Precariedade, testes de aptidão física e pedagogia crítica: uma abordagem responsiva

In this paper, I argue the field of physical education is in a constant state of precarity brought on by external societal forces. These powerful forces have the ability to produce conditions that leave the field (and the people that comprise it) in conditions of instability, vulnerability, and insecurity. As a way to illustrate this, I first map some of the different ties that fitness testing has with cultural, social, political, and economic entities in society. I then show how the articulations between these relationships can produce negative affects for the field of physical education, its teachers, and the (diverse) young people that comprise it. I argue the use of critical pedagogy is a better way to go about teaching fitness and fitness testing with young people. Using a Response-able Pedagogy approach, I argue that young people may develop the skills to be ‘Able to Respond’ to the precarities they face due to fitness testing.