Vol 16 No 6 - June 2017

International Journal
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Vol.16 No.6

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VOLUME 16 NUMBER 6 June 2017
Table of Contents
The Discourse of School Dropout: Re-centering the Perceptions of School-based Service Providers.........................1
Deborah Ribera.
Is the Norwegian Army´s View of Physical Education and Training Relevant for Modern Military Operations? 18
Ole Boe and John H. Nergård
The Framework of an International MBA Blended Course for Learning About Business Through the Cinema ....37
Alexander Franco
Learning Through Play in Speed School, an International Accelerated Learning Program.......................................52
Susan Rauchwerk
A Development of Students’ Worksheet Based on Contextual Teaching and Learning............................................. 64
Zulyadaini
Identifying EFL Learners Essay Writing Difficulties and Sources: A Move towards Solution The Case of Second
Year EFL Learners at Tlemcen University......................................................................................................................... 80
Asma BELKHIR and Radia BENYELLES
Conquering Worrisome Word Problems – Algebra Success .......................................................................................... 89
Vicki-Lynn Holmes, Karla Spence, Jane Finn, Shelia McGee Ingram, and Libbey Horton
Saudi Arabian International Graduate Students' Lived Experiences Studying for the First Time in a
MixedGender, Non-Segregated U.S University ............................................................................................................. 101
Barbara N. Young, Ed. D., Donald Snead, Ed. D.

1
© 2017 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research
Vol. 16, No. 6, pp. 1-17, June 2017
The Discourse of School Dropout: Re-centering
the Perceptions of School-based Service
Providers
Deborah Ribera
California State University, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Abstract. The purpose of this study is to qualitatively re-center the
perceptions of school-based service providers in the discourse of school
dropout. Interviews were conducted with a teacher, a dropout
prevention counselor, an assistant principal, and a district dropout
prevention counselor, all of who work or have worked with one urban
middle school in California (pseudonym: UMS). Through a case study
design, I analyze how Foucauldian ideas of power and truth emerge
from the experiences of these service providers. Results show that
although their answers reflected the dominant discourse of school
dropout, the actions of the school-based service providers resisted that
narrative. They did this by constructing counterstories within and
outside the classroom, by valuing and putting effort into qualitative
modes of education like relationships and student voice, by attempting
to diversify a culturally irrelevant curriculum, and by accepting
personal responsibility for their students.
Keywords: education; school dropout; critical race theory; Foucault
Introduction
The US Department of Education‘s National Center for Education
Statistics tells us every year in the United States our public school system
produces over 1 million dropouts (2012). A disproportionate amount of these
dropouts are students of color (UCLA, 2007). According to the Civil Rights
Project at Harvard University, which analyzed cohort data for high schools
across the nation, the graduation rate for white students is 75% while students of
color (Black, Latino, and Native American) have only about a 50% chance of
graduating with regular diplomas in four years (Orfield, 2004). One in four
African American and one in six Hispanic students attend a high school
―dropout factory‖ while only one in 20 white students attend such a school
(Balfanz et. al., 2013, p. 18).
In the urban area I will be studying, the current dropout rate is about
26% according to the California Department of Education. The middle school at

2
which my subjects work, UMS, feeds into a high school which has historically
had one of the city's highest dropout rates, averaging around 40%. Based on
grades, test scores, and behavioral patterns, the assistant principal at the middle
school estimates that 30-40% of the students currently enrolled at UMS are at-
risk for school dropout. This school had a student population of over 2,000 at the
time of this study and was 99% Latino.
Michel Foucault's ideas have been used to examine how knowledge,
truth, and power construct our discourses in education (Jardine, 2005). Foucault
believes that knowledge is not based on fact, but rather is a constructed truth
that varies based on historical and political contexts. It is key for those in power
to continuously legitimate their version of truth by maintaining control over the
discourse of various social constructions within education, politics, religion, sex,
and the economy. Maintaining control of the narratives that underlie the tenets
of American culture allow for social control. The apparatus of schooling is one
way that the discourse of education is sustained. Law and politics, by way of
educational policy, are other ways that the regime of truth is maintained and
regulated (Foucault, 2001; Jardine 2005).
Conceiving of education as a contested space of knowledge forces us to
examine the dominant discourse of dropout as failure. In my own experience as
a dropout prevention counselor, I found many of my students demonstrated
high levels of critical thinking, insight, and conceptual knowledge during our
one-on-one and group interactions; however, they consistently tested poorly and
received failing grades. From a Foucauldian point of view, the quantitative
assessment of students is not neutral, rather it reflects a space in which ―any so-
called fact would point to a coherent regime of knowledge in which it counts as
a fact,‖ (Jardine, 2005, p. 86). Critical race theorists take this a step further,
arguing that education's invalidation of qualitative data in favor of a numbers
only approach has perpetually marginalized minority students (Dixson &
Rousseau, 2005).
Critical race theorists believe that researchers should ―look to the
bottom‖ in order to re-center counterstories that expose the racial privilege
inherent in the educational system (Matsuda, 1995, p. 63). The purpose of this
case study is to qualitatively re-center the perceptions of four minority school
personnel in the discourse of dropout. In their experiences working at UMS and
other urban, minority schools, how do issues of power and truth influence their
service provision to and experiences with students? What, if anything, do they
believe needs to change in education in order for it to adequately address the
needs of urban, minority students at-risk for school dropout?
This study intends to re-center the individual participants as the subjects
of educational policy development. It aims to recognize the agency of the service
providers and give them a platform on which they can voice their opinions
about how national policy affects them and the students in their high-need
school. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how the frustrations expressed by
school-based staff can be interpreted as a reaction to the institutional racism
inherent in the US educational system.

3
Literature Review
Foucault argued that knowledge is created ―to serve the interests and
circumstances of the human beings in each era‖ (Jardine, 2005, p. 81). We see this
demonstrated in the Progressive Era, a period of time from the late 19th to early
20th century that institutionalized many tenets of the public school system that
we currently accept as true or necessary to schooling in the discourse of
education. During the Progessive Era, increased industrialization, urbanization,
and immigration caused leaders to reassess the cultural practices of the United
States. Reformers took Horace Mann's idea of the common school and expanded
it to create an institution that would assimilate incoming immigrants and train
them to participate in society. Reforms such as the professionalization of school
boards, compulsory attendance, standardization, and the cultural role of schools
as places of social assistance are all examples of educational policy implemented
during the Progressive Era that continues sustain the foundation of urban public
education today (Mattson, 1998; Jeynes, 2007).
The hierarchical approach of the US public education system has largely
worked for students who have the same cultural background as those in power,
white middle and upper class children. However it has consistently failed to
provide adequate services to urban, poor, minority students. Various works of
educational history have documented this failure (Katz, 1968, Cuban, 1990;
Ravitch, 2001; Apple, 2001; Kozol, 1992, 2006; Reese, 2005). David Tyack‘s The
One Best System: A History of Urban Education (1974) argues that by relinquishing
control of school districts from community boards to ―expert‖ boards, schools
gave up control to state regulators. This shift from rural to urban, community
controlled to state controlled, took away the plurality of education. He
maintained that ―the search for the one best system has ill-served the pluralistic
character of American society‖ and that if there is to be true change, Americans
needs to admit that the universal public school system has systemically failed in
its attempt to teach the urban poor (p. 11).
Using the historical context of the Progressive Era to illuminate the
current issue of urban minority school dropout helps to clarify how Foucault's
ideas can be useful in articulating the root cause of the dropout epidemic. It is
clear from the historiography that the discursive formation of education was
shaped by Progressive Era reformers. This discourse has been maintained by the
regime of truth through schooling, educational policy, and cultural beliefs and
norms. Foucault believed that ―the achievement of ‗true‘ discourses is one of the
fundamental problems of the West‖ (1990, p. 112) because, as educational
historians have argued, it establishes one point of view as the norm and
mandates all others to conform to that view. If others do not conform, they are
disciplined, punished, and/or marginalized. Foucault's ideas then—that
knowledge is subjective, constructed, sustained, and enforced by those in power
—force us to consider how the constructions of power and truth in the
educational system may be affecting urban minority students.
The field of critical race theory in education offers ways to further
analyze Foucault's concepts by looking at how the construct of race and
resulting racism have and continue to shape the educational system. Studies
have shown that state-approved education textbooks are written mainly from a

4
traditional White male perspective that tacitly perpetuates a heterosexist,
patriarchal point of view (Applebee, 1993; Sleeter, 2007). These textbooks ―are
likely to oversimplify the interplay of race, culture, and social class‖ (Johnson,
1999, p. 258). The presence of racism in textbooks is quite easily identifiable,
though, compared to the racism that is institutionalized through educational
policy laws.
Legal scholar Cheryl Harris describes how ―the legal legitimation of
expectations of power and control that enshrine the status quo as a neutral
baseline‖ has masked the white privilege and domination that oppresses
alternate truths, values, and cultural norms held by minorities (Harris, 1993, p.
1715). One example of this legal legitimation of white privilege is the legislation
of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which mandated evaluating and categorizing
students based on testing goals. Schools that did not achieve test score
benchmarks that officials deemed as ―Adequate Yearly Progress‖ were
financially penalized under NCLB. Historically, the performance of English
Language Learners (ELLs), a majority non-white group of students, on these
tests is low and ―usually shows little improvement across many years‖ (Abedi &
Dietel, 2004, p.782). Therefore, schools which have a higher percentage of ELL
students (read: students of color/minority students) had an increased chance
that they would be denied funding compared to a majority white school, simply
based on their higher population of ELL students.
The effect that subgroup underperformance has on minority students
and their schools is cited in scholarship: ―Although well-intentioned, NCLB‘s
subgroup accountability policies have the unintended effect of unfairly and
disproportionately sanctioning schools serving the most disadvantaged minority
students‖ (Kim & Sunderman, 2004, p. 39). However critical race scholars would
argue that statements like this succumb to the rhetoric of the regime of truth.
The policy is not ―well-intentioned‖ at all, but actually legislated white privilege.
By assuming that the policy is well-intentioned, racism goes unexamined in
determining solutions to the problem. ELL students' failure is looked at as a
quantitative fact based on test scores. Blame for their test scores is placed on
teachers and individual students as evidenced by the innumerable strategies
which are provided to help improve classroom instruction and student learning
(Abedi & Dietel, 2004).
Though the field is relatively young and still emerging, critical race
theory (CRT) uses several different constructs to examine racism in education.
One is voice. ―Critical race theory insists on recognition of the experiential
knowledge of people of color‖ using personal narratives to counterbalance the
narrative of the dominant discourse (Dixson & Rosseau, 2005, p. 9). CRT also
problematizes commonly accepted truths such as ―neutrality, objectivity,
colorblindness, and meritocracy‖ asserting that these ideas were constructed by
white people in power and are maintained through dominant discourses of truth
and power (Dixson & Rosseau, 2005, p. 9). By creating the assumption that these
constructs are somehow ―great equalizers‖ laws and policy (such as the
aforementioned NCLB) are not interrogated through race. This results in the
establishment of cultural norms and a status quo that denies its ability to
marginalize.

5
CRT examines whiteness as property. It argues that ―US society is based
on property rights‖ and that white identity is the apex of property, possessing
inherent value and privilege even if one has no money or land (Ladson-Billings
& Tate, 1995, p. 48). The idea of individual rights is largely a ruse, as evidenced
in school desegregation efforts. Though Brown vs. Board of Education ruled that
separate was not equal when it came to black and white schools, whites'
resistance to school integration and bussing and the resulting phenomenon of
white flight from urban areas demonstrated that the law guaranteeing equality
was merely symbolic. Whiteness then, awards one with special citizenship status
which allows them ―rights to use and enjoyment‖ (e.g., of their suburban schools
without minorities bussed into them) and ―the absolute right to exclude‖ (e.g.,
from schools or Advanced Placement classes based on rules of meritocracy)
(Ladson-Billings, 1998, p. 15).
The historiography of education is rife with Foucault's conceptions of
power and truth, however many authors shy away from explicitly calling the US
educational system racist. Institutional racism is a term that has historically
existed to describe overtly prejudiced acts such as redlining and segregation,
however as times have changed, so have manifestations of this form of racism.
Beverly Tatum argues that a person or an institution need not be intentionally
prejudiced in order to perpetuate racism, stating that racism is ―not only a
personal ideology based on racial prejudice, but a system involving cultural
messages and institutional policies and practices...In the context of the United
States this system clearly operates to the advantage of Whites and to the
disadvantage of people of color‖ (1997, p. 7). Tatum additionally specifies the
difference between active racism, in which prejudice and power are intentionally
wielded in order to oppress someone, and passive racism, which, as Tatum
describes, is ―more subtle‖ (p. 11). It is seen when we avoid ―difficult race-
related issues‖ and attempt to pass off these problems as ―business as usual‖ (p.
11). The aforementioned example regarding No Child Left Behind and others
such as the continued practice of out-of-school suspension (Losen & Martinez,
2013) are evidence of that these "business as usual" policies disproportionately
affect students of color. By using a Foucauldian framework and employing
critical race theory as an interpretive lens to my data, I hope to shed light on
how power, truth, and race still matter and are leaving our most high-needs
students suffering.
Methodology
Type of Qualitative Inquiry, Justification, and Research Procedure
In this case study, I conducted individual in-person interviews with each
participant, which lasted approximately one hour each in length. According to
Creswell, case studies allow for ―a wide array of procedures as the researcher
builds an in-depth picture of the case‖ (Creswell, p. 132). In order to stay true to
the ―bottom up‖ approach that critical race theory advocates, the flexibility of a
case study worked for this project.
Interview questions were developed with the conceptual lens of Foucault
in mind, however to ensure that the focus was placed on eliciting authentic
narratives from the participants, a semi-structured interview format was

6
followed. According to Maxwell (2005), structured approaches ―help to ensure
the comparability of data‖ while unstructured approaches allow for flexibility
and emergent insight (p. 80). This semi-structured approach, then, gave me the
structure to examine the hierarchical relationships between the participants, yet
it also allowed them space to voice their perceptions, tell stories, and relate
experiences.
To select my specific participants, I used stratified purposeful sampling
because this method ―illustrates subgroups and facilitates comparisons‖
(Creswell, p. 127). In order to get a more comprehensive picture of the issues of
power and truth that play into the discourse of dropout, I felt it would be
important to interview staff members who served students in different
capacities. I was able to interview a teacher, a school-based counselor, a school-
based administrator, and a district-based counselor. The diversity of positions
within this group of service providers allowed me to compare and contrast their
views of the dropout discourse.
I also used elements of convenience sampling since in selecting
participants I first thought about who I already knew and who I thought would
be interested in being interviewed: ―individuals who are not hesitant to speak
and share ideas‖ (Creswell, p. 133). Because this was a brief project, I felt it
would be best to have pre-established rapport with all of my interviewees. The
first people I identified were Kay, Selena, Joe, and Javier (pseudonyms). I gave
them each an outline of the project along with a consent form. Throughout the
informed consent process, I let them know that this was completely voluntary
and that they were under no expectation to participate. After establishing
consent, I went to their place of work and asked for their verbal consent to
audio-record the interview. I did three interviews in one day (Kay, Selena, Joe)
and one interview two days later (Javier). Participants were asked to participate
in an interview inquiring about their general perceptions and specific
perceptions about the dropout epidemic, dropout prevention strategies, and
students at-risk of dropout.
Participants
My first interview was with Kay, a 33 year old Asian-American female.
She worked as a Dropout Prevention Counselor (DPC) at UMS for two years.
Her position was cut due to a change in funding allocation at the district level.
She was subsequently transferred and is now a DPC at a high school. I selected
her because she is the only counselor who worked directly with students at-risk
of dropout at UMS. She is also one of the few DPCs who stayed in the unit after
they reorganized, despite political pressure to reclassify to an attendance
counselor or academic counselor. Her decision to stay with the unit has made
her one of the most experienced DPCs in the district. I worked in the same unit
as Kay for three years, so I have built a rapport with her as a colleague.
My next interview was with Selena, a 36 year old Latina. Selena works as
a Dropout Prevention Counselor at the district level. She helps to oversee the
work that the Office of Pupil Services (which recently merged with the Office of
Dropout Prevention and Recovery) does with students at risk of dropping out.
She is responsible for developing district-level programming in order to help
these students. I selected Selena because she is the only district-level counselor

7
who was formerly a DPC at a middle school. I felt that her experience at the
middle school level as well as the district level would give her unique insight
into the discourse surrounding our at- risk students. I worked in the same unit
as Selena for three years, so I have built a rapport with her as a colleague.
My third interview was with Joe, a 37 year old Latino. Joe is an 8th grade
English, Journalism, and AVID teacher at UMS. AVID is a program designed to
specifically target students who are towing the line between success and failure
in school. The goal of the program is to put them on a college-going track. I
selected Joe because he is a teacher who is involved in his students' lives and is
an advocate for their needs. Also, it is important to my study to interview a
teacher. Teachers are with students for over 6 hours a day and they are the only
ones (other than the students) who know the complete story of what is
happening in the classrooms. I have worked in Joe's classroom several times
over the past year. I have been able to establish rapport with him as a colleague.
My last interview was with Javier. Javier is in his fourth year as the
Assistant Principal over Counseling at UMS. I selected Javier because he has a
unique perspective—he has been a teacher, a counselor, and now an
administrator. I knew his comprehensive understanding of student needs from
multiple perspectives would help shed light on the discourse surrounding youth
at-risk of dropout. Javier also has worked for another district as a teacher. I felt
that this experience would also enrich his perspective in terms of how different
districts address students' needs. I attended graduate school with Javier and
have worked with him though UMS at least once a year for the past four years,
so we have established a good rapport as colleagues.
Personal Subjectivities and Validity
I believe that my pre-established rapport with my participants as well as
my own experience as a service-provider to youth at-risk of dropping out of
school has allowed me to go deeper into this topic and extrapolate more
complex themes from the data. However I can also see how this could
compromise the study's validity. As Creswell states, I certainly have a particular
―stance‖ in the dropout discourse, which may keep me ―from acknowledging all
dimensions and experiences‖ (p. 139).
The fact that I have a ―vested interest‖ in the site at which I am
performing this research may also limit my ability to ―develop diverse
perspectives on coding data or developing themes‖ (p. 139). For instance,
though I sensed a tension between Joe, the teacher, and the administration, I did
not explore that theme too explicitly. One reason is of course because personality
issues are not the focus of my study—if there is tension with a superior, I am
more interested in examining it as a structural issue perpetuated by hierarchical
roles in the educational system. However there are additional issues at play. I
work at the school and have established rapport with the administration. I
would not want to publish something that disrespected them in any way, even if
I am using pseudonyms. I honestly coded what was said, but did not use any
incendiary quotes. In that way, I was able to maintain the integrity of the data
while avoiding any harm that could be caused.

8
Coding System and Data Analysis
After conducting the interviews, I filled out a variation of Miles and
Huberman's Case Analysis Meeting Form. This served as my memo of the
interview experience and was my first step to discovering themes. After
conducting the interviews, I transcribed the interviews I had completed.
Foucault's ideas of discourse, power, knowledge, and truth served as my
theoretical lens. Defining ―power‖ as ―what enforces knowledge‖ I used
Foucault's theory to identify all of the things used in the educational system to
enforce knowledge: grades, standardized tests, attendance laws, hierarchical
relationships, discipline, and dissemination of information to parents through
meetings or mailings identification. Defining ―truth‖ as ―what constructs
knowledge‖ I identified things like standards, curriculum, cultural views of
education, and research/expert data as being used to construct knowledge in the
educational system (Foucault, 1995).
I coded my data using Nvivo9, a qualitative analysis software program.
―Power‖ and ―Truth‖ became what Nvivo refers to as ―Parent Nodes‖ and the
subcategories of each became ―Child Nodes.‖ In order to preserve the semi-
structured balance, I also identified and coded additional emergent themes as I
read through the interviews.
After reviewing the interviews and coding the data, I performed word
frequency queries and relationship queries in Nvivo to construct themes.
Because of the patterns I saw, I decided to use Critical Race Theory to shape my
analysis and themes. As themes and key quotes emerged, I conducted member
checks in order to ensure that my participants understood and agreed with how
I used their data.
Results
The participants' perceptions of the dropout discourse resulted in several
themes. First, they placed great importance on student voice. Second, they
described a constant struggle to balance quantitative educational approaches
with qualitative ones and saw quantitative mandates as contested cultural
spaces. Third, they all attempted to establish counternarratives to the dominant
quantitative educational approach in their work with their students. Lastly, they
value relationships above all else when assessing the success and effectiveness of
their own work with students. These themes greatly overlap. In order to convey
the totality of the participants' messages, I will not overtly demarcate different
themes.
Participants repeatedly discussed how student voice is essential to the
learning process. They felt that the current state-mandated curriculum and
standards needed enriching to make up for their cultural irrelevancy because
although the ―truth‖ that students are being taught may be factually accurate, it
does not represent the totality of minority student experience. Participants
echoed the tenets of Critical Race Theory, discussing how the curriculum should
be more inclusive of their students' own narratives. Here, Joe, the 8th grade
teacher, describes how using the student voice in the curriculum can motivate
students and contribute to positive relationships between the student and

9
teacher. He finds just as much validity in students' qualitative experiences than
he does in ―commonly known‖ literature.
Joe: We have not fully made a conscious effort to really change or tie in
more of that cultural environment into our curriculum. I think we‘re so
set on sometimes teaching literature that is so commonly known but we
don‘t really look at ―Is there anything else we can teach now?‖ Why not
use their own stories to teach you know? I think sharing personal
experiences, it‘s one of the greatest ways to really motivate these kids.
You know that‘s one thing I like to do is that I always like to share
personal experience where I came from and where I am and hopefully,
eventually they start opening up, which I think they do. They eventually
start opening up and that becomes our discussion, that becomes our
literature and then we write our own pieces from there.
Selena, who currently works in the district's administrative offices as a
dropout prevention counselor, is attempting to bring the student voice into her
macro-level dropout prevention interventions.
Selena: I‘m currently working on a program called A Student‘s Life
where we get students' stories...students that have struggles...I feel like if
you would only know their stories and if you would only know the
barriers that they faced, if you would only know the shoes they have to
walk in every single day maybe you would just have a slighter ounce of
compassion. Maybe you would give that student a second chance if you
knew what they are up against. And so this documentary series really
does that. Its goal is to create awareness. It‘s to create awareness for
teachers. It‘s to create awareness for administrators, for parents, for
community members, everybody to help them understand some of the
struggles that these young kids are going through and despite these
struggles they continue to maintain...If we can create an awareness about
that I think that it‘s just the beginning to have a culture shift of the way
that we perceive these students that they are not all gang bangers. That
they‘re not all drug dealers but that the student actually has a voice and
has a story and that's a story he brings it to school every day.
The approach that Joe and Selena are detailing, centering the minority
student voice in education, is constructing what critical race theorists call a
counternarrative, or counterstory, that is ―a means to counteract or challenge the
dominant story‖ (Dixson & Rousseau, 2005, p. 11). In Joe's case, the students'
voices present a counterstory to the narrative represented in ―commonly
known‖ literature—the literature authored by majority white writers who are
labeled in the curriculum as important, classic contributors to American literary
culture. Selena's documentary project is constructing a counterstory to the
dominant dropout discourse that dropouts are individually responsible for their
inability to succeed in school. Selena points out that we need a cultural shift
away from categorizing dropouts as "drug dealers" or "gang bangers" towards a
narrative of compassion, insight, and understanding.
Interestingly, when asked about what their perceptions of the root causes
of school dropout were, none of the participants mentioned institutional racism.
Their answers reflected the dominant discourse of school dropout being caused
by factors outside of the school's control, such as poverty and parent support.

10
Kay: I think with the schools that I‘ve been at, low-income schools, I think
first and foremost it has to do with parent participation. I think more
parents that are involved in their student‘s lives not just in school but in
their personal lives probably can minimize their at-risk situation.
However upon further inquiry, it was clear that Kay's reasoning went deeper.
Kay: Parents have to work. I mean you have parents that have multiple
jobs and I can‘t tell the parents, you know what you have to quit your
job so can come to school and meet with me. You know that‘s the
hardest thing, it's like they know they have to come but they can‘t...I
think there are very few parents who just don‘t care...The district, the
state, the federal government, everybody wants to increase the
graduation level rate and they see the data. They see ―Well if you do X, Y
and Z less with this program and with these resources then why not,
why wouldn‘t it work?‖ But they don‘t look deeper into the issue
because at the school level we‘re dealing with more than just ―Well I
have laptop for you if you just go to school.‖ You know, why can‘t you
come to school? Why aren‘t you coming to school? What‘s preventing
you from coming to school? They don‘t see anything like that or even if
they do they ignore it. They think that it can be fixed, if we put more
personnel in that school or we give them more stuff or we give them
more money to buy more stuff, you know. So I think that‘s a huge
disconnect and I don‘t know if that‘ll ever be fixed.
So although initially Kay states that schools are not responsible for student
dropout, her actual beliefs show a far more complex set of factors at play in the
educational system: a system that does not accommodate the needs of the
working poor, a hierarchical power structure out of touch with the challenges
their urban, poor, minority students face, and a stubborn commitment to the
interventions developed by the dominant population. The belief is that if these
interventions are quantitatively proven, evidence-based strategies, then they
should work with urban, poor, minority students. Critical race theorists would
say that the hierarchical power structure that Kay is describing is exemplifying a
―restrictive understanding of the nature of equity‖ (Dixson & Rousseau, 2005,
14). This understanding fails to identify the distinction between the equality of
process versus the equality of outcome.
Selena further illustrates this idea of equality of process versus equality
of outcome.
Selena: I believe the student attendance goal is at 96% so they really
want the kids to understand and parents and families to know the goal is
less than seven days a year. I know that they based that goal based on
the research that has come out in the recent years...and basically shows
that students with less than seven days attendance do better— that
attendance is linked to student achievement.
Here, Selena reiterates the dominant discourse: that dropout is an individual
and family matter and that if students simply attended school they would not
dropout. However later in the interview, Selena strays from the party line as she
reflects on her own experiences with students.
Selena: In my experience in working with dropout prevention there is
that one type of student...when you see a student that‘s having

11
attendance problems you‘re going to see lots of other things that are
going on and barriers to that student getting their education. But there‘s
another type of dropout which is one of the ones that really bothers me
and it‘s kids that come to school every day, but they‘re failing all their
classes. And how can you have a student that comes to school that has
perfect attendance, that is failing six classes? That student will be a
dropout. Because they won‘t be able to accumulate credits, they won‘t be
able to continue through the grades. How is it that schools are not
picking up on those students? How is it that they are being allowed to
just continue semester after semester after semester failing everything
and nothing is being done? ...I mean what can we do as a school, as a
district to, to figure out why, why is it that they‘re failing through and
figure out what are the causes? If it‘s not attendance then what is it? It
has to be something.
When Selena reflects on her qualitative experience as a service provider
to describe the needs of students at risk of dropping out, as opposed to reflecting
on the quantitative measure of attendance, she paints a picture of a system that
is not paying attention to the needs of its students. One that does not always
educate the students, whether they attend everyday or not. She also points out
though, that admitting that the system has and is failing its students would
create a public relations problem for those in power.
Interveiwer: Why do you think that it is acceptable to have a district
wide campaign for attendance but maybe not a district wide campaign
for push outs (dropouts who are pushed out not because they choose not
to attend school, but because they have too many fails or are not wanted
at school due to poor behavior)?
Selena: Well I think because that‘s not something that, it‘s not something
that I‘m sure that they want to advertise. It‘s not something that they
want to bring to the limelight. It‘s something I‘m sure that would be
better to be addressed in the top down approach. It‘s not like they want
to have an immediate campaign saying ―Hey this is what we‘ve been
doing all this years and let‘s fix it.‖ I think that there‘s a lot of political
things going on there. And I‘m not sure that that would be the approach
or the solution to it anyways. I feel like that through attendance it [is
addressed], because it is a form of attendance because when most kids
are pushed out they‘re not attending. So it does in a way address that
issue without explicitly, you know, advertising it. But I think that the
educating and creating awareness and then having the support from the
top down and creating accountability I think that will be, that‘s the best.
The idea that major tenets of education such as school curriculum, policy, and
law (specifically attendance laws) are color-blind instruments that are enacted
through an equitable process is fundamentally flawed according to critical race
theorists. They maintain that these constructs are culturally specific ways of
enforcing white privilege. The number of dropouts in the United States proves
that these tenets of education do not result in an equal outcome for students of
color. However those in power refuse to stray from the dominant discourse.
Here, we see that the dominant discourse has infiltrated the schema of minority

12
teachers and counselors as well, despite the fact that their experiences reinforce a
counterstory to this narrative.
Javier, the assistant principal at UMS, describes how the inflexibility of
the educational power structure trickles down from law to student/teacher
relationships. In this case, we see how good administrators can use laws (such as
the compulsory education law) to mitigate power struggles that emerge between
students and teachers.
Javier: There‘s a sense of entitlement from the teachers that they can
demand certain things and expect certain things that they wouldn‘t
expect of themselves. Or their children you know? Like I had a teacher
who was saying, ―Oh I don‘t want this kid back to my classroom because
she hasn‘t written me a letter of apology and I want a letter of apology
because she was rude to me.‖ Where‘s her right to that? Discipline
policy? Where is that in the ed code, that you can deny a kid his public
education because you want a letter of apology? ―Oh he called me a fat
bitch.‖ I was like ―Whoa, sorry.‖ How many times have I been called a
bitch, have I been called an asshole? And if I demanded a letter of
apology do you think that that‘s gonna happen? And then I said ―Do
you think a police officer demands a letter of apology from a suspect?
That he‘s entitled to have a letter of apology? He‘s not." (laughs) He‘s
not.
In this example, Javier has created a counterstory to the dominant narrative
where compulsory attendance laws are used to simply ensure an equitable
process: that all students are expected to come to school. By re-centering the
student above the teacher in this power struggle, he used the law to ensure not
just an equitable process, but an equitable outcome. Using his own power and
agency, he set his own standard that we cannot create the pushouts Selena
referred to. According to the law, we must educate them, even when it's hard.
Javier further demonstrates his method for turning racist practices that
hide under the guise of equitable access into counterstories that demand
equitable outcome:
Javier: Each classroom is different. You don‘t teach them the exact same
thing, each class is going to have a different group dynamic...you have to
adjust and I think that that‘s what a lot of teachers don‘t like—that they
have to change. They think they are doing it all right all the time and the
reality is they are not doing it right all the time or half the time. Or you
may be doing it right if you‘re teaching college students. But you‘re not
teaching college students, you‘re teaching 11, 12, 13 year olds...And there
is that pressure—we do have to teach, there is certain amount of stuff
that you have to teach. There is that pressure of yeah I have my
standards, I have this and there is that expectation but you do have that
opportunity to adjust, you do have that opportunity to make it
work...but you have to adjust and you can‘t just be fixed in your way of
like..you know ―These kids can‘t learn.‖
Like the rest of the participants, Javier states here and throughout his interview
that urban minority students at-risk for dropout are indeed capable of learning.
Javier in particular believes that students can learn the dominant curriculum.
However it takes a creative teacher and administration to create an environment

13
that supports this cultural pluralism. Like Joe, he believes that it is the
responsibility of the teachers and administrators to adapt the dominant
methodology to the lived cultural experiences of their students.
Every participant agreed that when it came down to measuring
effectiveness, quantitative measures count for very little—it is the relationship
that matters.
Javier: Apart from teaching them how to be good citizens and good
adults, I mean it all stems from just the relationships we have with the
kids...I‘ve worked really hard to try to create positive relationship with
kids and model and really work at talking to them and saying ―Hi‖ and
―Good morning‖ and doing those sort of things and trying to bring
people here to school who are going to help our kids and try bring
resources and and try bring other leaders on the campus to help our kids
be successful and try to help try to build capacity and try to just do
things differently because I know that it wasn‘t working before.
Kay: I don‘t even look at them [quantitative assessments of her students]
because they don‘t even mean anything. Because at the end of the day
you can‘t control whether or not the child is gonna do their homework
or pass his class. You do your best [as a counselor] right? And then with
all the different formulas they use and all of the different things like I
don't know what‘s what. But I think people know, or a lot of people
know, that it is just bogus. Like, it means more to me if a child reaches
out to me or a parent. Yesterday a parent says ―I‘m really glad I came
tonight. I learned something new,‖ and that‘s what you‘re there for.
That‘s why you want to do that more...the reality is you can‘t always
depend on the numbers because they‘re not always accurate.
Selena: It‘s all about relationships and I go back to that like this whole
[process of] disengagement from school. I really do think that it has to
do with not having relationships at the school site. Not having positive
relationships, not having someone to say ―I know you came to school
today, good job.‖ You know sometimes just having students knowing
that they have somewhere that they can go to when they‘re having a bad
day. Having students know that someone knows their name. There‘re so
many little things that can happen, that you can do that can make a
difference in how that student feels about school. And I think it all boils
down to relationships and us knowing our kids. Knowing that they‘re
gonna make mistakes but believing in them that they can do better, and
that they will do better.
Joe: I mean numbers can be forged, numbers can lie you know And I
think reaching my kids and really establishing that relationship with
them is much more important...If they walked away from my class better
than what they were when they walked in, that would be a step forward
regardless of what level they were at when they walked in or what level
they end up; as long as they can produce more. If my kids can walk
away from this level of education being able to get along socially and be

14
respectful to others? That‘s good education. If a child comes to me not
really wanting to learn or not really caring about learning, but at least
walks away with some curiosity? I think that‘s a good education. If my
kids walk away feeling proud of who they are and where they came
from? That‘s good education. I wouldn‘t care what the numbers say if
they walked away with some confidence in who they are...They can
learn to read, they can learn to write, but if they don‘t have the
motivation, if they don‘t have that self-worth they‘re not going to do
anything about that. Because even now I have kids that are so bright but
because nobody has ever told them that they can do it, or that it‘s worth
something, they still don‘t care for it. So I think those things would be
great education.
Each participant placed much greater value on their qualitative relationships
with students and parents than they did the quantitative performance standards.
Interestingly, many of them regarded quantitative assessments and curriculum
as culturally-contested constructs (―bogus‖ ―numbers can lie‖ ―don't mean
anything‖). They did not dismiss the academic necessity of standards, though.
Rather, they maintained that qualitative educational approaches and
assessments were necessary counterparts or precursors to quantitative success.
But balancing the quantitative and qualitative approaches in an educational
system so focused on the ―numbers game‖ can be a defeating experience for
both student and teacher, as Joe articulates:
Joe: I would like to believe that I am effective but in terms of feeling that
way, sometimes I feel good about this, sometimes I feel like a failure. A
lot of times, especially when it comes to giving grades, sometimes I feel
like, you know, when I see so many Fs and...It‘s simple if I could give a
child a grade based on the way we have discussion in class, but if I don‘t
have anything concrete to show that they're producing, I can‘t give them
that grade. So there‘s times when I‘m feeling that I‘m failing kids
because I wish I could reach every single one of them. Show every single
one of them that they can succeed, that there is opportunity.
In examining these interviews from a Foucauldian perspecitive, four
major, overlapping themes emerged that tell us how these service providers
negotiated issues of power and truth in their work. These themes demonstrated
a resistance to the dominant discourse of school dropout, which centers the
failure of the individual and family. First, the service providers placed great
importance on student voice. Second, they described a constant struggle to
balance quantitative educational approaches with qualitative ones and saw
quantitative mandates as contested cultural spaces. Third, they all attempted to
establish counternarratives to the dominant quantitative educational approach
in their work with their students. Lastly, they valued relationships above all else
when assessing the success and effectiveness of their own work with students.
These results show that although participants' verbal answers often reflected the
dominant discourse of school dropout, the actions they described taking with
their students resisted that narrative.

15
Conclusion
Throughout this study, we can see the challenges that service providers
face in adapting the dominant curriculum to urban students of color at-risk of
school dropout. In critical race theory, their struggles with curriculum, equality
of outcome, and quantitative modes of education and assessment serve as
examples of how white privilege and therefore institutional racism are encoded
into the U.S. public educational system.
It was surprising to me that none of the participants explicitly recognized
these constructs as inherently racist. Critical race scholars may say that by
ignoring racism, they are missing the root cause of the issues they struggle with
and perhaps even complicit in it. However it is clear that each participant
demonstrated that they are fighting institutional racism every day, whether they
acknowledge it or not. By constructing counterstories within and outside the
classroom, by valuing and putting effort into qualitative modes of education like
relationships and student voice, by attempting to diversify a culturally irrelevant
curriculum, and by accepting personal responsibility for their students, they act
against the social injustices of racism every day. They do not do this because
they have to, in fact, the dominant discourse does not reward them for these
efforts (unless they result in higher test scores). Their courageous actions,
unbridled creativity, and commitment to educating ALL of their students is,
within this climate of education, nothing short of heroic.
Though Michel Foucault's ideas of power and truth guided my study
and critical race theory helped me to analyze it, both theories, to some extent,
believe that true progress is difficult, if not impossible, while caught in
Foucault's panopticon or CRT's institutional racism. These service providers,
though, demonstrate that resistance to oppression does not have to be a pre-
meditated, politically motivated act. Rather, it can be motivated by emotions.
Each participant conveyed that they genuinely love children and that they are
willing to try anything to help them be the best people they can possibly be.
Certainly this does not mean that their work is easy. As John Dewey stated: ―The
path of least resistance and least trouble is a mental rut already made. It requires
troublesome work to undertake the alternation of old beliefs‖ (1986, p. 136). It is
no wonder then that the teaching profession has such a high rate of burnout,
especially in high need urban areas. For this reason, intentional action in student
organizing and teacher and administrator training will be essential elements to
bringing about lasting systemic change in our educational system.
There is much hope for such systemic change. Grassroots and student-
led organizations have recently been leading efforts for more culturally relevant
curriculum, advocating for access to ethnic studies classes (Nelson, 2015;
Szymanski, 2016). The pushback against such efforts by many in power only
draws more attention to the need for such organizing. Administrators,
counselors, teachers, and teacher preparation programs have been and can
continue to support these efforts by seeking out professional development in
critical, anti-racist pedagogy. Incorporating an interdisciplinary approach into
school-based work will allow them to understand the impact historical context
and societal factors have on the public school system, school dropout, individual
schools, and communities. Teachers can also work from the bottom up by

16
advocating for more qualitative measures of formative assessment throughout
their courses in order to construct more holistic summative assessments of their
students.
If we understand our educational institutions as socially constructed
spaces, it is a very real possibility that we could have another era that (re)shapes
our public school system as much as modernity and specifically the Progressive
Era have. As we observe the various educational reform debates of today
(charter schools, vouchers, privatization, de-centralization, unions, Common
Core), it is important to reflect on issues of power and truth. Where are the
urban, minority student voices and the family voices in these debates? Where
are the voices of service providers in these debates? Who is representing the
interests all of these parties? The academy must continue to help urban, minority
students at-risk of dropout by ―going to the bottom" and conducting more
qualitative studies that center the perceptions of service providers, students, and
parents. Such scholarship will give us insight into the discourse of dropout, but
tough questions regarding systemic issues such as power, poverty, race, and
equality in the United States must be asked. Everyday heroes such as the
participants of this study deserve to have their voices heard. And their students
deserve an educational system that is equal not only in process, but also in
results.
Acknowledgements
This research was conducted under the author's previous affiliation at Bowling
Green State University. The author wishes to thank the university and the
Human Subjects Review Board for their support.
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© 2017 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research
Vol. 16, No. 6, pp. 18-36, June 2017
Is the Norwegian Army´s View of Physical
Education and Training Relevant for Modern
Military Operations?
Ole Boe
Department of Military Leadership and Management,
Norwegian Defence Staff and Command College, Norwegian Defence
University College, Oslo, Norway
John H. Nergård
Norwegian Military Academy
Oslo, Norway
Abstract. The demands of war consist of several dimensions that has to
be considered during a military officer´s education and training.
Considering the nature of modern military operations, physical training
is an important dimension. Participating in modern military operations
and wars is definitely a physically demanding task. The present study
was conducted in order to answer the question whether the Norwegian
Army´s view of physical education and training is relevant for modern
military operations. In order to answer the research question in the
present study, we used a qualitative method that included document
analysis. The results of the document analyses yielded three interesting
findings. First, we found that the Norwegian Army seems to learn to
slow from its experiences from participating in military operations. Our
second finding was that the physical demands in modern military
operations seem to have increased. Our third finding was that
individuals entering into military service in Norway seemed to be less
robust than before. We therefore draw a conclusion that the Norwegian
Army seem to be facing some challenges with physical education and
training in relation to modern military operations.
Keywords: Demands of war; physical education; physical training;
military operations
Introduction
Within the military profession, many soldiers and officers do not reflect
upon the soldier's true role in society. Even less reflected upon are all the aspects
of the demands a soldier must fulfil. In Norway, this is normal not an issue until
young Norwegian Army officers meet the Norwegian Military Academy´s

19
curriculum and education. An example is the concept of war. War can have
multiple meanings depending on, for example, who is experiencing it. Today
Norwegian Armed Forces are talking mostly about combat or fighting when
conducting military operations abroad. The Norwegian Armed Forces Joint
Operational Doctrine (NAFJOD) states that this is a synonym for war, just put
into a different context than the conventional war itself (Forsvarsstaben, 2007).
To be able to survive in conflict zones as a soldier there are a number of
“measurable” requirements that must be achieved. These requirements are
referred to in the military as “the demands of war” and are seen as the
existential features a soldier must possess to survive in combat. The demands of
war are related to the requirements of hardiness in a soldier so that he or she
will cope with combat (Säfvenbom, 2008; Säfvenbom, & McD Sookermany,
2008). This is dependent upon good leadership. The U.S. Army´s field manual 6-
22 on army leadership emphasises presence as one of the requirement for
military leadership. Within the requirement of presence, one finds both
professional and military bearing, meaning how to conduct oneself. Also
included is an emphasis on confidence, resilience, and fitness. Fitness is in FM 6-
22 further seen as strength and endurance that supports emotional health and
conceptual abilities under prolonged stress (U.S. Department of the Army, 2015).
The core of the military professions is about mastering the domain of
war. Educating soldiers and officers who are able to master this domain is thus
the most essential task of military training and education. We therefore consider
the theme certainly relevant for any soldier, officer and officer in the Norwegian
Army, as the Norwegian Army is becoming increasingly more professional.
“The rigors in combat can be extreme. In our profession, the will to succeed and
to strive towards results that exceed the expected, is the difference between
success and failure” (Forsvarsstaben, 2007, p. 160, authors translation). This
quotation from the NAFJOD give a good picture of why soldiers and officers
need a strong physical base while conducting their professional practice. In
addition, aggressiveness training is also important in order to face the rigors in
combat. A previous study of how to train aggression and aggression control in
professional soldiers has shown this type of training to be very effective (Boe &
Ingdahl, 2017). The willingness to exercise kill can also be increased, and the role
of the group and the aggressive predisposition of the individual soldier has been
found to be important factors in order to train aggression and aggression control
(Boe & Johannessen, 2015). Aggression is related to the ability to exercise
physical effort. Physical exercise is a thus an important dimension within the
demands of war. With physical exercise, we mean “a systematic influence of the
athlete over time with a view to improving or maintaining the physical, mental,
technical and tactical assumptions underlying the performer's performance”
(NIH/F, 2005, p. 6, authors translation). By constantly exposing the soldiers to
more challenging tasks, it is possible to increase the individual soldier´s physical
fitness skills. This will increase the possibility to respond effectively when facing
a dangerous situation (Matthews, 2014).
In 2008, the Norwegian Armed Forces introduced a new curriculum for
physical training, referred to as body, movement and energy (BME). This
curriculum replaced the curriculum for physical education from 1992. BME
builds on what the conscripts previously have learned in the Norwegian school

20
system (Säfvenbom & McD Sookermany, 2008). At the same time, we see that
the youth of today's society are less physically active than previously, and that
their physical shape has become worse (Dyrstad, 2006). A question then arises, is
BME the correct way to go regarding physical education for the Norwegian
Armed Forces?
The basis for the curriculum for BME is the Norwegian Armed Forces
doctrines and education plans, in addition to the report Project BASIC (GIH,
2005; 2006). Project BASIC provides guidance and views on how to train before
and during operations. Project BASIC was written by several officers with
extensive experience within the field of military profession. Other nations that
perhaps we ought to look at, because of their similarities with our concepts, are
also making changes in their physical training. The Danish military forces has as
an example has established a Military Physical Training Team (MPTT) that looks
at all aspects within physical exercise. Against this background, one may
wonder if the Norwegian Armed Forces take into account the physical demands
placed on the individual soldier in current operations. In other words, do the
Norwegian Armed Forces take into account the demands of war in its education
and training?
The research question
The research question in this article was the following: Is the current
understanding of physical training in the Norwegian Army relevant for the demands of
war in contemporary military operations abroad? In this article, we restricted
ourselves to just look at military forces in Norway, Denmark, and the USA. The
military forces in Denmark is very similar to the Norwegian Armed Forces in
most cultural aspects. In addition, all four nations are members of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with relatively similar operational
patterns and similar materials and equipment. We will however investigate only
the domain of physical training, and especially the basic view of how one should
conduct physical training. In order to answer our research question, we will
discuss three factors: 1. Has the physical demands of the soldier changed when
one looks at the demands of war of modern military operations? 2. Is the
Norwegian Army's viewpoint on physical training relevant compared to what
other nations have experienced? 3. Is the physical training in the Norwegian
Army relevant, compared to the demands from participating in modern military
operations?
Method
To answer our research question, we decided to use a qualitative study
of existing military governing documents (Johannessen, Tufte, & Christoffersen,
2010). We could have chosen to interview different officers and ask them if they
felt that the physical education and training they had received in the Norwegian
Army had been relevant for participating in modern military operations.
However, we decided not to do this. The reason for this was that we were
interested in the Norwegian Army´s view as an organization on physical
education and training for modern military operations, and not the individual
officers view regarding the same themes. In addition, by using interviews we
could encounter several methodological problems with finding officers that had

21
participated in modern military operations. We would also face some difficulties
in defining what participation in a modern military operation meant, thus
rendering our informants answers less valid. Choosing interviews as our
method, we would probably have ended up with only a limited number of
informants, indicating that very little could be said about the generalizability of
the results.
Another possibility would have been to use a more quantitative
approach, for instance by using a questionnaire. This approach would probably
have substantiated our assertions and arguments in a more quantitative way.
However, possible challenges with using for instance a 5 point Likert-scale could
be that there exists a social desirability bias where the respondents do not want
to give a socially unacceptable answer: The result of this can be that respondents
often answer with the mid-point instead of what they actually thought (Garland,
1991). Silvera and Seger (2004) have also discovered that Norwegians in
particular tend to shy away from the extremes of rating scales. Also, according
to Elstad (2010), if respondents are left to themselves they will risk losing focus.
Continuing this line of thinking, Vaitl et al. (2005) argue that general cognitive
impairment may affect the ability to focus. Considering these challenges and
that our research question dealt with an organizational view (as in the
Norwegian Armed Forces), we decided to use document analysis as our data
collection method in order to answer our research question.
Data collection method and literature search
During our literature search, we used several sources. Using the
Norwegian library service (BIBSYS) we found relevant literature. In addition, we
used the Internet to find websites of other nations military forces. We also used
the Norwegian systems Doculive and FOBID to find relevant military
documents. The basis for this literature search was the following questions: Does
the development of the world and its conflicts lead to a change in the demands
of war for the individual soldier in a combat situation? What are the demands of
war in current military operations? What governs the physical training in the
Norwegian Army? How do other relevant NATO nations conduct their physical
training?
Data analysis method
When analyzing the documents, we used a method based upon the
grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Starrin, Dahlgren, Larsson, &
Styrborn, 1997). The aim with our approach was to look for similar statements in
the documents found in the literature search. The method was based upon that
when we had found enough similar statements, we would then continue to
other documents to look for contradictory statements. The idea behind this was
to discover differences in the approaches towards physical education and
training and the demands of war.
Criticism of selected literature and theory
Since much of the assessed literature and theory is discussed in general
terms, the question of how one should train for operations had to be interpreted.
Much of the theory indirectly answer questions related to the physical demands
of war. The sports science theory we found was largely specific and had to be

22
analysed and simplified based on the questions we wanted to answer. Much of
the professional military literature in this field is based upon personal
observations of officers who have been in conflict or war. Therefore, we consider
this literature to be more experience-based and thus less objectively.
This experienced-based literature also contains generally little that
directly relates to the demands of war and the associated physical requirements.
However, much is transferable. The sports science literature relies increasingly
on the use of quantitative research in the form of statistics, tests, measurements
and surveys. The sports science is thus largely credible from a scientific point of
view. The challenges of this literature are that it is not to the same extent based
on recent experiences from the operational environment. Instead, it is based on
general training principles and relates this to the doctrines and regulations of the
Norwegian Armed Forces. When it comes to BME (Säfvenbom & McD
Sookermany, 2008), it is too early to say anything about the effect this will give
in relation to the physical training of soldiers. The more specific literature on
demands of war (Bratland, 1954; Marshall, 1947) was written over 60 years ago,
and was based on observations made during WWII.
A challenge related to most documents from the Norwegian Armed
Forces is that they do not provide references and sources. The Norwegian
Armed Forces has also a general challenge of making what they write in their
documents credible considering the lack of use of quantitative data. For
example, quantitative data is in general lacking when it comes to describe
physical damage of soldiers in operations and physical performance of the
soldiers participating in operations.
Theoretical perspectives on military education and physical training
Physical exercise is a systematic influence of an athlete conducted over
time. This with the aim of improving or maintaining the characteristics that
underlie the athlete's performance (NIH/F, 2005). The training may be general to
improve the capacity in areas that are important no matter the sport, or the
training can be specific and targeted at a particular sport or exercise (Gjerset,
Haugen, Holmstad, & Giske, 2006). In the Norwegian Armed Forces, physical
education is synonymous with physical exercise. Physical education can be
described as the following from the Norwegian Army's educational and training
regulations; "With physical education means all activity during the daily service
and in time helps to elevate or maintain the physical performance" (GIH, 2007b,
authors translation).
Endurance training
A definition of endurance training is the ability to work with relatively
high intensity for a long time (Gjerset, Haugen, Holmstad, & Giske, 2006).
Furthermore, endurance is divided into two types, aerobic and anaerobic. These
are defined as respectively; “Aerobic stands for the organism's ability to work
with relatively high intensity for a long time” and “anaerobic endurance i.e. the
organism's ability to work with very high intensity in a relatively short time”
(Gjerset, Haugen, Holmstad, & Giske, 2006, p. 48, authors translation).

23
Strength training
Muscle strength is defined as “a muscle's ability to develop power under
different conditions, or that muscle even to develop maximum power” (NIH/F,
2005, p. 18, authors translation). Muscle strength can be divided into three
different categories. These are maximum, explosive and endurance strength
(Haugen, 2002). Explosive strength is the muscles ability to develop power while
they contract. Maximum strength is the muscles ability to develop sufficient
power to perform an exercise one time with the greatest possible load. Persistent
muscle strength is the muscles ability to develop power several times in
succession (Gjerset, Haugen, Holmstad, & Giske, 2006). The work your muscles
can do is further divided into two types of work, which is static and dynamic
muscle work. The static muscle work revolves around keeping the same position
over time, meaning that muscle is a “holder” for the position. Dynamic muscular
work refers to the muscles used to carry out an exercise. This is divided into
concentric (towards the centre of the body) and eccentric (from the centre of the
body) movements. An example would be using a weight in which one performs
two dynamic movements when one raises and lowers the weight (Gjerset,
Haugen, Holmstad, & Giske, 2006).
The demands of war before and now
War can have different meanings depending on who uses the term and
what the term is to be used for. The most common use of the term is that it
portrays the use of violent aggression between states or groups who want to
follow up their interests by force (Matthews, 2014). War is therefore essentially a
matter of human behaviour. In human terms, the concept of war is used to
reflect the intense physical and psychological experiences in terms of cruelty and
chaos. War is a part of the spectrum of armed conflict. Within this, we also find
combat situations (Forsvarsstaben, 2007). In recent decades, the conflicts that the
Norwegian Armed Forces have participated in, has evolved from regular combat
operations through stabilization operations to complex peace operations
(Forsvarsstaben, 2014). Still, the demands of war will be evident even in complex
peace operations with different fractions or actors inside a fallen state fights for
supremacy and power. Several of the situations facing soldiers in the future will
be volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (known as VUCA) (Matthews,
2014).
In the report Project BASIC, Borkhus (2006) writes about the war's
character as something that changes our society. This change of society affects
how the military train; organize themselves, and how military operations are
conducted. With this, he argues that the war's character is possible to change
over time. He describes the current conflicts as more complex to deal with than
the former, but he points out, however, that the profession as soldiers is to
master the most complex; War in the form of combat operations. For instance,
being in good physical shape and being intelligent is important for passing the
selection to Special Forces units (Boe, 2011; Boe, Woolley, & Durkin, 2011). This
in order to cope with complex combat operations.
The Norwegian general Sverre Bratland (1954) concluded his treatise in
military psychology with the following: “The psychological impact a platoon
commander is exposed to in the conflict area is extensive and impair his
efficiency greatly. This means that the tactical possibilities available to beat the

24
enemy are not fully being utilized because of the troop commander's reduced
working capacity. Our current officer training should therefore be radically
changed so it is based upon the mental demands on the squad leader from the
beginning and thus trains the aspirants' mental resilience under circumstances
that most resembles the combat situation” (Boe, Kjørstad, & Werner-Hagen,
2012, p. 49, authors translation). Bratland also wrote a lot about the vision he had
as an officer in training after having participated in World War II (WWII) as a
platoon leader. Bratland wrote in his treatise about physical endurance and why
this was important in the military profession. Bratland who at the time was
platoon leader in a British military unit described his own physical condition as
satisfactory in a self-assessment before he entered into the war. He later claimed
that the physical rigors he was subjected to on the European continent never
came up against the physical hardships of training. Furthermore, Bratland wrote
that even the most fine-tuned soldiers were psychologically affected and tired
during the war. He pointed out the relevance to train with noise, friction and
external influences to make the training as realistic as possible (Bratland, 1954).
After reading Bratland´s considerations one can ask the question whether the
physical demands of the soldiers and officers actually have changed since WWII.
Rekkedal (2001) wrote that in conventional warfare soldiers' physical
capacity and performance is seen as an operational constraint for any armed
forces. Moreover, he further states that in today's high-tech and motorized
armed forces, physical capacity is equally important. This is justified in that it
can seem less important in today's doctrines and thus the concept of physical
fitness is given different meanings in different military environments. To
consider this further, a look at this quote; “There is reason to believe that the
requirements for robustness of today's soldiers are at least as large as before.
Flexibility and unpredictability characterize today's military operations, and this
requires that soldiers possess a set of various integrated skills” (Aandstad &
McD Sookermany, 2008, p. 229, authors translation). This tells us a lot about the
basic idea behind the physical education in the military, where the military
seems aware that the demands are largely as before, but that greater demands
are imposed in other arenas.
The modern soldier is no longer only evaluated solely on the basis of
military matters, but also in relation to ethical and moral standards in society
(GIH, 2005). In the book “Men against fire” (Marshall, 1947) the soldier's body is
a theme. Having a healthy and trained body is essential in the face of modern
war, in line with the soldier's weapon. A soldier's hardness and resilience is
something that can be trained. Marshall further noted that all physical exercise
helps to boost morale in the military units. Willpower and physical strength is
something that goes hand in hand and if is not present the unit will experience
major challenges in combat.
Physical demands of modern soldiers
A soldier's performance is determined by several different factors. It is in
many ways similarities between soldier and an athlete since there are similarities
with what is found in the various forms of sport. Today's the soldier education
must meet a number of requirements that meets the Norwegian Armed Forces
requirements in peace, crisis and war. The main elements of such demands, or

25
work requirements, consists of physical and mental performance and military
technical and tactical skills (Hjellset, 2003). In today's high-tech army trained for
efforts worldwide the human factor is more important than ever. This is also in
line with the revised Norwegian Armed Forces Joint Operational Doctrine
(Forsvarsstaben, 2014) that aims to develop robust soldiers who are physically
and mentally robust and can handle all types of operations and operational
environments worldwide.
The soldiers of the Norwegian Army will have to be able to act in a fast
pace with demanding environments and challenges. This means that a solid
physical fitness and good health is required (GIH, 2007b). To this, Lt. Col.
Gundersen describes how the British Army makes itself adaptable to a wide
range of challenges and areas of operation. The reason for this is soldier training.
In a world of constant improvements in the soldier’s equipment, a more complex
situation picture and a greater degree of flexibility is also required and this
reflects the training for operations (Gundersen, 2006).
A new challenge for today's soldiers relates to the weight of the
equipment. A soldier carries a lot of equipment on or with him when he goes to
battle. Knapik, Reynolds, and Harman (2004) states that the overall weight of
soldier equipment has increased steadily if one look at developments from the
1800s to the present day. This is something that affects the demands we need to
ask of the soldiers we send out to operations. One of the five initiatives the U.S.
military have set out to do is to prepare special training programs. Furthermore,
the context of the demands of war in terms of marching and marching speed
must be analysed against the soldier and the weight of the equipment the soldier
carries (Knapik, Reynolds, and Harman, 2004). The Norwegian Armed Forces
need robust and active people who are in a good physical and mental condition.
It is crucial that the individual soldier and the unit is developed and
given the necessary physical basis and skills that will enable them to make the
right decisions. This will give the capacity to solve both mandatory and
unforeseen tasks (NIH/F, 2006). This gives a clear indication of what is required,
although the specific requirements are not yet established, these phrases say a
lot about what is expected. Just as elite athletes live in a continuous cycle from
championship to championship, future professional soldiers will spend much
time out in the real operational area (NIH/F, 2006).
Experiences from other nations
“Sweat saves blood” argues the Danish lieutenant colonel Kim
Kristensen (personal communication, February 24, 2009). The Danish military
has been involved in fighting in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan
since 2007. By participating in south Afghanistan, the Danes have gained several
experiences that have influenced their views on physical training of their
soldiers. These lessons are just as relevant for us in Norway as for the Danes,
since Norway and Denmark are culturally quite similar. K. Kristensen (personal
communication, February 24, 2009) claims that physical exercise traditionally is
something soldiers have been doing less conscious of what they would
encounter in the operational area. The focus has mainly been on building
stamina, something that is not wrong, but strength training has been given too
little focus and been conducted too sporadic. Experiences from Helmand in

26
Afghanistan have shown that the Danes need robust soldiers with great physical
strength and explosiveness.
The Danish Armed Forces (DAF) conducted surveys on its personnel in
Afghanistan over two contingents (ISAF 6 and 7). The DAF found that six
months of deployment in Afghanistan led to several health problems. The
primary health problems were related to muscles and joints in the form of back,
knee and shoulder problems. The DAF´s conclusion was that more focus should
be on these muscle groups during training and that one should look at measures
to prevent muscle loss under the duration of a contingent (K. G. Sørensen,
personal communication, October 10, 2009). This has led to a greater focus on
both diet and which exercises the military units should use. In addition, the DAF
now look at their soldiers as top athletes. These are the most significant changes
the DAF have made is in the revision of the military training regime. To
accomplish this, they created the MPTT composed of specialists in all fields that
affect a soldier's physical performance capacity (K. Kristensen, personal
communication, February 24, 2009).
In the field manual FM 21-10 (U.S. Department of the Army, 1998) it is
stated that there are many benefits of a good physical exercise program. This can
for example lead to less sickness among the personnel, increased efficiency and
better mental health, in addition to a greater team spirit and combat persistence
in the unit. The field manual further states that the physical shape of the
individual soldier is related to how well he will do when facing combat. It has
also been proven that good physics help to increase the soldiers' mobility.
Training that includes aerobic conditioning; strength training targeted at the
specific muscle groups, and regular marching exercises will achieve the best
results. This means that if one is to be good at carry heavy equipment one must
train with strain or load that corresponds to the weight of the heavy equipment.
In other words, "train as you fight".
The field manual also highlights the following five physical features as
important for a soldier. 1. Oxygen uptake - the body's ability to transport and
use oxygen. 2. Explosive strength - the ability to carry out lifts that requires great
strength. 3. Muscle endurance - the ability to perform activities that require
maximum power for a limited time. 4. Mobility - the body to be agile enough to
move around with heavy equipment. 5. Body Mass Index (BMI) - that this is
consistent with body size and goals. The entire field manual FM 21-20 (U.S.
Department of the Army, 1998) is devoted to how to train soldiers within these
parameters. This is done by training in different phases throughout the entire
service period, so that one gets a steady progression towards being able to
withstand the maximum load when using all the equipment in harsh
environments.
The American colonel Brian P. McCoy talks about six principles of how
to train a unit to go into combat. The first of these is: “You should always use
100% of your combat gear (helmet, vest, ammunition, water and other
equipment” (McCoy, 2007, p. 26) This underscores McCoy’s fundamental idea of
that he believes that one should train as close to the realistic war environment as
possible, also in terms of physical strain. He elaborates this further on this in
mentioning several habits that units should take into consideration in their
physical exercise routines. One of these is “combat conditioning”. By this,

27
McCoy means physical exercise that does not involve training with regular
training clothes and sneakers, but training with the equipment one will use in
combat in line with the aforementioned principle of physical exercise. This
allows the soldiers to build physical strength, based upon the muscles that are
important for the soldier in order to function well in combat situations. As a
bonus, this will also increase the psychological strength of the individual soldier.
McCoy (2007) argues that physical strength and mental strength relates closely
to each other.
The later development of the Norwegian Army
The Norwegian Armed Forces have the last 20 years changed from being
a large, static defense force against invasion, where the aim was to defend
Norwegian territory. Now, the Norwegian Armed Forces is a smaller and more
flexible military force being able to participate in multinational operations and
solve complex conflicts, both in Norway and abroad (Säfvenbom & McD
Sookermany, 2008). As a member of NATO, Norway will have to fulfil certain
obligations that has to be met by each member country. This might for instance
be to participate in multinational operations abroad in a NATO coalition.
Whether it is ethical for the Norwegian Armed Forces to participate in
multinational operations abroad is a question reserved for the Norwegian
politicians, and will not be discussed in this article.
The big change in the current situation in Norway is that military units
are no longer produced for the mobilization defense. Today's units will deliver
its efforts immediately after their education is accomplished. The efforts will be
delivered in the form of single men and women and units in operations abroad
(Skuggedal, 2006). The basic idea in the Norwegian Army today is that; “The
army should educate and train individual soldiers in the conflict environment
Army operate in - both nationally and internationally. It is a measure for the
Army to encompass personnel and units that can cope with large amounts of
stress and simultaneously solve the missions” (GIH 2007a, p. 4, authors
translation).
The operational training of the Norwegian Army
The basic idea for all the training in the Norwegian Army's project
BASIC (GIH, 2005) is defined as "bottom-up". The principle outline is the vision
that one should begin with the education of single men and women, and then
continue to building systems of single men, such as squads, platoons and
companies. For this to work, the basic modules, i.e. the single soldier must be so
robust that he or she can withstand further supplementary training and external
influences. Furthermore, the principle “train as you fight” must always underlie
the training conducted in the Norwegian Army. This is a recognition of war as a
psychological phenomenon and that if one trains differently, the soldiers will
not be able to cope with the domain of war. As a consequence of this, the
Norwegian Army will always conduct realistic training and the demands of war
will be governing all training. It is further underlined that the main priority is to
master combat operations (GIH, 2005).
In the Project BASIC (GIH, 2005; 2006) focus is on how the Norwegian
Army should train towards operations and draw lessons from it. This should be
done through analyzing and evaluating all phases of the training. Also, pointed

28
out is that everything the Norwegian Army do is training, and therefore all
training must be of high quality and be effective (GIH, 2005). Asak (2006) writes
about the handling of military experiences. The models outlined by Asak will
link experiences to the knowledge and further towards the preparations and
conduct of operations. Asak points out that this is something that is not
satisfactory in the Norwegian Army today.
Physical training in the Norwegian Army
“The demands for physical capacity or ability to care for themselves or
others in demanding conditions are not visible in the daily service. We see in
part the result of this in operations abroad, where some staff officers have a very
limited level of soldier- and basic skills” (Eide, 2006, p. 117, authors translation).
Skjetne (2006) argues that there are structural similarities between developing
achievements in the Norwegian Army and engaging in elite sports. The reason
for this is that both soldiers and athletes spend almost all their time in training.
Dyrstad (2006) argues that the personnel in the Norwegian Armed Forces are
less active than before and therefore the personnel gain weight and are in a
poorer physical shape. In conclusion, Dyrstad concludes that the poorer physical
shape found among young people in 2002 compared with 1980 lead to that the
young people have become fatter. According to Dyrstad, the mean average of
weight gain has been 5 kg (approximately 2,3 lbs) over these 22 years.
Documents governing physical training in the Norwegian Army
The governing document of how the Norwegian Army educates and
trains its soldiers and officers is the Norwegian Army's educational and training
regulations. The aim of education and training in the Norwegian Army is to
have; “Professionally skilled personnel with high physical and mental
endurance that effectively exploits its weapons and its materials” (GIH, 2007a, p.
4, authors translation). This document state that a targeted systematic training is
one of the Norwegian Army's premier cultural traits. A systematic training is a
hallmark of professionalism and a common feature of winners (GIH, 2007b).
The BME concept was introduced in the Norwegian Armed Forces in
2008. The reason for this was the Norwegian Armed Forces faced new challenges
related to work and competence. These new challenges were taken into account
when introducing the BME concept and its new curriculum of intentions and
objectives. The development was a consequence of the changes in the
Norwegian society and the Norwegian Armed Forces increased emphasis upon
independence, consciousness and initiative of the individual soldier (Säfvenbom
& McD Sookermany, 2008).
Physical requirements in the Norwegian Army
Today the Norwegian Armed Forces and thus, The Norwegian Army,
employs a test endurance (3000 meter running test for time) and a variety of
dynamic muscle strengthening exercises (number of repetitions in sit-ups, push-
ups, squats and chins) with a defined minimum number of repetitions for
soldiers' physical fitness (Hjellset, 2003). That the exercises are general and
involves several major muscle groups that are appropriate for military activity
could give indications of how muscle characteristics should be improved
(Dyrstad 2006). When one tests maximum dynamic muscle strength in

29
standardized tests with a measuring device, such as one does in the Norwegian
Armed Forces, these tests put great demands on technical performance.
However, it is also possible to perform strength tests in various technical ways,
which undermines the validity of the tests (Bahr, Hallen, & Medbo, 1991). The
3000-meter running test was introduced in the Norwegian Armed Forces in 1980
as the main measuring tool on aerobic endurance and fitness. Similarly running
tests have been used in most other NATO countries. The intention was that
during a soldier's mandatory conscript military service the individual soldier
should complete the 3000-meter running test three times. This would provide
answers to whether the soldiers achieved the desired running persistence during
their service period. Previously a bicycle ergometer test was used to measure
endurance, but this test was too resource-intensive and contained too many
errors. The 3000-meter running test is viewed today as an indirect assessment of
a soldier’s physical form, although one does not have sufficient research to
substantiate this. There is also doubt that this test provides an accurate picture of
maximal oxygen uptake (Bahr, Hallen, & Medbo, 1991; Dale et al., 1979).
Discussion
If we compare the before mentioned physical tests with the thinking that
physical requirements are easier because of available assistive technology, we
can state that the demands of war for the modern soldier has been reduced.
Sverre Bratland (Boe, Kjørstad, & Werner-Hagen, 2012) who during WWII was a
platoon leader in a British military unit wrote that even the most “well-
educated” soldiers also became affected psychologically and tired during the
war. Bratland (1954) also stated that the physical condition was crucial as to
whether you broke down or not. On the other side, McD Sookermany (2008)
claims that there is reason to assume that the demands of today's soldiers are at
least as large as before. He speaks here about the demands of robustness, i.e. a
physical hardiness (Aandstad & McD Sookermany, 2008). When one reads that;
“The Norwegian Army should educate and train individual soldiers in the
conflict environment it operates in - both nationally and internationally. It is a
goal for the Norwegian Army to be equipped with personnel and units that can
cope with major stresses and simultaneously solve missions” (GIH, 2007a, p. 4,
authors translation). When seen against the statement that it is essential to give
the individual soldier and unit the necessary basic physical skills that will enable
them to make the right decisions and solve both mandatory and unforeseen
military tasks, one start to grasp the importance of physical training (NIH/F,
2006).
A change in the demands of war in modern operations
Something that underlines the increased complexity of the modern
battlefield it is that the modern soldier is no longer evaluated only on defined
military matters, but also on the ethical and moral standards found in society.
Success for Norwegian soldiers is no longer seen as only what is obtained in
combat, but also in accordance with the ethical and moral standards in the
Norwegian civil society (GIH, 2005). This is supported by Borkhus (2006) in
what he writes about the character of war. He argues that when society changed,
the Norwegian Armed Forces organization, equipment, and not least how the

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