The Lived Experience of Physical Awkwardness: A Retrospective View
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CONTRIBUTORS:
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UNIVERSITY / COLLEGE:
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YEAR:
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2001
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PUB TYPE:
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Thesis/Dissertation
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PAGES:
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13,
211 p.
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SUBJECT(S):
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Physical Awkwardness, Developmental Coordination Disorder
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DISCIPLINE:
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Recreation, Sports & Leisure Studies
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HTTP:
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LANGUAGE:
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English
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PUB ID:
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103-380-293
(Last edited on
2002/07/19 14:30:45 GMT-6)
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SPONSOR(S):
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ABSTRACT:
This study was done to gain insight into the experiences of those who have lived physical awkwardness in their past participation in physical activity. Twelve adults were engaged in conversations from a retrospective view, relating personal accounts of childhood reminiscences of physical awkwardness. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach of description and interpretation was
employed to uncover feelings and meanings associated with physical awkwardness. Findings are discussed in the context of relevant literature to assess how awkwardness, as described in aggregate studies, resonates with individuals.
The nature of the experience of physical awkwardness is captured in four essential themes, namely, ublicly “failing and falling” while performing a motor task, resulting in “hurt and humiliation,” accompanied by “worrying and wondering,” and subsequent attempts at “avoiding awkwardness” in situations where it might be further revealed. Interacting in active games settings is difficult for the physically awkward performer. The individual feels alone within the group, reluctant to display ineptness.
Wall’s (1982) Syndrome of Physical Awkwardness provides a framework to discuss the themes of physical awkwardness. Participants give an insiders’ view of the Syndrome, not actually a test of it, but a subjective perspective to it. What emerges, is not so much a syndrome, but a highly variable scenario of feelings and behaviours. The intensity of feelings associated with awkwardness and the inability to easily withdraw from physical activity are not predicted in the Syndrome, nor are social isolation or aggression, which are predicted, but are not apparent in the participants’ accounts. With respect to the Knowledge-Based Approach to Motor Development (Wall et al., 1985), participants’ experiences suggest they had limited access to knowledge about action. They either lacked declarative knowledge (what to do), or procedural knowledge (how to do) a skill, or both. Low affective knowledge contributed to motor difficulties. In turn, the difficulties had a reciprocal influence on affect. Teachers may have a false sense of the magnitude of the impact of physical awkwardness. The awkward performer may be reticent to seek instruction. Thus teachers may not recognize awkwardness, so it may go unnoticed.
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