”Det är live liksom” : Elevers perspektiv på villkor och utmaningar i Idrott och Hälsa

Sammanfattning: Based on pupils' perspectives, the purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to increased knowledge and in-depth understanding of PE. Sport, exercise and health are important factors for young people’s wellbeing. Children and young people who exercise sleep better, have more energy, learn to cooperate and perform better at school. They also develop different abilities to address the challenges of sport, both in the field of Physical Education and Health [PE] and in their free time.The empirical material consists of interview data from eleven focus group interviews with 62 pupils in grade 9, from eight different secondary schools. Using focus group interviews is a method that enables exchange of and changes in knowledge. The method is also suitable for discussions aiming to interpret and understand statements. The dissertation takes a socio-cultural approach and a dialogical perspective on the theory of Social Representation [SR]. SR is characterized by sentences, values, similarities, ideas and practices shared by groups of people in societies and is used as a tool to describe and analyze the creation of common social representations.The results show the pupils’ communicating the fact that the grading system in PE is incomplete and unfair; they prefer a multi-rating system. The discussions also showed that the PE teacher plays an important role in the pupils’ vision of PE as a community investment. The analysis featured two key themes: an unfair grading system and a multifaceted PE teacher profession.As this dissertation was reaching its finality, the research field of PE shifted to a partly new and different phase. More emphasis is now put on sports, exercise and health as important lifestyle choices and as crucial activities for the wellbeing of young people. From a pupils’ perspective on the conditions and challenges in PE, there is a continuing need to study pupils’ suggestions for change and improvements, as well as the consequences of PE being a subject that is, as one pupil said, “it’s kinda live”.