Literacyskrymslen i idrottshallen – rumsliga aspekter av skriftpraktiker i skolans idrottsämne

Abstract

Reading and writing are traditionally common practices in school and mainly associated with theoretical subjects and classrooms with chairs and tables. However, reading and writing, or literacy practices, have become more common in Physical education and health (PEH), resulting in literacy practices even taking place in spaces which are not designed for reading and writing. The aim of this study is to investigate the significance of space for learning through literacy practices in PEH. The spatial aspect connected to literacy practices is investigated with the concept literacy nook, i.e., a separate part of the room where some kind of literacy activity is going on. Ethnographic data, such as photographs, field notes, and transcripts of teacher interviews, are analyzed drawing on an ecological view on literacy and with geosemiotic concepts. The results show that literacy nooks are (or can be) created in all indoor and outdoor spaces where PEH-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 potentials for students’ learning in PEH.