Engaging Alienated Youth in Physical Education: An Alternative Program with Lessons for the Traditional Class

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of a physical education program for troubled youth attending an adolescent treatment center. The site selected for study was deliberately chosen due to the alternative nature of the physical education program and its apparent success in helping to connect students to their school environment. The researcher, as bricoleur, used a variety of methodological tools and strategies to collect data that corresponded to the study’s entry question: How does the physical education program work? Constructed from the data is the story of a gymnasium culture that has been carefully crafted to promote physically and psychologically safe participation that is fair and flexible, where students are encouraged to play just for fun, and a lack of competence is positioned as an opportunity to learn. By incorporating the theoretical framework of the “Circle of Courage” (Brendtro, Brokenleg, & Van Bockern, 1998) into the data analysis, this paper is intended to show how physical education can provide a reclaiming versus alienating learning environment for young people.