‘Literal torture’: Vulnerability, resilience and young people's experiences of pressure in physical education

This paper combines vulnerability and resilience theory to explore the pressure young people experience in Physical Education (PE) and sport at secondary school. The theoretical framework was used to understand both how young people experience PE in school and how vulnerability and resilience function interdependently in social contexts like schools. The research foregrounded the perspectives of the 154 pupils aged 14–16 in two secondary schools in North-East England, using an initial focus group, a survey and individual interviews in each school. Thematic data analysis revealed causes and effects of pressure in PE, along with its sources and the factors that intensify and ameliorate it. Findings suggest that pupils who designate themselves ‘high’ ability feel pressure in PE, as well as those who regard themselves as ‘low’ ability, but it is more prevalent in, and detrimental to, the latter group. Ability level also emerged as one of the factors that intensified pressure alongside (lack of) enjoyment. Peers, individuals themselves and teachers were identified as the key sources of pressure. The paper concludes by suggesting that PE in school needs reform to alleviate this pressure, which creates a complex and often unrecognised dynamic of vulnerability and resilience in pupils. This dynamic often has negative effects on pupils regardless of ability when responsibility is assigned too much to them as individuals. We propose increasing pupils' voice and choice in school to break their association with individualised pressure, vulnerability and resilience in PE and improve young people's physical and mental health.