Gender and the perceived learning environment in upper secondary school physical education

Abstract

ABSTRACT Discussions surrounding gender are omnipresent in physical education. Outdated views based on stereotypical ideas on gender and gender relations are rampant, and research outlining the positive development in recent years is often overlooked or ignored. This study set out to explore the relationship between gender and the learning environment in upper secondary school physical education by examining whether the student’s perception of the learning environment was related to the teachers’ gender, the student’s gender or the interplay between them. A sample of 554 Norwegian upper secondary school students completed a questionnaire assessing the social, psychological and pedagogical aspects of the learning environment measured using peer relations, teacher-student relations, the motivational climate and teacher learning support. A multivariate analysis indicated no significant differences in student perceptions based on their physical education teacher’s gender or the interplay between student and teacher gender. On an individual level, significant differences were found between male and female students on four out of the five measured variables, with the males reporting more favorable perceptions than the females on all accounts. These results indicate that the effects of teacher gender on the learning environment, in the current study, are nonexistent.