Poststructuralism and Skill Learning for Fitness Instruction

Abstract

ABSTRACT Skill learning is considered an essential component of physical education, dance, and sport and consequently, there is an existing body of literature with concepts to be applied to teaching and coaching practices. However, research into skill learning in fitness is largely absent. In this article, I provide a poststructuralist informed approach to skill learning that places the body in the center of social and political inquiry. To do this, I first introduce the main tenets of poststructuralism and then discuss how Michel Foucault’s work, particularly his concept of dispositive, has informed research in fitness instruction. Finally, I highlight how Gilles Deleuze’s concept of assemblage can inform skill learning in the commercialized contexts of women’s fitness.