PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

For students with Special Educational Needs in their Emotional and Social Development (SEN-ESD), school interactions can intensify distrust in adults or foster corrective relational experiences. Physical Education (PE) presents a dual-natured context for this group: while curricula promote social–emotional skill development, students are particularly dependent on sensitive teacher interactions. Yet, no study has examined how recognition, as the prerequisite for inclusion, is negotiated in these teacher–student interactions. This Grounded Theory study reconstructed these negotiation processes and explains them through a Honneth–Prengel recognition framework. Using an iterative design, we conducted and analysed semi-structured interviews with 18 PE teachers and 22 students with SEN-ESD in German regular secondary schools until theoretical saturation. Constant comparative analysis and iterative open and axial coding revealed the dimension of interactional dignity (property: level of affirmation; ranging from low ↔ high). Five patterns detail its constitution through three core domains: relational security, fairness and voice, and valuing individual skills. Interactions are strained by perceptual discrepancies, one concerning what counts as just and the other whose reality is recognised. Furthermore, a systemic grading paradox emerged, which may function as institutional misrecognition and may risk double marginalization for students with SEN-ESD, who are assessed on their very area of need in PE. Findings suggest that addressing this requires structural reform beyond teacher practice. Inclusive PE needs resources for individualised pedagogy, teachers who acknowledge individual needs and realities, and systemic reform of assessment practices.