The fitness industry continues to grow globally with group fitness instructors playing a visible role in gyms. Drawing on the Serious Leisure Perspective and survey data from 332 instructors based in 29 countries, this study explores professional identity among Les Mills group fitness instructors. The survey measures instructors’ perceptions of professional commitment, belonging, and physical ideals, aiming to identify which aspects they regard as most central to their vocation. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed two central dimensions: Community, reflecting social connection locally and globally, and Physical Perfection, foregrounding bodily aesthetics and physical performance. Further analyses showed that perceptions varied with age, teaching frequency, and employment status, suggesting distinct professional orientations within the instructor cohort. These findings extend the Serious Leisure Perspective by identifying measurable patterns of vocational commitment, offering a validated typology that can inform future research on leisure labour in fitness communities.

In many welfare states around the world, including Sweden, a central goal of education is to compensate for the influence of family background on academic outcomes and ensure equal opportunities for all. While this relationship is well documented in core subjects, less is known about how family background shapes achievement in physical education and health (PEH) – a subject aimed at promoting lifelong health and inclusion. Understanding this relationship is key to assessing educational equity and strengthening PEH’s role in supporting all learners. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of capital and social reproduction, the study conceptualizes family background as a mix of economic, cultural, and social resources. Drawing on register data from over 1.4 million full biological siblings who completed Year 9 in Sweden between 2000 and 2017, sibling correlations in PEH grades and overall academic achievement (merit value) are estimated across three-year cohorts. This method captures the total influence of shared family factors on school outcomes. Results show that while family influence on merit value remained relatively stable (4 percentage points increase), its impact on PEH grades rose significantly over time (15 percentage points increase). From 2012 onward, sibling correlations in PEH increased sharply and by 2017 nearly matched those in overall academic achievement. This suggests that PEH is now shaped by similar mechanisms of social stratification as other subjects. The findings call for reflection on how PEH assessment may reproduce or resist broader inequalities. To fulfill its inclusive and health-promoting aims, reforms must consider how grading, curriculum, and access to resources intersect with students’ lived conditions. This study provides structural, longitudinal insights to inform more equitable PEH policy and practice.

Research on grading in physical education and health (PEH) continues to demonstrate both inequitable practices and outcomes some of which are associated with the students’ family background. A central goal for schools around the world is to compensate for students’ family backgrounds to promote greater educational equity. This study aimed to examine the effect of family background on grades in PEH in Sweden. The data in this study involved the total population of full siblings (N = 1,444,575) who were enrolled in Year 9 (ages 14–15) between 2000 and 2017. The results indicate an increasing impact of family background on PEH grades over time, particularly for foreign-born students, suggesting a decline in educational equity. These results highlight the need for targeted interventions and policy reforms to address growing inequities and ensure that all students, regardless of background, have equal opportunities to succeed in PEH

School grades are among the most common measurements used to analyze equality of outcome in education. Large or increasing ‘gaps’ in school grades between boys and girls and between students with different migration background are considered strong indicators of inequality. Based on students’ school grades, several studies have shown that equality in Swedish schools has decreased during the last two decades. Although equality has been described as one of the most important goals in physical education (PE), studies that focus on equality of outcome are lacking. Moreover, there have been no studies that focus on equality of outcome since the 2011 implementation of a new school grading system in Sweden. Therefore, the aim of this study is to contribute with new knowledge on equality in PE in Sweden – in regard to gender and migration background. The study is based on register data for all students enrolled in Swedish schools during the years 2012–2016 from Grades 6 and 9 and Year 1 in upper secondary school (N = 1,294,990). Based on a cross-sectional approach, analyses were conducted to explore general trends in students’ school grades in PE in the study period 2012–2016, and to calculate the percentage difference in PE grades between students with a Swedish background and both students with a foreign background and foreign-born students. After controlling for grade inflation, regression analyses with Wald tests were used to analyze how gender has moderated the relationship between migration background and school grades in PE in Sweden between 2012 and 2016. The results from this study suggest that (a) the intersection of gender and migration background is related to unequal school grades in PE, (b) there are gender equality issues in relation to students’ school grades in PE and, (c) the most prominent equality issues concern the group foreign-born girls.

This thesis is about equivalence in the school subject of sports and health. More precisely, the purpose of this thesis is to contribute with new knowledge on how equivalence in sports and health can be understood, measured, and has changed during the years 2000–2017. In welfare states around the world, as well as in Sweden, equivalence is a central goal – but what does equivalence really mean and entail? What should be equivalent, and when is the school (sufficiently) equivalent? How can equivalence be measured, and how has equivalence changed over time – has it deteriorated, improved, or remained unchanged? With a specific focus on the school subject of sports and health, this thesis addresses these very questions. To answer some of the questions, different perspectives on equivalence are presented, along with various methods for investigating indicators of equivalence. Additionally, the relationship between equivalence-relevant groups and outcome measures is examined over time. The equivalence-relevant groups are based on students’ gender, migration background, and family background, as well as their parents’ educational background. The two outcome measures are students’ grades in sports and health and students’ perceptions of sports and health. The empirical material in the study is based partly on register data, in the form of a total sample of grade statistics for 2000–2017, and partly on retrospective data from large research projects, which in turn contain empirical material about students’ perceptions of sports and health (N = 39,980). The results show that there are differences in grades, which have also increased over time, between students with different migration backgrounds and educational backgrounds. Moreover, there are even larger and increasing gender differences in the groups for students with low-educated parents and for students with a foreign background. The results also show that the effect of family background on grades in the 9th grade seems to have increased from 2000 to 2017. It is also evident that the effect of family background has increased the most for foreign-born students. In terms of students’ perceptions of sports and health, the results partially show something different compared to grades. Although there are differences between different equivalence-relevant groups, these differences are generally small. The differences in question remain small even after age, sports participation in leisure time, and parents’ educational background are considered. Generally, there are no clear differences in the way students describe what and how much they learned. However, one group that stood out a bit was girls with a foreign background, who reported to a slightly higher degree that there was nothing to learn in sports and health. In summary, the thesis highlights the difficulty – but also the importance – of more clearly defining the meaning of equivalence in school, as well as in sports and health. Additionally, this dissertation also points to knowledge gaps about equivalence in sports and health, which partly result from a lack of studies but can also be attributed to methodological shortcomings in previous studies. Finally, the dissertation indicates problems with equivalence, primarily linked to the increasing differences between students with different migration backgrounds and family backgrounds, along with the general differences that exist between different student groups and girls with a foreign background.

Den här avhandlingen handlar om likvärdighet i skolämnet idrott och hälsa. Merprecist är syftet med denna avhandling att bidra med ny kunskap om hurlikvärdighet i idrott och hälsa kan förstås, mätas och har förändrats under åren2000–2017. I välfärdsstater runt om i världen, såväl som i Sverige, är likvärdighetett centralt mål – men vad betyder och innebär egentligen likvärdighet? Vad ärdet som ska vara likvärdigt och när är skolan (tillräckligt) likvärdig? Hur kan manmäta likvärdighet och hur har likvärdigheten förändrats över tid – har denförsämrats, förbättrats eller bestått oförändrad? Med ett specifikt fokus påskolämnet idrott och hälsa, handlar föreliggande avhandling om just dessa frågor.För att besvara några av frågorna presenteras olika perspektiv på likvärdighet ocholika metoder för att undersöka indikatorer på likvärdighet, liksom relationenmellan likvärdighetsrelevanta grupper och utfallsmått undersöks över tid. Delikvärdighetsrelevanta grupperna är baserade på elevers kön, migrationsbakgrundoch familjebakgrund, samt deras föräldrars utbildningsbakgrund. De tvåutfallsmåtten är elevers betyg i idrott och hälsa och elevers uppfattningar omidrott och hälsa. Det empiriska materialet i studien bygger dels på registerdata, iform av ett totalurval av betygsstatistik för 2000–2017, dels på retrospektivtdatamaterial från stora forskningsprojekt, i sin tur innehållande empiriskt materialom elevers uppfattningar om idrott och hälsa (N = 39,980). Resultatet visar attdet finns skillnader i betyg, som dessutom har ökat över tid, mellan elever medolika migrationsbakgrund och utbildningsbakgrund. Det finns därutöver än störreoch ökande könsskillnader i grupperna för elever med lågutbildade föräldrar ochför elever med utländsk bakgrund. Resultatet visar också att effekten avfamiljebakgrund på betyg i årskurs 9 verkar ha ökat åren 2000–2017. Tydligt äräven att betydelsen av familjebakgrund har ökat mest för utrikesfödda elever. Itermer av elevers uppfattningar om idrott och hälsa visar resultatet delvis någotannat, jämfört med betyg. Visserligen finns skillnader mellan olikalikvärdighetsrelevanta grupper, men generellt sett är dessa skillnader små.POPULÄRVETENSKAPLIGSAMMANFATTNING13Skillnaderna i fråga är alltjämt små efter att ålder, idrottsdeltagande på fritidenoch föräldrars utbildningsbakgrund tagits med i beräkningarna. Det finnsgenerellt sett heller inga tydliga skillnader i elevernas sätt att beskriva vad, ochhur mycket, de lärde sig av undervisningen. En grupp som emellertid utmärktesig litegrann var flickor med utländsk bakgrund, som i lite högre gradrapporterade att det inte fanns något att lära sig i idrott och hälsa.Sammanfattningsvis belyser avhandlingen svårigheten i – men också betydelsenav – att tydligare definiera innebörden av likvärdighet i skolan, liksom i idrottoch hälsa. Till detta visar denna avhandling också på kunskapsbrister omlikvärdighet i idrott och hälsa som delvis beror på en avsaknad av studier, menockså kan härledas till metodologiska brister i tidigare idrottspedagogiska studier.Slutligen indikerar avhandlingen likvärdighetsproblem, framför allt kopplade tillde ökande skillnader som finns mellan elever med olika migrationsbakgrund ochfamiljebakgrund, samt de skillnader som generellt finns mellan olika elevgrupperoch flickor med utländsk bakgrund.

This study aims to explore police students’ self-rated mental health and physical activity levels and the relationship between them. Based on longitudinal and cross-sectional data (N = 722), two scales on mental health orientation were developed. The scales and levels of physical activity were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and X2. During police education, (1) the level of physical activity decreases for men, (2) there is a decline in positive health orientation for both sexes, and (3) women report a more negative health orientation. This raises questions regarding whether “enough” is done to provide police students with sufficient conditions for improving their health.

Introduction: In Sweden, police education should promote students’ physical activity and mental health. According to national goals, police students should be provided with sufficient conditions to develop and maintain advantageous exercise habits and tools to handle various mentally and physically demanding tasks. The national goals also state that students’ physical fitness must be better at graduation than what the requirements are for admission (see Krugly et al., 2022). Although the improvement of students’ physical fitness and mental health are national goals, there is a general lack of knowledge regarding: 1) police students physical and mental health, especially from a Swedish perspective; and 2) how well police education promotes students’ level of physical activity during education. Against this background, the aim is to explore police students’ mental health and level of physical activity during police education in Sweden.

Methods: The data derives from the largest project in Sweden on police students’ physical and mental health, and consists of longitudinal data on police students answers of a self-rated questionnaire about exercise habits and mental health (N = 785). The data used in this study was gathered between 2019–2021, and consisted of four data collection points, from two police educations in Sweden. The analysis was conducted in two steps. First, exploratory- and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to create scales for mental health orientation. Second, these scales, together with the variable exercise habits, were used as outcome variables in t-tests, X2 test and ANOVA. Effect size measurements were calculated and interpreted based on established guidelines.

Results: The results show high psychometric support for two scales named positive health orientation and negative health orientation. Based on the scales and the variable of exercise habits, three primarily results emerge: 1) the levels of physical training for men decrease during education; 2) there are gender differences showing that women have a more negative health orientation; and, 3) the positive mental health orientation decreases during education for both men and women.

Discussion: Swedish police education should prepare students for physically and mentally demanding work. However, as this study concludes, this tends to not be the case, especially given that both the level of physical activity and the positive mental health orientation decrease during education. This raises questions on whether the Swedish police education is doing “enough” to provide the students with adequate conditions for improving their mental and physical health.

Krugly, S., Bjärsholm, D., Jansson, A., Rosendal Hansen, A., Hansson, O., Brehm, K., Datmo, A., Hafsteinsson Östenberg, A., & Vikman, J. (2022). A retrospective study of physical fitness and mental health among police students in Sweden. The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles. doi.org/10.1177/0032258X221089576

Little is known about the physical and mental health among police students. Based on data on Swedish police students’ physical fitness (N = 1736) and mental health (N = 407), the results show that: (a) there are gender differences; (b) the physical fitness changes during police education; in general, the students get stronger but less flexible, and the aerobic endurance increases for women but decreases for men; and (c) students’ self-reported physical activity and mental health affect their perceived police ability differently in relation to gender. Consequently, this study questions if the Swedish police education is preparing the students adequately for their future profession.

IntroductionIn physical education (PE), equivalence is a central goal in welfare states around the world. In Sweden, this means that the subject of PE should be equal and that schools are to compensate for students’ different backgrounds, such as family background, socioeconomic and migration background. However, even if equivalence is a central goal, little is known about how equivalence in PE in Sweden has changed both during the last decades and in comparison to the students’ average grade from all school subjects (so-called merit value). One well-established approach to examine equivalence in educational research is to analyze the correlation between full siblings’ grades. Although this is a valuable approach to examine equivalence, no studies have used it in PE (Jansson et al., 2022). Using this approach, the aim of this study is to analyze how equivalence in PE in Sweden has changed, both over the last two decades and in relation to the students’ merit value.MethodsThis study includes the total population of students (N=6,961,173) that were enrolled in Swedish schools between 2000-2017 in school year 6 and 9. The method is based on analyzing the correlation between full siblings that are born within a three-year period and their annually standardized grades in PE and merit value, using variance decomposition. One main advantage with this measure is that it considers all the aspects that full siblings share (e.g., socioeconomic, upbringing, living conditions and parenting). The analysis provides information about the extent of the total variation in PE grades and merit value that are explained by the family background of the students.ResultsIn relation to the total variation in students’ grades in PE and merit value, the proportion explained by variation between full siblings has increased between the years 2000-2017. Consequently, the results indicate that the importance of students’ family background, over the past two decades, has become more important for both students’ grades in PE and their merit value. However, the importance of family background has increased considerably more for students grades in PE, compared to their merit value. Furthermore, the largest increase in sibling correlation is found within the group of students born abroad.DiscussionPreliminary findings indicate that equivalence in PE in Sweden has deteriorated between 2000 and 2017. Possible explanations are that: 1) schools, and in particular PE, has become worse at compensating for students with different backgrounds (e.g., socioeconomic); and 2) the students have become more heterogeneous, and as such making it more difficult to compensate for students’ different backgrounds.

Jansson, A., Sundblad, G., Lundvall, S., Bjärsholm, D., & Norberg, J. (2022). Students’ perceived learning in physical education: variations across students’ gender and migration background in Sweden. Sport, Education and Society, 27(4), 421-433.Doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2021.1878129