General entry requirements + English B.

Part of study programme or single subject course:

The course is a single subject course. According to the Swedish higher education system, a student may choose between following a fixed study programme or of combining different single subject courses that will lead to an individually designed degree.

Objectives:

The course will give a basic understanding of Physical Education (PE) and sports in a Swedish context, from both an historical and a contemporary perspective. The course will also give the student practical experience of typical Swedish physical activities and sports, with special focus on outdoor activities (friluftsliv). The course will also give an insight into the Swedish school system or Swedish sports organizations through practice and study visits.

The course will give a background to Swedish culture and the history of the school system, PE and Sports system that will provide the student with a sound basis for understanding the Swedish context. Special focus is given to outdoor activities. Different typical Swedish sports will be presented to the student through practical activities. Through seminars and study visits to different schools or sport organizations the student will receive a deeper insight into the Swedish model.

After completing the course the students will be able to

• describe how the curriculum for the Swedish compulsory and upper secondary school system are organized

• describe how sports in Sweden are organized

• discuss outdoor life and its context from a practical and theoretical insight

• describe the most important elements of practice of common sports in Sweden

• identify the differences and similarities between PE or sports from a Swedish perspective and the system in the student’s home country.

The course consists of lectures, group activities, seminars, practical exercises, hiking and study visits to schools or sports organizations. The student will take part in either a multi-hike (summer/autumn) or winter education in the Swedish mountains (winter/spring) during a period of 4-10 days in the Swedish mountains. Discussions concerning the student’s expectations and/or experience will take place and a study programme will be developed and agreed upon in collaboration with the course teachers.

At the end of the course students will present a paper and give an oral presentation based on a comparison between the Swedish system and that of the student’s home country. The student should use facts and knowledge gained from all parts of the course. To achive facts and knowledge the student have to take part in practical workshops together with Swedish students and take part in winter or summer education in the mountains. It also includes study visits at sport organizations or schools.

Bairner, Alan. Sport, nationalism, and globalization: European and North American perspectives. ISBN o-7914-4912-2. 213p.

Meinander, H. Mangan, J. A. The Nordic World: Sport in Society. ISBN 0-7146-4391-2. 207p

Swedish Sports Confederation. Sports in Sweden www.rf.se/t3.asp?p=19299 24p

The Swedish National Agency for Education. The 1994 Curriculum for the non-compulsory school system www.skolverket.se/english/system/index.shtml 20p

The Swedish National Agency for Education. The Curriculum for the compulsory school, the pre-school class and the after school centre Lpo 94. www.skolverket.se/english/system/index.shtml 20p

Compendium, 100p.

Optional Literature, 1000p.

Literature from the home country from a comparative perspective, 200p

Literature from The Swedish National Agency for Education, 100p.

Gender

Through studies of the Swedish school system and the Swedish sports system focus will be partially set on how schools and sports organisations work with the complexity of gender. Furthermore, the students will discuss differences between boys and girls in Physical Education and sports, and in the comparative study of the Swedish system and their domestic system, one focus will be on gender issues.

Environment

Outdoor activities and studies of the Swedish legal right of access to private land will be a part of the knowledge to discuss sustainability. One of the focus of the hike is how outdoor activities influences the environment.

Ethnicity

The course will take advantage of the international composition of the student body. The students will get a more profound understanding of ethnicity when comparing different cultural perspectives with their own domestic cultural perspective.

The students will make their course evaluations according to various methods used during the term. Students will be encouraged to submit their thoughts on the content of the course and the teaching methods. The final element of the course will be a written evaluation. The results will be used as the basis for a final oral evaluation involving the students and the course leader.

Language of instruction: English