as they cater to mainstream societies. (Stodolska et al., 2013).
As mentioned earlier, not meeting the needs of Muslim girls in a PE setting can be problematic. Therefore, they are stereotyped as disinterested or abysmal at a sport. Eventually, this will have an effect of a self-fulfilling prophecy, implying that students and teachers are not determined to conquer these clichés. Co-educational PE lessons are popular in many European countries, which will impact participant rates of Muslim girls due to beliefs and culture. Teacher training, too, has moved away from teaching through gender-segregation, which is vital for the majority of Muslim women who desire to be teachers. Therefore, Hawkins (2008) states that PE lacks professional focus, meaning that constant changes within PE, in a short period is the reason for this (Pangrazi, 2010). He states that turn over a short period does not allow PE teachers to establish respect between students, parents and PE itself. As a result of this, PE teachers are given no choice but to ‘start over’ as new focuses have been introduced and presenting them with another learning curve.
Furthermore, previous research has fixated their attention at white middle-class females, with the majority of those that do not require special educational needs and disability spectrum (Stride, 2013). Consequently, this will lead to a marginalization of different religious and ethnic minority groups, and Stanley and Wise suggest that this places them on what is known as ‘theoretical ice’. There has also been some research surrounding the impact that ethnicity and gender can have within a PE context/setting. Though this type of research is limited, some differences can be considered and explored in numerous ways. For instance, using an intersectional approach and examining the connection between religion, culture, and gender will mean the research would be more profound, and the result will be concise. According to Dagkas (2011), Muslim girls are marginalized in PE. A good example of this is PE teachers having an impression that specific ethnic minorities cannot take part in sports due to their ability, which means these students are neglected when other sports are taught. (Dagkas, 2018).
Existing research already exists surrounding this subject matter. A study conducted by E. McGee and Hardman, 2012 examined the issues surrounding Muslim girl’s religious and ethnic identities and whether it conflicted with participation in school-based Physical Education (PE). The study found that girls perceived PE as a subject, which allowed them the freedom which was not found elsewhere in the curriculum. It also suggests that teachers are unaware of other factors that may affect participation, such as kit and fasting during Ramadan. This implicates that the purpose of this research is to fill gaps in existing research by gaining teachers perspective rather than how pupils perceive PE. Instead, dwelling into how the quality of teaching can promote inclusivity for Muslim girls in secondary school.
1.2. Aims and Objectives
For this project, I will gain insight from the physical teacher’s perspective on how they can facilitate learning for Asian Muslim girls using existing literature. There are various barriers which have an impact on participation, and this ranges from self-confidence to parental approval.
Aim
- To explore the various barriers and problems that may impact participation rates for Muslim girls in secondary schools and how PE teachers manage these issues to include Muslim girls within PE and Sport.
Objectives:
- To identify the barriers and issues, Muslim girls face in PE.
- To study how these barriers and issues are overcome in order to promote inclusivity of Muslim girls in secondary school PE.
- To explore PE teachers experiences and views of working with Muslim girls in PE.
1.3. Rationale
The purpose of this study is to gain insight from a PE teachers’ perspective on how they can facilitate learning for Muslim girls. Also, it is easy to pinpoint that Muslim girls’ needs are not met in a PE setting; however, some leniency should be granted towards PE teachers as they must tailor pedagogy to meet the needs of not only Muslim girls but the whole class. There are various barriers which have an impact on participation; for example, Muslim girls will refrain from participating in a sport if is it mixed with males (Pfister, 2013). However, it is imperative to understand that PE is not anti-Islamic. Living a good healthy lifestyle by caring for one’s body is valued in Islam (Mawer, 2002). Taking part in PE or physical activity is not a matter for some Muslim girls; however, concerns surround the environment, which it is undertaken (Dagkas et al., 2011). Due to religious beliefs and expectations, it can be challenging to take part in PE; for instance, an essential element is respecting the body, inferring that modesty is necessary. This suggests that most Muslim girls will want to wear hijab and some PE settings and sporting industries see them as hazardous, leading to lack of participation.
A study conducted by McGee and Hardman (2012), examined the issues surrounding Muslim girl’s religious and ethnic identities and whether it conflicted with participation in school-based Physical Education (PE). The study found that girls perceived PE as a subject, which allowed them the freedom which was not found elsewhere in the curriculum. It also suggests that teachers are unaware of other factors that may affect participation, such as kit and fasting during Ramadan. This implicates that the purpose of this research is to fill gaps in existing research by gaining teachers perspective rather than how pupils perceive PE. Instead, dwelling into how the quality of teaching can promote inclusivity for Muslim girls in secondary school. The voices of the PE teachers are fundamental in identifying the concerns and challenges associated with facilitating the inclusion of Muslim girls in PE and how these can be addressed through varied pedagogical strategies.
The beginning of this paper will outline the how gender and religious differences have been conceptualized in previous research and PE settings, as well as highlighting the importance of engaging marginalized groups that fall outside the dominant parameters apparent in last research (Stride 2013). Also, the study will look at the topic using an intersectional approach. Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and Field will also be incorporated into this matter and how it can have an effect of PE teacher’s decision making and the content they teach, leading to marginalization of certain groups in PE settings. After this chapter, the literature review will be analyzed and linked to my reasoning of why I decided to discuss this topic, finally, how PE teachers can overcome potential issues and barriers to increase participation in PE for Muslim girls.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
This chapter will provide the reader with an insight into existing research on this topic which has minimal research surrounding it. This will aid in providing background knowledge of the chosen topic. The start of this segment will explain what PE is and current issues within this matter. Additionally, the chapter will begin to address the problems that may impact a Muslim girl’s participation in PE. An explanation will be provided on how religion and family can impact engagement. Once this has been explained, the detail will be given on how gender issues as a result of religious beliefs can be a barrier in PE. Intersectionality will also be explored within this chapter and examining how gender, religion, ethnicity, culture overlap and impact one another. Culture refers to specific characteristics and social behaviours associated with a particular group of people. However, religion relates to people who share the same family origins and the type of people who are part of a community. The completion of this chapter will observe Bordieu’s theoretical framework to understand why marginalization takes place in PE.
Physical education refers to structured, progressive learning that is delivered to pupils during the school schedule. The two concepts of ‘moving to learn’ and ‘learning to move’ and vastly important. They involve being more physically competent as well as learning through movement and experiencing. Pupils will be able to obtain a range of life-long skills and those beyond that, for instance, working as a group. Children will undergo a variety of activities, including sport and dance, with the context for learning being physical activity. Physical activity is a comprehensive phrase and refers to using energy through all bodily movement. As Physical Activity is broad, it covers a full spectrum of activities such as sport and dance, outdoor and indoor, work-related activities and frequent activities such as housework.
In recent times, Physical Education has been viewed as moving towards ‘sportisation’ (Abduljabar, 2017). This suggests that PE is typically attentive on education as a primary aim; however, lately, educational outcomes are purely related and incidental. The National Curriculum in PE (2013) stresses the importance of competitive sports and competition. This outlines that quality learning experiences, along with the foundation of fundamental movement skills should be given to the students for them to mastery an ability. However, it can be debated that the importance of PE is to develop elite-level students whenever possible (Lubans et al., 2010.). Due to this, it may result in PE settings being affected through the content and pedagogy taught. This discourse will ultimately be converted to a barrier for students (Dagkas, 2018). The main problem that PE faces is the schooling of decontextualized skills in a way that does not take into account race, gender and social class (Kirk, 2010). In 2001, Flintoff and Scraton stated that this type of education could lead to marginalization.
Current research has addressed the nation’s aspiration to strive for equal opportunities and focus on an inclusive environment, despite limitations such as disability, religious beliefs and ethnicity. Hardman & Marshall (2009) argue that this has not been a success as of yet. Furthermore, contemporary discourses intend to place focus on intersectionality instead of regarding one issue such as a disability or religious beliefs (Flintoff, Fitzgerald, & Scraton, 2008). Future PE teachers now have taken on a different approach to training that was conducted in the past. Now, teachers training has moved towards mixed-gender classes in comparison to the previous teaching of single-sex lessons (Benn & Dagkas, 2006). Maher and Vickerman (2017) found that the change of government policies has been beneficial for everyone as inclusivity has been highlighted as the essential aspect of the NCPE. However, due to the lack of information provided through teacher training, pedagogical practices are hindered, which means that teachers lack understanding (Dagkas & Armour, 2011). It is vital to understand teacher training courses as they will be teaching the youth about various topics, and if they lack an understanding, a domino effect will occur. The students of tomorrow will also struggle. Despite educational discourse trying to encourage inclusivity through policies, many issues still arise as not all students’ needs are met (Skidmore, 2004; Benn & Pfister, 2013).
Chapter 3: Methodology
In pursuit of bringing out the teachers’ perception of Muslim girls participation in PE, the study focused on utilized the Bourdieu’s notion on habitus and Field. The method offered a window for investigating the dynamic processes coupled with the relationship between education and culture. This study collaborated with Bourdieu thought, that the correlation of human beings to education is majorly based on their cultural relationship. The use of Bourdieu’s concept was paramount in analyzing the educational contexts, which is necessary for investigating different structures surrounding the secondary teachers’ perception of the participation of Muslim girls. To be concise, the method involved the inspection of generic aspects of secondary education and discovering the trends and development in the sector, which will provide insight on possible techniques to be employed to overcome the barriers and challenges limiting the inclusivity of these girls in PE. As suggested by the French sociologist, methodological reflexivity poses as a useful tool for achieving the precise understanding of the social world. Reflexive sociology is a technique of self-referential of social research.
This method exposed the confiscated intellectual and social dilemmas among the secondary school teachers to combat the low participation of Muslim girls during PE. The begin with, the conceptual framework was utilized to provide the interrelationship between the secondary school education and the socialization as well as the status of Muslim girls inclusivity in physical education.
3.1. Data collection
3.1.2. Semi-structured interviews
To combat the methodological issue of consistency, interviewing became the most suitable and efficient method of data collection. The comprehensive information was acquired through extensive interviewing using the approach of semi-structured interviews. The formulated questions to be used for the structured interview with the secondary school PE teachers were coupled with the literature review as well as the objectives and aim of the study. They were all restricted to the corpus of getting an in-depth analysis of the teachers’ speculation on the barriers limiting the inclusivity of Muslim girls in the PE program. Varieties of issues were investigated surrounding the relationship between the teachers and the PE education laying inferences on how the cultural aspects are becoming the limiting factors.
The interview was made of a set of meticulous set of questions which assured the response to be unbiased and provided precise information. The discussions were also open, and many new ideas were brought in during the interview with the selected number of secondary school PE teachers. The structured interviews was done is a way that its scope put into consideration the concept of intercultural competence. As an interviewer, the realization of cultural dimension was at hand, and the interviewing was principled to accommodate the individual disparities and variation in cultures. In pursuit of achieving the integrity of data, excellent listening skills were brought on board and explication of the responses was done as well as an elaboration of unfamiliar terms, this made the interview to be focused on its theme.
During the interview, practical qualities of engaging the respondents were adhered through the management of impressions. Before the interview, in-depth research was done on barriers and challenges, limiting the inclusivity of Muslim girls in PE, and this enhanced the formulation of questions to fit the respondent understanding of the issue. To supplement the information acquired from the interview, extensive analysis of the attendance register of the PE lesson was done alongside structured observation of the PE lessons.
3.1.3. Systematic observation
To further quantify on the Muslims girls participation in PE and engagement with others, structured classroom observation was done. The objective of this observation was to discover the level of commitment possessed by Muslim schoolgirls with the non-Muslim students and their teachers. Furthermore, additional information was observed from the attendance registers for the PE at a different level of classes. From the entries, Muslim girls participation was quantified and related to the overall secondary school participation.\
3.1.4. Ethical consideration
In appreciating the concept of ethnicity, PE setting was conducted upon the approval of the Head of Department alongside the relevant stakeholders. Additionally, the setting was negotiated with the staff, whom the study was outlined in the form of writing and verbally. School permission to use the school facilities was also acquired from the authorities, and the motive of the research was kept under the objective. The sense of confidentiality of the respondents was achieved through the utilization of pseudonyms through assigning the respondents nickname by making use of interview related numbering.
3.2. Sampling
The selection of the secondary school PE teachers was projected towards acquiring insight on the overall perception of the barriers limiting the Muslim girls’ participation in PE, which is paramount in formulating an effective solution in averting the dominating issue. The study was limited to samples from ten secondary school teachers in five schools, whose students’ population is majorly composed of Muslim schoolgirls. The feedback from the respondents was structured according to its respective secondary schools, and each assigned a unique number to facilitate analysis. On the other hand, observations made from the attendance registers and PE lessons were sorted by being tabulated in the form of rows and columns. The rows accommodated the different secondary schools while the rows denoted the various observations.
3.3. Data analysis
The analysis of data was achieved by identifying the themes and patterns from the data collected. These patterns were obtained through the structuring of the subsequent interview responses as well as ordering and reordering of the data. It involved feature extraction from the voluminous data acquired from the different respondents from their diverse setting. The process of feature extraction consists of the selection of salient information, significant in analyzing the barriers impacting the participation of the Muslim girls in PE. It was focused towards determining the themes, categories and patterns in data which could be viable in achieving the hypothesis.
The predefined information was further categorized according to the similarity between the data collected from different settings. Finally, these final groupings were termed to be the perception of the secondary school PE teacher’s opinion on the barriers limiting the participation of Muslim girls in PE. The frequency of the similarity possessed by the participating settings denoted the order of teacher’s in terms of significance: in descending order from those perceived to be carrying immense weight in impacting the participation of Muslim girls in PE to the less significant impacts.
Chapter 4: Results
Since outstanding issues marked the interviewing, several prime themes emerged regarding the secondary school teacher’s perception of barriers impacting Muslim girls’ participation in PE. Regards to the secondary school teachers, they welcomed the interviewing as they viewed it as a process of bringing meaningfulness of PE in the wellbeing of Muslim girls. As the interview was conducted among various setting for the integrity of data, the outcome which was interpreted from nearly all the settings is the perception of cultural requirements. There was multiple interpretation of Muslim culture and this further deepened the beliefs and expectations surrounding the Muslim girls’ involvement in physical activities.
The results achieved through interpretation suggested that the problematic nature of Muslim girls’ inclusivity in PE is coupled to the interrelationship between culture, gender, religion and the space. Most of the teachers suggested that the participation of the Muslim girls was regulated by the importance of culture and region. The Muslim girls perceived their body as the holy hence they were supposed to adhere to the modesty by always putting their hijabs. Unfortunately, most of the sporting activities prohibit wearing hijab during the activities, hence leaving the Muslim girls with the only option of avoiding PE. On top of that, the Muslims girls were brained washed by their cultural requirements which prohibited them from associating with the opposite gender, this stereotype was also perceived by the teachers’ to be inhibiting their participation in physical activities since majority of the participants were male gender.
Although the Islam religion recommended excise, it was interpreted that sense of culture and setting took over the character of many Muslim girls; they lived according to what they were taught since childhood and through experience. From the responses, the urge of the teachers to bring back the sense of physical education in the lives of Muslim girls was reflective. Their efforts to influence the girls to take part in the physical activities were rendered futile as the ethnicity of the schools were principled to adhere to the cultural ways while educating the pupils. The peer pressure also among the girls was attributed to be adding influence on girls’ participation in PE. Where most of the Muslims girls were against taking part in PE due to their cultural considerations, there were some who were willing to take part but their self-esteem is lowered by the rest of the group not participating. The teachers also speculated that the non-inclusivity of Muslims girls in PE, was propelled by the knowledge on importance of religion as nearly all the girls were believers and were practising their religion at all cost.
One of the teachers suggested that although exercising was in Koran, the Muslim girls differed with taking part in PE suggesting that their physical ability restricted them as they viewed PE to be associated with the male gender. This inferred that the issue of gender inequality added up biasing the physical exercise to be male dominated. According to the data collected, non-inclusivity was further propelled by the negligence in the school curriculums to incorporate training of the students beyond the physical exercise. The teachers proposed that equipping learners with extra knowledge on the significance of physical activities and how to overcome the constraints could increase a great percentage of Muslims girls to participate in PE.
Furthermore, the secondary schools teachers who were interviewed portrayed the same thought of recommending the parents involvement in welcoming the sense of PE for the wellbeing of Muslim girls. They recognized the important role of the parents in wining more Muslim girls to take part in physical exercise. Muslim parents were considered liable for shaping their daughters’ mentality. Most on the girls secluded themselves from participation due to the underlying beliefs passed to them by their parents. The girls were likely to agree with sentiments from the parents unlike those from the teachers. So the tutors were calling for the parents support to impact positively the issue of Muslim girls’ inclusivity in sporting activities since they equip the girls with the necessary long life skills which is required for their wellbeing. On top of that, the teachers expressed the difficulty they undergo in convincing the Muslim girls to put on the sporting costumes as most of them defied stating that their parents were the ones responsible to dictate their choice of dressing. Besides that, The non-inclusivity of the Muslims girls in PE was accelerated by their socialization class being restricted to only the other Muslims, they could only interact with the Muslims counterparts; this denied them the opportunity of being influenced to engage in the physical activity by the non-Muslims who form the majority of participants.
Chapter 5: Discussion
As demonstrated in the results, the study has answered the question of identifying the barriers and issues the Muslim girls face in PE. Indeed the girls are missing a lot from the significance of physical exercise. Sadly, their non-inclusivity is far beyond their control as they are socially required to adhere to the beliefs and expectations underpinning participation in PE. The interconnection of culture, gender and religion poses as the major barrier which is inhibiting the Muslim girl participation in the sporting activities. Despite the fact that, Muslim religion allows the right of exercising, different interpretations of culture have been made which are suppressing their participation at all cost. Since the sporting industry require participants to dress in the preferred costumes, the Muslim girls seems to be secluded since their culture restrain them from removing the hijabs. Besides that, nearly all the girls all believers who refer their bodies as holy hence they should not expose their bodies thus refraining from putting on the costumes which are assumed to only cover half of their bodies. Additionally, the parenting role has been attributed towards the hindrance of Muslim schoolgirl’s inclusivity in PEs. According to the teachers’ sentiments, the choice of dressing is dictated by the Muslims parents and convincing the girls to change the dressing to support the sporting activities required parent approval which poses as a tedious method for the teachers.
From the results of secondary school teacher’s perception, various ways can be devised to overcome the issues and barriers surrounding the inclusivity of Muslim girls in PE. Since most of the girls became hesitant in joining the others in PE, due to the underlying belief of cultural beliefs, this could be overcomed through enrolling the education and training of importance of physical activities in the secondary schools curriculum. The knowledge on the significance of PE could influence the Muslim girls to take part in the exercise. In conjunction to this, parent can play an important role by waiving away the restriction kept on the dressing code. Parents’ leniency in allowing their daughters to only change their dressing while engaging in physical exercise, could increase the participation of these girls in PE. Furthermore the relevant stakeholders could introduce ways of motivating the Muslim schoolgirls to participate in PEs through rewarding those who take the initiative of being part and parcel of the physical activities. The management needs also to introduce PE dressing code which satisfies the Muslim concern of modesty.
Despite the objectives of the research being achieved, the scope of study was limited by certain factors. The process of data collection was tedious as it involved a variety of schools being involved. Besides that convincing the teachers to undertake the interview pose another dimension of bottlenecks encountered during the research. Some of the teachers especially those from the Muslim side were hostile and even termed the research as culture biased. However, the limitations were rendered ineffective, as the study added value to the existing literature on Muslim girls’ inclusivity in PE. It also developed a momentum for further research on how cultural aspects could be modified to suit participation of Muslim girls in PE while securing its significance in the society.
Chapter 6: Conclusion
From the study, it can be concluded that there is need for nation’s aspiration to strive for equal opportunities and focus on an inclusive environment, despite limitations such as disability, religious beliefs and ethnicity. Consequently, effective strategies should be incorporated in the school systems so as to address the issue of non-inclusivity of Muslim girls in PE. Physical exercise is paramount for the wellbeing of all and these girls should not be limited by cultural stereotype from undertaking sporting activities. Physical education is essential in every schools setting as it involves physical competency and learning through experience and movement. Physical education could also enhance the development of talents and skills especially those aligned to sporting and entertainment.
Through the Bourdieu theoretical framework, a greater understanding on how the actions of human beings were largely based on the cultural and social structures was achieved. This is associated with how the cultural beliefs and expectations regulated the Muslim girls’ participation in physical education hence the marginalization. The study was concern on the teachers’ perception rather than those of the pupils, this is because the teachers were assumed to be the core drivers of the physical education, and through experience they have first-hand information on the factors limiting the inclusion of Muslim girls in PE. From interviewing the teachers, multiple perceptions were achieved, and most of them were centred at culture and religion. They suggested that most of the Muslim girls refrained from participation due to the cultural in conjunction with religion aspects, the Muslim schoolgirls believed that the bodies were holy, and by putting on the sporting costumes’ they would expose parts of the body which was against the ethnicity of Muslims. On top of that the question of gender inequality made the girls to view physical education as being about masculinity hence not fit for them.
Ultimately, in quest of inclusivity in curriculum activities, parents could play an important role of in overcoming the issues by allowing their daughters to change their dressing code during physical education. In embracing the diverse culture, secondary schools could redesign the dressing code for PE to satisfy the Muslim cultural needs hence enrolling more Muslims girls to take part in the physical activities which is paramount in acquiring the long life skills.