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On 9 October 2020 at 11.00 hrs. Jeroen Koekoek will defend his PhD thesis Exploring task-related student peer interactions in physical education.

Physical education is a subject area at school where there is plenty of room for interaction, for example between pupils when working on a teacher's assignment or task (in gymnastics or in games such as basketball, football or softball). Research shows that teacher-pupil interactions provide certain dynamics during class without teachers always being aware of this. This partly invisible element of teaching is also referred to as the 'hidden curriculum'.

In his thesis Jeroen Koekoek shows that pupil interactions also create a hidden curriculum in PE classroom settings. During their learning process, they form certain ideas and expectations about the role and contribution of their classmates. These expectations are about preferences for working together, group assignments and achieving achievements or goals - and thus influence learning processes. For example, pupils' preferences change as soon as they have a clear idea of what they can achieve in class, and their choice of group work with friends shifts to group work with pupils who have a similar level of physical activity. This unspoken dynamic is not immediately visible to the teacher. Therefore, both teacher educators and physical education teachers will have to jointly develop an appropriate pedagogical approach.

Teachers in movement education cannot simply work according to well-defined, pedagogical-didactical methods, Koekoek concludes. The often hidden dynamics between pupils in movement situations is an important factor to take into account.

is Associate Lector at the Hogeschool Windesheim and a PhD student at the Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ School of Governance.