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Assessment has become a routine feature of school life, internationally. Little is known, however, about the consequences for young people of assessment and grading in physical education (PE) – a subject often associated with physical recreation. This paper explores young Norwegian’s perceptions of assessment and grading in PE from a sociological perspective. In doing so, it contemplates the penetration of neo-liberal discourses as part of wider processes of globalization and Europeanization in school PE in Norway. The study utilizes data generated by 31 focus groups involving 148 youngsters from the 10th grade (15–16-year-olds) in eight purposively sampled secondary schools in Norway. Norwegian PE teachers continue to use tests in order to set grades in PE. The upshot is that students’ enjoyment of and engagement in PE, as well as their self-identities and self-esteem, can be compromised by apprehension towards assessment and grading. These processes seem likely to undermine or even erode the potential sociopsychological benefits of PE for some young people by reinforcing the impression that the subject is fast becoming just one more outcome-oriented subject on an academic treadmill. In this regard, the ascendancy of neo-liberalism – associated with the twin challenges of globalization and European integration – appears to merely reinforce the hegemony of competitive individualism within PE in Norway, as elsewhere.

In the past decade or more, improving young people’s mental health has been identified as a priority for policy-makers in many countries, including Norway. Physical education, as a setting for physical activity, is increasingly viewed as having a potentially significant role to play in addressing mental health among the young. This paper reports the findings from a study of 148 Norwegian youngsters (68 girls and 80 boys) from the 10th grade (15–16 years old) in eight secondary schools in Norway in 2017. It explores Norwegian youngsters’ experiences of physical education in relation to aspects of their mental health – specifically, being judged and, by extension, ‘othered’. The findings suggest that physical education may undoubtedly serve to generate positive feelings associated with physical activity and games and, in doing so, bolster some youngsters’ self-esteem and self-identities. On the other hand, however, for those less competent in sporting terms, and whose bodily self-image is not particularly positive, the public nature of physical education and the nature of the activities that constitute the subject can give rise to unplanned and unintended harm to some youngsters’ mental health – especially in countries, such as Norway, where sport is a significant aspect of the group habitus and collective ‘we-group’ identity.

Peer review – the process of asking experts in a particular field to critically evaluate a piece of research – has, since the second half of 20th century, become the norm among academic journals as they endeavour to sort the scholarly wheat from the chaff. Nevertheless, in the light of recent controversies over peer-reviewed climate science (Whittaker, 2010) and heated debate among established scientists, editors and reviewers in the UK about peer review in particular scientific journals (such as those publishing articles on stem-cell research), the 32nd volume of the (European) Physical Education Review (EPER) seems an opportune time to reflect upon peer review as it appertains to EPER. In a recent BBC radio programme Mark Whitaker (2010) investigated what he referred to as ‘the tarnished image of a flawed process’ underpinning the publication of more than one million research papers in over 20,000 academic journals world-wide on an annual basis (Ware and Monkman, 2009). Peer review, he continued, ‘is supposed to be the keystone of quality control for research projects and academic studies, yet evidence of its many deficiencies has been building up for over 20 years’. Among contributors to the programme was Professor Drummond Rennie, deputy editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, who was cited more than 20 years previously delivering the following damning indictment of peer review

This paper examines the levels and forms of participation in extracurricular physical education (PE) of a cohort of 1010 15—16 year olds attending seven state schools in north-west England and north-east Wales. The data reveal that extracurricular PE provision in all schools retained a particular focus on competitive team sports alongside a number of recreational partner sports and individualized activities. At the same time, the study confirmed previous findings that young people's reported levels and forms of participation in different sports and physical activities in extracurricular PE varied significantly and differentially according to gender and, to some extent, social class. To this configuration, however, needs to be added the particularity of the schools young people attend. Schools evidently influenced patterns of participation, particularly among 15—16-year-old girls. It seems likely that the medium through which higher rates of female participation are realized —particularly in lower working class areas — is the particular blend of sports and physical activities available in extracurricular provision. In other words, the kind of sports and physical activities a school provides appears to be a critical factor in understanding school-level differences in participation. In this regard, it seems that becoming a Specialist Sports College is prominent among a number of developments which may result in a diversification of extracurricular PE opportunities.

Drawing on data from a broader study which investigated the place of spor t and physical activity in the lives of 15—16 year olds in England and Wales, this paper examines a relatively neglected dimension of research in physical education, namely, young people's par ticipation in spor t and physical activity through National Curriculum Physical Education (NCPE). The paper repor ts upon data generated by questionnaires completed by 1010 15—16 year olds who attended six secondar y schools in the Nor th-West of England and one secondar y school in the Nor th-East of Wales during 2003 and 2004. The study revealed strong inter-school variations in the mixes of spor ts that pupils experienced within NCPE. More specifically, the findings revealed that NCPE was largely dominated by competitive team-based spor ts that tend to be gender-stereotyped, alongside more individualized and less-competitive physical activities. It was also clear, however, that the repor ted levels and forms of participation in different spor ts and physical activities in NCPE during Years 10 and 11 varied significantly and differentially according to gender, social class, the school which young people attended, specialist spor ts college status and whether youngsters studied GCSE PE. The paper concludes by suggesting that inter-school variations are probably explainable in terms of a combination of traditions, facilities and the enthusiasms and perceptions of PE teachers.

As sociologists of sport involved in teaching and researching the broad area of theemergence and development of modern sport we have been captivated by therecently reinvigorated debate in the International Review for the Sociology ofSport (IRSS) concerning the place of violence-reduction in the socio-genesis ofsports. In this brief review of the debate between Dominic Malcolm and RuudStokvis — and, by extension, that between figurational sociologists of sport anda figurational sympathizer — we present a selective summary and critique of thelatest phase in a lively and productive discussion regarding the emergence anddevelopment of modern sporting forms. We do so in the belief that stimulatingthis kind of dialogue in the IRSS is not only worthwhile in itself, but also holdsout the promise of making a significant contribution to our understanding of thedevelopment of modern sport in the form of a refinement of existing explanations.Before addressing the core of the debate between Stokvis and Malcolmand, a decade earlier, Stokvis (1992) and Elias and Dunning (1986), we providea short summary of their respective positions.

The use of consumer pressure in greening the economy has long been advocated by environmentalists. This article takes the view that the traditional image of the consumer as the primary agent of environmental change is inadequate. Efforts to green the economy require an understanding of corporations and public organizations as consumers as well as an understanding of individuals as consumers. The article sets out the arguments for treating all organizations as consumers and as a dominant but underemphasized force in greening the economy. It then considers organizational consumption in the context of supply chains, with respect to the issue of agency within the organization and with respect to the transmissions of market signals for innovation. The discussion makes clear the importance of considering the interorganizational context and ways in which this context both constrains and enables green purchasing initiatives. Reference is made to examples from a range of organizations.

This paper seeks to: (i) outline and critically evaluate the widely accepted idea that exercise and sport are beneficial for health; (ii) examine the different patterns of social relations associated with exercise and sport; (iii) examine some of the health consequences of these social differences; and (iv) explore the implications of this analysis for physical education. No simple generalisations can adequately encapsulate the complexity of the relationships between physical education, sport and health. In terms of their social relations and their consequences for health, we need to differentiate (i) between exercise and sport and (ii) between types and levels of sport, with the distinctions between contact and non-contact sport and between mass and elite sport being particularly important. In the case of rhythmic, non-competitive exercise, health benefits substantially outweigh health 'costs'. However, as we move from non-competitive exercise to competitive sport, and as we move from non-contact to contact sport, so health 'costs', in the form of injuries, begin to mount. Similarly, as we move from mass sport to elite sport, the constraints to train more intensively and to continue competing through pain and injury increase, with a concomitant increase in the health risks. The physical activities prioritised in the revised National Curriculum for Physical Education in England and Wales enforced by recent official and semi-official statements, are precisely those competitive and contact sports in which the health 'costs' are greatest while those activities which are marginalised within the physical education curriculum offer substantial health benefits with fewer health 'costs'. To the extent that they are successful, recent policy initiatives in relation to physical education are likely to work against the promotion of those forms of exercise which are most beneficial to health and thus hinder the promotion of health-related exercise in physical education.