Research Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1996 - Dr. Stirling McDowell ...

2. The teacher makes the difference. The young women in the study stressed the importanceof having a physical education teacher who cared about them and understoodthem, who would listen to their opinions and be flexible.“You know what it is?...she acts like she is excited about what we are doing.”3. I’m comfortable, I belong here. The environment created for the physical educationclasses in the study was inclusionary and made students feel like they belonged in thegym.“I’m more confident now, I don’t feel like everyone is watching me anymore.”4. We want to have fun, we want to be active. A key finding of the study was that youngwomen wish to be active but need physical activity opportunities in which they canhave fun.“We want to play fun games. And just to play with friends, and with your classmates...soeveryone can participate and gets a chance to play.”5. She just seemed to care about our opinions. From the young women’s point of view,the study was positive in that they had an opportunity for input into the physical educationprogram.“I hated gym. I hated the other gym class, but this year I like gym. I feel like I’m notbeing driven to do things I don’t want to do and don’t feel comfortable doing. And thisway I feel more like doing it.”A student is engaged in outdoor physical activity—learning to ski.18Learning from Practice