DEBATE: A gym is not called a gym! The gym is not just rest! Gym is not the same as sports! Gym is not a subject of health!

This is the message several central physical education researchers, ourselves included, have tried to communicate in the media for several years. By showing what the subject isn’t, we think it has helped communicate what a gym is all about. But when we look in the rearview mirror, we may not do very well at it. Therefore, we will try to highlight some of the characteristics of what a gym really is.

1. Gym is a school subject – not size (physics).

Physical education, gym, physics. Beloved children have many names, and it’s easy to confuse snot and mustache. While some researchers talk about school subject sports, i.e. subjects that students have in school that have a curriculum they are required to follow, others talk about various measures to increase students’ levels of physical activity (e.g. HOPP projects, Petter Puls) and options such as activities physical and health, outdoor life, learning activities. Some researchers are also very concerned that the subject is called physical education and not sport.

Before going further, it is therefore important to say that in this context we are talking exclusively about the school subject of physical education, which is colloquially called the gym.

2. Gym is a subject that must be studied

That the gym was (merely) a break from other school subjects is a deep-rooted perception. However, the curriculum with its competency targets illustrates that students have to learn a lot in the gym throughout the school year, from start to finish. In other words, these subjects are subjects (not subject breaks) that should equip students with complex competencies.

In the curriculum, competency is described as that student must acquire and apply knowledge and skills to master challenges and complete assignments in familiar and unfamiliar contexts and situations. It is also stated that competence involves understanding and the ability to reflect and think critically.

Viewed in the context of physical education, student competence in these subjects will master knowledge and skills, as well as critical thinking skills related to motion.

3. Gym is a subject where students have to participate in several activities – including sports!

That physical education is not sport has become an important message to be conveyed by many physical education researchers. We still stand by the fact that there is a clear distinction between sport such as organized sports under the auspices of the Norwegian Sports Confederation, and school physical education subjects that students must complete at school. The challenge comes, however, if teachers, teacher trainers, and researchers think that students in schools should not find anything akin to sports when they have a gym.

If we look at the curriculum, it is clearly stated that students must take part in sports activities in that subject. The curriculum even emphasizes that sports activities in the gym (and other forms of activity) are considered as part of the joint formation and creation of student identity. In other words, sport in physical education is fine – as long as we are aware of how we adapt sports activities so that they become relevant learning activities in PE class.

4. Gym is a subject that pays attention to students’ health

Both in the media and in meetings with politicians, many exercise researchers (rightly) argue strongly that the gym should not be “reduced” to a health subject that must combat obesity and lifestyle diseases in growing families.

However, in this context where we are talking about physical education as a learning subject and not a health subject, we may forget to give nuance to our argument. Because while we agree that the gym shouldn’t be a “quick fix” for public health challenges, students should really learn about health in gym subjects.

They will both learn about what health is, how health can be understood, and how to think critically about the ideals of the body that can affect self-esteem, health, exercise and lifestyle. Therefore, it can be said that the gym is a subject that pays attention to the health of students.

With this, we address everyone who is interested in the gym: the time has come to talk about what a subject really is – and what it means for teaching it.

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