IMPLEMENTING CURRICULUM WITHIN A CONTEXT OF FEAR AND DISENGAGEMENT

The purpose of this study was to examine situational and personal cont extual factors that teachers and students reported as enhancing or min imizing student engagement in urban high school physical education cla sses. in this ethnographic study, 21 physical education teachers and t heir students in six high schools were observed, and all teachers at s ix schools and 51 students at five schools were interviewed to examine their perspectives on physical education. Data were analyzed using co nstant comparison. Findings suggested that students found some tasks t o be embarrassing, boring, and irrelevant. Some students preferred to receive a failing grade rather than participate. All participants repo rted a sense of fear and alienation in the school or class environment s. Students, however, described several teachers who created contexts of engagement in these schools. These teachers connected personally wi th students and worked to provide an innovative curriculum that studen ts felt was relevant and worthwhile.