Family, class and embodiment: why school physical education makes so little difference to post‐school participation patterns in physical activity

Abstract

This paper draws attention to the political economy of embodiment: how, as symbolic and economic capital intersect, particular characteristics, forms and expressions of corporeality are ‘produced’, nurtured, resourced and subsequently ascribed value as ‘ability’, in and outside schools. The analyses suggest that increasing amounts of the ‘work of learning’ in order to become ‘appropriately embodied’ – slim, active and physically literate in physical activity and sport – are and have to be done outside school, in and around the home, as part of what we refer to as the ‘corporealisation of childhood’. Using ‘visual ethnography’ with particular reference to texts, images and representations of ‘Tumble Tots’ and other forms of ‘private enterprise physical education’ (PEPE) featuring in the UK, we illustrate how these processes appeal to and help reproduce particular social class interests, before drawing out the implications of the analyses for issues of social equality, pedagogy, policy and research in education and PE.