Disrupting racialization: considering critical leadership in the field of physical education

Background: The field of physical education (PE), overlapping as it does with the field of sport, has been critiqued for marginalizing those positioned as ‘different’. This difference is typically conceptualized in regard to a white, masculine, heterosexual, and able-bodied norm. Students who do not identify as white are not represented in any significant way in physical education discourses, culture, or the demographics of PE teachers in many international contexts.

Purpose: This article explores links between the literature in critical leadership and physical education. Drawing on the theoretical foundations of transformational leadership, critical pedagogy, and critical race theory, we draw links between the field of PE and applied critical leadership.

Design and analyses: Drawing on the theoretical tools of Bourdieu, we argue that physical education can be conceptualized as a field of practice. As such, the field values contain certain practices and norms. We argue that disrupting these norms relies on leadership in the field and may require insights from other fields, in this case applied critical leadership.

Conclusion: We conclude that leaders (both teachers and teacher educators) in the field of PE have a responsibility to take up practices which work against racialization and challenge current norms. This is both a theoretical and pedagogical challenge but can begin in classrooms.