Implementation of the renewed PE curriculum in Norway: examining alignment between curriculum enactment, pedagogy and assessment in upper secondary school
Background: The renewed, competence-based Norwegian curriculum, fully implemented across all grade levels in 2022/23, places stronger emphasis on diverse movement experiences, learning processes, reflection, and social interaction in physical education (PE), while positioning sport-related skills within a broader educational purpose rather than emphasising sports performance.
Purpose: Using alignment as an analytical lens informed by constructive alignment as a sensitising conceptual resource, this study explores alignment and misalignment in how upper secondary PE teachers perceive and enact the renewed PE curriculum, and how it has shaped their teaching and assessment practices.
Methods: Data were generated through five focus group interviews with 28 PE teachers in Vestland County. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted to examine teachers’ perceptions and reported practices.
Results: The analysis generated three interrelated themes: (a) PE teachers’ positive and ambivalent perceptions of the renewed curriculum; (b) changes and continuities in teaching practices; and (c) complex and demanding assessment practices, with increased emphasis on learning processes. The teachers generally welcomed the curriculum’s increased emphasis on learning processes and broader competencies but expressed uncertainty about interpreting broad or vague competence aims and about how to assess these competencies in ways aligned with curriculum intentions. While some reported adopting more varied and student-centred teaching approaches, their practices continued to reflect elements of traditional PE, particularly in the assessment of effort and, for some, skill performance. Structural constraints, including limited instructional time and insufficient national policy guidance relating to assessment, further shaped teachers’ efforts to interpret and enact the curriculum’s intentions.
Impact statement
This study contributes to research on competence-based curricula in physical education by highlighting tensions between curricular intentions and teachers’ teaching and assessment practices. By applying alignment as an analytical lens, the study provides empirical insight into how broad curriculum ambitions are interpreted and negotiated in practice. The findings have implications for policy, teacher education, and professional development by emphasising the need for clearer forms of national guidance to support teachers’ interpretation of assessment, stronger structural support, and opportunities for professional collaboration to support meaningful curriculum enactment in PE.
Purpose: Using alignment as an analytical lens informed by constructive alignment as a sensitising conceptual resource, this study explores alignment and misalignment in how upper secondary PE teachers perceive and enact the renewed PE curriculum, and how it has shaped their teaching and assessment practices.
Methods: Data were generated through five focus group interviews with 28 PE teachers in Vestland County. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted to examine teachers’ perceptions and reported practices.
Results: The analysis generated three interrelated themes: (a) PE teachers’ positive and ambivalent perceptions of the renewed curriculum; (b) changes and continuities in teaching practices; and (c) complex and demanding assessment practices, with increased emphasis on learning processes. The teachers generally welcomed the curriculum’s increased emphasis on learning processes and broader competencies but expressed uncertainty about interpreting broad or vague competence aims and about how to assess these competencies in ways aligned with curriculum intentions. While some reported adopting more varied and student-centred teaching approaches, their practices continued to reflect elements of traditional PE, particularly in the assessment of effort and, for some, skill performance. Structural constraints, including limited instructional time and insufficient national policy guidance relating to assessment, further shaped teachers’ efforts to interpret and enact the curriculum’s intentions.
Impact statement
This study contributes to research on competence-based curricula in physical education by highlighting tensions between curricular intentions and teachers’ teaching and assessment practices. By applying alignment as an analytical lens, the study provides empirical insight into how broad curriculum ambitions are interpreted and negotiated in practice. The findings have implications for policy, teacher education, and professional development by emphasising the need for clearer forms of national guidance to support teachers’ interpretation of assessment, stronger structural support, and opportunities for professional collaboration to support meaningful curriculum enactment in PE.
Published in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 2026
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