Although the PE curriculum defines the factors that are relevant for pupils` achievement in the subject, teachers experience a considerable degree of autonomy in their interpretation and implementation of the curriculum. As such, they are a key influencing factor on pupils` emerging behaviors, and subsequently on which pupil-related factors are valued for achievement in the subject. Based on current knowledge concerning teachers` pedagogical practice (i.e., teaching, assessment and grading), therefore, the project, aimed to investigate the association between pupil-related factors (i.e., individual constraints) and achievement (i.e., grade) in PE among Norwegian lower-secondary school pupils (8th-10th grade). A constraints-based framework was applied to provide an ecological perspective on how behavior, and subsequently achievement in PE, can be explained and understood.

Four articles with a cross-sectional design form the basis of this article-based dissertation and project. Paper I (N = 200) investigated the association between pupils’ grade in PE and their grit, mindset, selfperception, and situational motivation by multiple linear regression. Paper II investigated potential differences in relative age (N = 241) and the timing of biological maturity (N = 76) between different grade levels (i.e., 3/4, 5, and 6) by means of analysis of variance, and Paper III (N = 76) made use of similar statistical means to investigate potential differences in motor competence and physical fitness between different grade levels (i.e., 3/4, 5, and 6). Finally, Paper IV (N = 349) investigated the association between the grade and pupils` leisure-time physical activity and sport-participation, as well as the frequency of participating in PE and related school subjects, by means of linear regression, stepwise regression, and mediation analysis.

The main findings from Article I indicate that students' self-perceived athletic and school-related competence, as well as their physical appearance, are important psychological pupil-related factors that can influence grades by regulating pupils' behavior as observed and assessed by teachers. The findings from Article II show that less mature pupils and relatively older boys received higher grades in the subject, while in Article III, the findings indicate that pupils with better physical fitness have an advantage. The results from Article IV show that the frequency of physical activity during leisure time and participation in endurance and team/ball sports have a positive correlation with grades in physical education.

The projects` thesis discusses the interaction between individual, task, and environmental constraints to understand whether the significant pupil-related factors align with the expectations of the PE curriculum and/or the sports-oriented perspective evident through the PE teachers` pedagogical practice and perception of what constitutes achievement. Findings from Papers II-IV suggest that the significant pupil-related factors align more with those of the sports-oriented perspective offered by the teachers as opposed to the official regulations of the curriculum. As such, these findings pose issues concerning the grades` validity. Meanwhile, a discussion of the findings from Paper I is considered more intricate. Depending on how the curriculum is interpreted, the significant subdomains of self-perception could be argued to be necessary conditions for pupils` work on attaining the described learning outcomes, but also not to align with the curriculum`s learning outcomes.

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