The discursive construction of gender in physical education in Sweden, 1945-2003: is meeting the learner's needs tantamount to meeting the market's needs?

This study focuses on the subject of PE in state texts and how the PE teacher and gender are constructed. The study is based on discourse analysis of state reports and curricula. Three teacher positions are identified: the body, the character and the lifestyle constructor. At the beginning of the studied period the state explicitly designed the PE teacher as the constructor of girls and boys as separate species. Today the teacher should construct gender neutral subjects. In the 1990s the 'meeting the needs of the learner' discourse came to the forefront, meaning that the teachers should base their work on the students' needs and interests. Does this mean that teaching will become market-led and, if so, does it mean that teaching will reproduce rather than challenge media gender stereotypes?