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Ferry, B. M. (2025). Teachers and teaching in Swedish Elite Sport Schools. In: : . Paper presented at AIESEP International Conference. Making Waves: Transformative Practice in Physical Education. Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA, May 18-22, 2025. St. Petersburg: University of South Florida, Article ID nr 72.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Teachers and teaching in Swedish Elite Sport Schools
2025 (English)Conference paper, Oral presentation only (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

The Swedish School Sport system, where talented athletes are given the possibility to simultaneously invest in their education and sport during upper-secondary school, forms a vital part of the Swedish dual-career system and elite sports model. Since the system was initiated for a few especially talented athletes in the 1970s, it has expanded significantly. Today, there exist National elite sport schools (NES) at 35 different locations and Regional elite sport schools (RES) at 112 locations. The main differences between these programs lie in the level of elite sports career they target (international for NES and national for RES) and their funding sources (partly by the Swedish Sports Confederation for NES and locally for RES). Approximately 14.000 pupils are enrolled in the system, and for some individual sports it is more or less the only way to manage an elite sports career in the upper teens today. A quite unique feature with the Swedish system, is the subject “Special sport”, where the teaching and training is carried out. The subject has a national curriculum and grading criteria’s applicable to all sports. The system is regulated by the National Agency for Education together with the Swedish Sports Confederation, and since it is a school subject, teachers - not coaches - are responsible for the teaching in the subject. Since 2017, a teacher certificate is required to be employed as teacher in Special sport.While there are some smaller studies on the pupils involved in the Swedish School Sport system, our understanding of the teachers involved and the teaching and learning in the subject Special sport remains superficial. This study aims to address this gap by presenting information on the teachers involved and the actual teaching practices, based on official data and questionnaires completed by 216 Special sport teachers from 40 schools all over Sweden. Preliminary results indicate that, similar to the pupils involved, teachers in Special sport form a rather homogeneous group. They are predominantly men, relatively young, of Swedish origin, most have coaching education, many have coaching assignments for a national team, and few possess a teaching degree. Additionally, the results indicate that the conditions for teaching vary between schools, influenced by factors such as the size and location of the school, and the specific sport.These findings suggest that not all pupils involved in the system receive equal opportunities to develop and learn, indicating that the current School Sport system is not equitable. To ensure that all pupils, regardless of sport and school, should have the same opportunities, the requirement and demands for schools and teachers must evolve and change.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
St. Petersburg: University of South Florida, 2025
Keywords
Elite sport, School Sport, Teachers, Teaching
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-239323 (URN)
Conference
AIESEP International Conference. Making Waves: Transformative Practice in Physical Education. Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA, May 18-22, 2025
Available from: 2025-05-28 Created: 2025-05-28 Last updated: 2025-05-28Bibliographically approved
Pettersson, F., Siljebo, J., Wolming, S. & Ferry, B. M. (2024). A validated questionnaire for measuring digitalization as sociocultural change in educational contexts. The international journal of information and learning technology, 41(4), 359-370
Open this publication in new window or tab >>A validated questionnaire for measuring digitalization as sociocultural change in educational contexts
2024 (English)In: The international journal of information and learning technology, ISSN 2056-4880, E-ISSN 2056-4899, Vol. 41, no 4, p. 359-370Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Purpose: In the so-called digital age, there is a basic assumption that digitalization entails rapid and dramatic change in schools, education and society. However, a challenge for educational research is to clarify what digitalization precisely means. This paper aims to develop, test, and validate a digital transformation scale (DTS). More specifically, the aim is to validate digitization, digitalization and digital transformation as hierarchical levels of sociocultural learning in school and education by using cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) as a framework.

Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory factor analysis (EFA), with principal-axis factoring as an extraction method, was used to examine the number of factors underlying the data.

Findings: Results show that the three dimensions in the DTS questionnaire explain 68% of the variance and that all dimensions show high internal consistency (a >0.87). This means that the internal structure of the DTS corresponded to the internal structure of the theory.

Research limitations/implications: The results show that the internal structure of the DTS corresponded to the internal structure of the theory and may be used quantitatively to analyze digital transformation in school organizations. However, further research is needed in other contexts and larger samples with the use of confirmatory factor analysis to develop knowledge in this area and the use of DTS.

Practical implications: This tool and theoretical construction could be used to discuss digital transformation in school and education, both local and in general. Seeing digitalization from a sociocultural perspective makes possible to conceptualize and discuss this as a process ranging from small technology investments on an individual level to digitalization as strategic and organizational development.

Originality/value: This DTS can be used quantitatively to study and analyze digital transformation in educational contexts and provides educational researchers with additional tools to articulate what they mean by digitalization.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2024
Keywords
Cultural-historical activity theory, Exploratory factor analysis, Hierarchical dimensions
National Category
Pedagogy
Research subject
education
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-227713 (URN)10.1108/IJILT-08-2023-0149 (DOI)001262753700001 ()2-s2.0-85197951802 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2023-04328
Available from: 2024-07-04 Created: 2024-07-04 Last updated: 2024-10-23Bibliographically approved
Ferry, B. M. (2024). [Book review] A contribution to the discussion on talent identification and selection [Review]. Idrottsforum.org/Nordic sport science forum (2024-10-29)
Open this publication in new window or tab >>[Book review] A contribution to the discussion on talent identification and selection
2024 (English)In: Idrottsforum.org/Nordic sport science forum, ISSN 1652-7224, no 2024-10-29Article, book review (Other academic) Published
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Malmö: Malmö universitet, 2024
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-231266 (URN)
Note

Review of: Niels Nygaard Rossing & Christian Meedom Wrang, Talent Identification. (Un)conscious gold diggers, goldsmiths, and gold creators, Aalborg, Aalborg University Press, 2023, ISBN 978-87-7573-026-1

Available from: 2024-10-30 Created: 2024-10-30 Last updated: 2024-10-30Bibliographically approved
Larneby, M. & Ferry, B. M. (2024). Idrottsprofilerad utbildning – ett etablerat koncept i ständig förändring (1ed.). In: Tomas Peterson (Ed.), Samhällsidrotten och idrottssamhället: humanistisk och samhällsvetenskaplig idrottsforskning under 50 år (pp. 209-231). Malmö: Bokförlaget idrottsforum.org
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Idrottsprofilerad utbildning – ett etablerat koncept i ständig förändring
2024 (Swedish)In: Samhällsidrotten och idrottssamhället: humanistisk och samhällsvetenskaplig idrottsforskning under 50 år / [ed] Tomas Peterson, Malmö: Bokförlaget idrottsforum.org , 2024, 1, p. 209-231Chapter in book (Other academic)
Abstract [sv]

Föreliggande kapitel presenterar forskning om skärningspunkten mellan skola och idrott, när idrottsutövning (undervisning och träning för att utvecklas i en specifik idrott på fritiden) blir en del av skolans utbildningsutbud genom olika former av idrottsprofilerade utbildningar. Det primära syftet med dessa är att eleven ska kunna kombinera sin utbildning med idrottsutövningen. I de flesta fall motiveras detta med resonemanget att eleverna inte ska behöva välja om de ska satsa på sin utbildning eller om de ska satsa på sin idrott. Fenomenet har förekommit på gymnasienivå sedan 1970-talet då de första Riksidrottsgymnasierna (RIG) startade som en försöksverksamhet. Sedan dess har utbudet utökats med nya varianter av gymnasiala idrottsutbildningar, idrottsprofilerade utbildningar på grundskolenivå och sedan 2015 även Riksidrottsuniversitet (RIU) och Elitidrottsvänliga lärosäten (EVL).

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Malmö: Bokförlaget idrottsforum.org, 2024 Edition: 1
Series
Malmö studies in sport sciences ; 48
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-231695 (URN)978-91-85645-35-0 (ISBN)
Available from: 2024-11-11 Created: 2024-11-11 Last updated: 2024-11-11Bibliographically approved
Ferry, B. M. (2024). School sport in Sweden – who are selected to participate?. In: 20th European Conference for the Sociology of Sport. Sport, Democracy, Inequality and Beyond: Book of abstracts. Paper presented at EASS 2024, 20th European Conference for the Sociology of Sport. Sport, Democracy, Inequality and Beyond, Madrid, Spain, June 4-7, 2024 (pp. 42-42). Madrid: Universidad Europea
Open this publication in new window or tab >>School sport in Sweden – who are selected to participate?
2024 (English)In: 20th European Conference for the Sociology of Sport. Sport, Democracy, Inequality and Beyond: Book of abstracts, Madrid: Universidad Europea , 2024, p. 42-42Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Introduction: The Swedish school sport system, where talented athletes are given the possibility to simultaneously invest in their education and sport during uppersecondary school is an important part of the Swedish elite sports model. The system is regulated by the National Agency for Education together with the Swedish Sports Confederation. Since 2011 school sports in Sweden has a clear elite sport focus, and all pupils are not given the possibility to participate. The objective of this presentation is to analyse who the pupils selected to participate are.

Methods: The study draws on official information on the Swedish school sports system and questionnaires answered by 9060 school sports pupils.

Findings: The result shows that, in relation to participation patterns in sports and all upper-secondary school pupils, only those with certain backgrounds are selected to participate in school sport. A larger proportion of the pupils selected are men, are born in Sweden and have parents with high educational level. In addition, a larger proportion of sports available in school sports has a focus on team sports which affects the selection.

Discussion and Conclusions: Since only pupils with certain backgrounds are selected to participate in school sports in Sweden, all pupils who aspire for an elite sports career are not given the same chance. If all pupils should have the same chance to participate, the system must evolve and change.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Madrid: Universidad Europea, 2024
Keywords
background, elite sport system, sex
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-226117 (URN)
Conference
EASS 2024, 20th European Conference for the Sociology of Sport. Sport, Democracy, Inequality and Beyond, Madrid, Spain, June 4-7, 2024
Available from: 2024-06-13 Created: 2024-06-13 Last updated: 2024-06-13Bibliographically approved
Ferry, B. M. & Westerlund, R. (2023). Professional networks, collegial support, and school leaders: How physical education teachers manage reality shock, marginalization, and isolation in a decentralized school system. European Physical Education Review, 29(1), 74-90
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Professional networks, collegial support, and school leaders: How physical education teachers manage reality shock, marginalization, and isolation in a decentralized school system
2023 (English)In: European Physical Education Review, ISSN 1356-336X, E-ISSN 1741-2749, Vol. 29, no 1, p. 74-90Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

There are many factors and duties that novice teachers do not know about when they enter the profession. Isolation, for instance, affects physical education (PE) teachers because the position often comes with a secluded workplace adjacent to the gym and through the subject's marginalization. These challenges, among others, can send the novice teacher into shock, and there is a risk the teacher becomes disengaged from the profession. This study aimed to provide insights into PE teachers’ experiences of reality shock, isolation, and marginalization over time, as well as how they managed these challenges. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine Swedish PE teachers six to 10 years after graduation from PE teacher education (PETE). Qualitative content analysis was used. All participants retrospectively described a reality shock when they were novices, where non-subject-specific teacher assignments were experienced as more challenging compared to teaching PE. Further, isolation had a severe effect. However, the marginalization of PE was not that apparent as when they were novices. Over time, the participants created their own networks to mitigate, for example, isolation. In turn, marginalization seemed to be a remaining challenge to the participants despite an increased societal focus on health. Even though it is impossible for PETE to prepare teachers for every challenge they could face in the profession, PETE should inform preservice teachers of common phenomena such as isolation and marginalization, as well as how to create supporting networks. Further, we argue that perceived autonomy combined with systematic guidance could positively affect novice teachers’ development.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2023
Keywords
Attrition, decentralized school system, experienced teachers, induction, novice teachers, retention
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-198337 (URN)10.1177/1356336X221114531 (DOI)000829525400001 ()2-s2.0-85134776225 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2022-08-01 Created: 2022-08-01 Last updated: 2023-11-07Bibliographically approved
Ferry, B. M. (2023). Swedish sport science students’ background. In: Szilvia Perényi; Tamás Dóczi (Ed.), ransitioning sport - transitioning European societies: eass2023 Budapest conference: book of abstracts. Paper presented at 19th EASS conference 2023: Transitioning Sport, transitioning European societies, Budapest, Hungary, May 30 - June 2, 2023 (pp. 83-83). Budapest: Hungarian University of Sports Science
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Swedish sport science students’ background
2023 (English)In: ransitioning sport - transitioning European societies: eass2023 Budapest conference: book of abstracts / [ed] Szilvia Perényi; Tamás Dóczi, Budapest: Hungarian University of Sports Science , 2023, p. 83-83Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Previous studies investigating the recruitment of students to sports programs, e.g., physicaleducation teacher education, has shown that the programs largely attracts a rather homogeneousgroups of students, consisting mainly of young men with an origin in the country in questionand who have academic background. Perhaps a consequence of this homogeneity, research hasshown that this contributes to reproduction of certain taste and values and may hinderdevelopment. The homogenous recruitment of students is also the case in Sweden and sinceSwedish universities are mandated to implement broadened recruitment to counteract gender,social and ethnic bias in recruitment, this must be seen as a failure. In this study the nine existingsport science programs in Sweden are in focus and based on data from Statistics Sweden’splatform MONA, the purpose of this study is to analyse the background of the students enrolledat the programs. Preliminary results shows that also the sport science students are a ratherhomogenous group of students. Compared to all university students in Sweden, a higherproportion of the students are men (p<.05), a lower proportion have a non-Swedish background(p<.05), and a higher proportion of the student have parents with high education level (p<.05).Nor do the recruited students correspond to the varied background found among participants inthe Swedish sports movement, where they will work and operate after the education. Given thatthe homogeneous recruitment may hinder development and that the students recruited shouldreflect the sports movements population, this can be problematic.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Budapest: Hungarian University of Sports Science, 2023
Keywords
ethnicity, gender, parent’s education level, recruitment, reproduction
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-210124 (URN)978-615-5196-28-7 (ISBN)
Conference
19th EASS conference 2023: Transitioning Sport, transitioning European societies, Budapest, Hungary, May 30 - June 2, 2023
Available from: 2023-06-19 Created: 2023-06-19 Last updated: 2024-08-27Bibliographically approved
Ferry, B. M. (2023). Överetablering och snedrekrytering av studenter till idrottsutbildningar i Sverige?. In: Svensk Förening för Beteende- och Samhällsvetenskaplig Idrottsforskning (SVEBI) årliga Idrottsvetenskapliga konferens: Program. Paper presented at Svensk Förening för Beteende- och Samhällsvetenskaplig Idrottsforskning (SVEBI) årliga konferens, Göteborg, Sverige, 23-24 november, 2023. Göteborg: Göteborgs universitet; SVEBI
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Överetablering och snedrekrytering av studenter till idrottsutbildningar i Sverige?
2023 (Swedish)In: Svensk Förening för Beteende- och Samhällsvetenskaplig Idrottsforskning (SVEBI) årliga Idrottsvetenskapliga konferens: Program, Göteborg: Göteborgs universitet; SVEBI , 2023Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Abstract [sv]

Idag finns ett stort antal utbildningar inriktade mot idrott på högskole-/universitetsnivå i Sverige och många studenter läser på dessa utbildningar. Flera av dessa utbildningar har däremot under de senaste åren upplevt en ökad konkurrens och ett vikande söktryck och frågan är om utbudet av utbildningar har blivit för stort för Sverige, dels för att de alla ska vara ekonomiskt hållbara, dels för att det ska finnas en arbetsmarknad för alla studenter efter studierna.Parallellt med detta har tidigare forskning visat att studenterna som rekryteras till idrottsutbildning är en väldigt homogen grupp av studenter, och det är många utbildningar som upplever det vara svårt att hantera det nationella uppdraget med breddad rekrytering.Presentationen kommer att utgå från statistik över antalet sökande och registrerade studenter vid de vanligaste idrottsprogrammen i Sverige (idrottslärare, idrottsvetare, tränare/coach, Idrottspsykolog) samt information över vilka studenterna som rekryteras är utifrån SCB:s plattform MONA – Bak- och framgrund. Med utgångspunkt i detta kommer den möjliga överetableringen av idrottsutbildningar i Sverige och snedrekryteringen av studenter till idrottsprogram analyseras och diskuteras.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Göteborg: Göteborgs universitet; SVEBI, 2023
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-217273 (URN)
Conference
Svensk Förening för Beteende- och Samhällsvetenskaplig Idrottsforskning (SVEBI) årliga konferens, Göteborg, Sverige, 23-24 november, 2023
Available from: 2023-11-28 Created: 2023-11-28 Last updated: 2023-11-30Bibliographically approved
Larsson, H., Mattsson, T. & Ferry, M. (2022). (Non-)Diversity and cultural (re)production in physical education teacher education: a Swedish example. Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, 13(1), 3-18
Open this publication in new window or tab >>(Non-)Diversity and cultural (re)production in physical education teacher education: a Swedish example
2022 (English)In: Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, ISSN 2574-2981, E-ISSN 2574-299X, Vol. 13, no 1, p. 3-18Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Research about physical education teacher education (PETE) indicates that the education program attracts homogeneous groups of students, consisting mainly of young men originating from the country in question and who have academic backgrounds. The purpose of this article is, through a case study of one Swedish PETE institution, to explore a cohort of 60 students regarding background characteristics (gender, social and migration background) and secondary characteristics (school success, experience of sport and physical activity cultures, and perceived physical ability). The case study indicated that the students have slightly more diverse backgrounds than is found in previous PETE research, but at the same time, they remain fairly homogeneous regarding, e.g. such as school success, the experience of sport and physical activity, and perceived physical ability. Attracting a more diverse group of students does not mean necessarily that the students are equally diverse when it comes to experiences of movement culture, and the abilities and knowledge that they have gained from participation in this culture.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2022
Keywords
Physical education teacher education (PETE), PETE students, social background, secondary characteristics
National Category
Pedagogy
Research subject
education
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-187804 (URN)10.1080/25742981.2021.1979416 (DOI)000697721700001 ()2-s2.0-85115121768 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2021-09-21 Created: 2021-09-21 Last updated: 2024-09-02Bibliographically approved
Ferry, B. M., Åström, P. & Romar, J.-E. (2022). Preservice Teachers’ Practical Knowledge and Their Sources. Journal of Teacher Education and Educators, 11(1), 33-57
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Preservice Teachers’ Practical Knowledge and Their Sources
2022 (English)In: Journal of Teacher Education and Educators, ISSN 2147-0456, Vol. 11, no 1, p. 33-57Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Becoming a teacher requires preservice teachers (PSTs) to interpret experiences from different perspectives because of the reversal role from being a student to being a teacher. For teacher education programs to be most effective, they need to understand the knowledge that PSTs hold and develop in order to optimise professional learning. With an exploratory mixedmethod design, this study’s overall aim was to investigate the content of practical knowledge and perceived sources among a group of Swedish physical education PSTs (n=97). Their practical knowledge, operationalized through the concept of didactical milestone, were expressed in five different themes: the curriculum (what), the teacher (who), instructions (how), students (whom) and the classroom (where). Furthermore, the results showed that PSTs’ practical knowledge was influenced by situations before entering and during teacher education as well as from media, and to some extent, the PSTs’ work experiences. The results also showed that the type of source related to the different themes of practical knowledge. With the help of practical knowledge as construed in this study, teacher educators can assess PSTs’ capacity to reflect on teaching, as well as adjust their own instructional focus.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Turkey: Uludag University, 2022
Keywords
Didactical milestones, physical education, teacher education, Sweden, mixed-method design
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-194369 (URN)
Available from: 2022-05-02 Created: 2022-05-02 Last updated: 2023-03-07Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-0748-7144

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