As our first year as new editors-in-chief of Journal for Research in Arts and Sports Education (JASEd) begins to pass, we find ourselves at the intersection of past accomplishments and future aspirations. Since assuming our new roles in January 2023, we have succeeded Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter and Kristian Nødtvedt Knudsen, who led the journal from 2019 to 2022. Our journey into these editorial responsibilities has been marked by enthusiasm as we appreciate how the journal has been built up and established in the Scandinavian language area. In this editorial, we present our thoughts on the future of the journal and present the published articles of numbers 2 and 3 in volume 7.
As a journal, JASEd has a strong foothold in the Scandinavian language areas, publishing research in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish – but also English. Recently, we can distinguish a seemingly increasing international interest in the journal. While we recognize the importance of having a publication outlet for research in arts and sports education in the Scandinavian languages, our intention is to build on this international “trend,” partly by writing our editorials in English to reach a broader audience, partly by aiming to strengthen the journal’s visibility outside the Nordics.
JASEd has a broad aim and scope in being a multidisciplinary journal, since topics, methodologies, and philosophical traditions span very broadly. We see the multidisciplinarity as a fruitful cooperation. The broad span is an answer to the needs of the fields that the journal represents. The journal has a tradition of actively publishing special issues on topics related to arts and sports education, a practice we will continue to uphold in the future. We invite the scholarly communities to actively contribute to the journal by proposing ideas for special issues that align with the journal’s aim and scope. If you have an idea with relevance for arts and sports education, we encourage you to reach out to us.
As we seek to uphold the traditions created within the first years of this journal, we are also aiming to expand the journal’s watershed by considering new approaches. This concerns both a re-visiting of the scope of the journal and new initiatives for JASEd’s publications to reach beyond academia. First, the journal invites submissions in all arts educational subjects and has covered several arts educational fields. However, literary education has thus far been underrepresented. We welcome submissions on research in literary education and have expanded the journal’s advisory board to include expertise in that research area. Second, we are excited to announce the establishment of a podcast series in 2024. This series will feature podcast episodes that present selected publications from JASEd, providing a platform to engage with a broader audience beyond academia.
As the esteemed former editors-in-chief, Ellen Beate and Kristian, have passed on the torch, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to them for their invaluable contributions and dedication to the journal. Their expertise and commitment has significantly shaped the quality and direction of the journal’s content. As we express our appreciation for their past efforts, we eagerly anticipate forging strong collaborations with the current editorial board. Looking ahead, we are excited about the prospect of working closely together to continue advancing the standards of excellence in JASEd. Together, we aim to uphold a tradition of quality and innovation, fostering a dynamic environment for intellectual exchange and growth.
Next, we continue with presenting the 12 articles that have been published in numbers 2 and 3 in volume 7. These contributions embody diverse research topics, and we extend our gratitude to the authors for their valuable contributions and to the external peer-reviewers for their contribution to ensuring the quality of the articles that we publish.
Articles published in number 2
Number 2 opens with Flønes’ article, Diffracting through an ethical itch: Becoming a response-able dance education researcher, in which Flønes explores an ethical doubt that emerged when working with and presenting research through videos in a dance education research project. Working with post-qualitative inquiry, agential realism, and diffractive inquiry, Flønes’ article contributes with knowledge about ethical issues in presenting research and ethical-pedagogical-choreographic and research methodological entanglements. The article proposes a response-able research practice that is relational and attuned to research, pedagogy, choreography, and ethics.
Next up is Szatek’s article De estetiska ämnenas didaktik; att göra ämnesinnehåll med kroppar, affekter, känslor och plats [Didactics for the aesthetic subjects; producing subject-matter through bodies, affects, feelings, and place]. Szatek explores how didactics could become productive in relation with artistic and site-specific settings, in which contents are negotiated by leaders and participants. Focusing on theatre in a community setting and engaging with posthumanism, the article zooms in on agile and unpredictable actors that create conditions for shaping the theatre subject, and arts subjects more broadly. Didaktik is approached from a relational perspective, providing insight into how relations between teachers and subject-matter are changing through affects, bodies, feelings, and place.
In the article, Struggles of governance and autonomy in the field of kulturskole, Angelo et al. presents a theoretical discussion about the Norwegian extracurricular schools of music and performing arts, kulturskolen. Against the backdrop that these schools govern themselves to a large extent, the article focuses on diverse forms of conduct that are identified on state, community, and individual school levels. Using Foucault’s thinking about govermentality and power/knowledge, the authors particularly attend to steering mechanisms in relation to the schools, contributing with a theoretical discussion about tensions and struggles of autonomy and governance in kulturskolen.
The article Å strekke seg litt lenger: Hva kan vi lære av erfaringene av implementering av et fagutviklingsprosjekt i kroppsøving? [Going the extra mile: What can we learn for teachers experiences from implementing a development project in physical education?], by Mordal Moen, and Bjørke, presents an investigation of how school super intendants, teachers, and researchers experience the implementation of a development project. The authors conclude that, to succeed in collaborative projects, all participants need to realize that they “sink or swim together.” This realization depends on respecting each other’s roles and contributions in such projects, as well as how power relations depend on situations and context.
Lagestad and Mikalsen’s article, Physical activity level in physical education among 13-year-old Norwegian adolescents, examines how much of the physical education (PE) time 13-year-old students are in moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) level and differences between boys’ and girls’ physical activity (PA) level at PE. The main finding is that PE only makes a minor contribution to youths’ fulfilment of PA recommendations, by comprising four per cent of the adolescents’ general weekly PA level. Considering their findings, the authors argue that the PA level at PE contributes relatively little to the adolescents’ general weekly MVPA level, and therefore, PE should primarily be viewed as a tool to inspire exploration and learning, and the joy of movement in and through various physical activities among both genders, and not primarily as a source for adolescents PA.
Walseth and Khan’s article, Minoritetsstudenters møte med friluftsliv i kroppsøvingslærerutdanningen [Minority students’ experiences with outdoor education in physical education teacher education (PETE)], concludes number 2. The results show that student teachers experience that the outdoor education builds on the presumption that all students have had a Norwegian childhood with outdoor education experiences, and that students possessed basic outdoor education skills. The students emphasize that the outdoor trips were too long and difficult, resulting in limited learning outputs. The students questione the pedagogical approach where majority-students were given the role as experts. The findings indicate that outdoor education is influenced by Whiteness, and that minority-students are marginalized. The authors argue that PETE educators need to increase their awareness of Whiteness. Specifically, how the PETE educators’ habitus and teaching often is influenced by the White outdoor education.
Articles published in number 3
The first article of number 3 is The content of Norwegian primary physical education: Teachers’ perspectives on possibilities and barriers, by Buuas and Sandseter. In this empirical study, the authors look into the content of physical education (PE) classes in Norwegian primary school. Using material-economic dimensions of practice architectures theory, the study shows that ball games and play are common in PE classes, but teachers face barriers like time constraints, limited equipment, and small class sizes. The findings offer valuable insights into challenges faced by PE teachers, informing strategies for improving PE education in primary schools. A podcast episode about this article is soon available at the JASEd platform.
In the second article, Hva kjennetegner utdanningsveier til kroppsøvingslærerprofesjonen? En gjennomgang av utdanningsinstitusjonenes nettbaserte informasjon [What characterizes the educational paths to the physical education teaching profession? A review of the online information provided by educational institutions], Farestveit et al. take a look at how Norwegian higher educational institutions present and articulate different paths to become a PE teacher. The findings show three career paths to teaching PE, in which PE is invisible in marketing texts for primary school teacher training. Teacher training in PE and sports is a conglomerate of subject/study/educational fields and study programmes. A third group of study programmes is presented as a backdoor to teaching PE. The relevance to working life is demonstrated by drawing a connection between work as a PE teacher and occupations with stronger links to voluntary sports. The findings indicate that the strong position held by voluntary sports in society is also reflected in higher education.
In the positioning article, Global Science Opera: Enacting posthumanising creativity, Chappell and Ben-Horin focus on Global Science Opera (GSO), which intermingles the agendas of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Maths), education, global education, and citizenship. Using a posthumanist approach in their positioning article that entangle theory/practice, the authors present an innovative approach to creativity and demonstrate how GSO could help students attend to wicked problems. The article contributes with insight into how a posthumanist approach can provide productive ways of understanding creativity in education.
Engdahl and Ceder’s article Exploring movement in creative dance: Introducing ‘dancemblage’ in physical education teacher education zooms in on creative dance in physical teacher education in Sweden. Exploring how materialities, which are often unnoticed, play part in movement exploration in creative dance, the authors engage with a post-anthropocentric and Deleuzian theoretical approach and introduce the concept of dancemblage. The concept contributes with an approach to analyze materiality and something to work with in pedagogical practices. The article contributes with a discussion about how recognition of dancemblages in creative dance teaching can provide teachers with tools to learn about students’ explorations and broaden understandings of participation in creative dance.
In the article Creative pedagogy as resistance space: Rhizo-textual analysis of artist educators’ practices within pan-European policy, Stephenson et al. explore their experiences as artist-educators against the educational policy landscapes in the countries where they work: England, Iceland, Germany, and Greece. Engaging with Deleuzoguattarian theory and rhizo-textual analysis, the article showcases the heterogeneous features of the authors’ work as artist-educators and how they create spaces for learning in the creative arts. The article contributes with insights into pedagogy as a brave resistance space, detailing core ethical principles for artists’ practices with youth in education.
The final article is a somewhat fresh addition to JASEd and represents a rarely seen (but very much welcomed) topic of research where Nordberg has authored Literacyskrymslen i idrottshallen – rumsliga aspekter av skriftpraktiker i skolans idrottsämne [Literacy nooks in the gym – spatial aspects of literacy practices in physical education and health]. The aim of this study was to investigate the significance of space for learning through literacy practices in PE. The results show that literacy nooks are (or can be) created in all indoor and outdoor spaces where PE activities take place. The opportunities and constraints of the different spaces to house literacy nooks vary according to the material terms of the spaces. Thus, situated and transgressive literacy nooks are created in the different spaces. These different types of literacy nooks have different potential for students’ learning in PE.
As editors-in-chiefs, we are excited about the journey ahead and invite our readers and contributors to join us in collaboratively navigating the evolving landscape of arts and sports education research.