A Comparison of the State and Status of
Physical Education in Schools in Inter- and
Intra-Continental Regional Contexts
Ken Hardman,
University of Manchester
Manchester, England
Introduction
Despite the widespread scientific and educational acceptance of the essential
need for physical activity, physical education has not been seen to be a priority
in governmental policy. During the last two decades, some governments have
proposed removal of physical education from the curriculum or reductions in
curriculum time allocation. Against the background of threats to physical
education and evidence of inadequacies of resources (material, financial and
personnel), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) supported a one-year
investigation (1998-99) into the state and status of physical education in schools.
Essentially, the survey drew from data collated from a worldwide-distributed
semi-structured questionnaire instrument, selected follow-up derived data, a
specifically created website and an extensive literature review. This paper
reports on some of the main findings of the survey in a comparative context.
Findings of the Survey
Information was collected on 167 nations and educationally autonomous
states and provinces (hereafter generically referred to as 'countries'). Despite
a cautionary note on the interpretation of some qualitative perception-based
features, the data do indicate several global and continental regional as well
as some national concerns and issues in the state and status of physical
education in schools. They also serve to reinforce issues and concerns of
earlier research findings (Hardman, 1993; 1996; 1998b; 1999b; Loopstra &
Van der Gugten, 1997; Wilcox, 1998) as well as variations between
geographical regions and in nations with different levels of socio-economic
development and/or cultural traditions.
Physical Education Curriculum Requirement and Implementation
In many countries (92% of the sample) there are requirements for physical
education for both boys and girls but actual implementation in some countries
does not meet with legal obligations or expectations. Table 1 suggests that
globally in 29 per cent of cases, physical education is not implemented in
accordance with legal prescriptive or guideline expectations.
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State and Status of Physical Education
Table 1: Physical Education in Schools: Implementation in Accordance with
Regulations (% rounded)
Implemented
(%)
Not implemented
(%)
Global
71
29
Africa
25
75
North America
72
28
United States
74
26
Canada
57
43
Latin/Central America
50
50
Asia
33
67
Europe
87
13
Western Europe
93
7
Northern Europe
75
25
Southern Europe
50
50
Central/Eastern Europe
10
-
Middle East
82
18
Oceania
70
30
Region/Country
Regions with the highest discrepancies between legal requirement policy and
implementation are Africa (75%), Asia (67%), Central and Latin America
(50%) and Southern (including Mediterranean) Europe (50%). Combined,
these regions, largely made up of economically under-developed countries,
average around sixty per cent of cases of inadequate or non-implementation
of statutory policies. The economically developed countries within the North
American, European and Oceanic regions also show less marked but,
nevertheless, significant gaps between policy requirements and actual
implementation. Pervasive factors contributing to the apparent gap between
statutory policy and actual delivery include statements on loss of time
allocation, lower importance of physical education in general, lack of formal
monitoring control, diversion of resources elsewhere, insufficient financial,
material and qualified personnel resources and, in some instances, attitudes
of significant other individuals such as head teachers, other subject
colleagues and parents.
Curriculum Time Allocation for Physical Education
The issue of time allocation is a complicated one. The complexity stems from
the localised control of time allocations for school subjects, which often vary
considerably between schools, therefore, generalised commentary may not
represent a specifically accurate picture for a region or a country. However,
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International Sports Studies, vol. 23, no. 1/2, 2001
some tendencies are identifiable from the questionnaire survey. Across all
school years, there are clear peaks of allocation around 90-100 minutes and
120-135 minutes per week. The result of this bi-modal distribution is to
produce a mean value (125 minutes/week), which is higher than the median
value (100-minutes/ week). Generally, there is a higher average time
allocation at the secondary level of schooling, (143 minutes per week), than
at the primary level (116 minutes per week) with a greater variance in range
at the primary than at the secondary level.
Globally, the percentage of physical education annual curriculum time
has a mean of nine per cent, a median of seven per cent and a mode of six
per cent. There is a clustering of responses indicating curriculum time
allocation to be around 6-7 per cent annually, which is reflected in the median
and mode figures. The mean at nine per cent would appear to have been
skewed by a long tailed distribution. There is a variable situation in curriculum
time allocation for physical education across the years. Pervasively, however,
there are two notable features: (i) the greatest curriculum time allocation
occurs around the lower to upper middle phase of schooling when children
are aged 9-14; and (ii) a general reduction in time allocation with increasing
age, especially in the upper or final years of schooling, when it either
becomes an optional subject or it disappears from the timetable.
A disconcerting finding from the survey is the revelation that reductions
in time allocated to physical education throughout the school years are being
seen in all parts of the world. In the northern hemisphere, the global situation
is exemplified across Europe with for example curriculum time reductions in
Austria, England, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands
and mooted reductions in Ireland and Portugal. In Asia, North and South
America, decreases in curriculum time allocation to physical education have
occurred, and continue to occur, in Japan, the United States, Canada and
Brazil.
Of the countries for which data have been collected, approximately 87
per cent have undergone reforms in education within the last decade.
Apparently, the effects of education reforms have made little real overall
impact on physical education curriculum time allocation: some sixty per cent
of countries have seen no significant changes to time allocated to physical
education. The remainder are equally divided (20% each) on reductions or
marginal increases. It is important to recognise that education reform is
related to statutory policies, requirements and provisions and does not
necessarily deal with actual delivery or implementation. As the immediate
preceding findings indicate, there are gaps between official policy and actual
practice and the overall picture of curriculum time allocated to physical
education is generally one of decrease and in some specific instances to
significant levels.
Subject Status of Physical Education
The perceptions of the status of physical education in schools set the subject
in broader educational, social and cultural contexts. The view that the subject
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State and Status of Physical Education
'has generally occupied a low position on the academic totem pole . . . [and]
has been held in low esteem' (Jable, 1997: 78) is widely held. The low status
and esteem, in which physical education is regarded, is neither a recent
phenomenon nor is it restricted in geo-political applicability. Table 2 indicates
that globally within the regions, in 86 per cent of countries (the African region
is substantially lower at 50%) physical education seems to have attained a
similar legal status to other subjects. This figure, however, may be somewhat
misleading because of interpretations of the meaning(s) attached to legal
status; for example 'core' or 'principal' as opposed to 'foundation' or
'subsidiary' status as in some western European countries. The main concern
here relates to equality of subject status not being matched in practice. Closer
inspection of Table 2 reveals that globally, in only 43 per cent of the countries
physical education's status in schools is perceived to be equal to other
subjects. Thus, in 57 per cent of countries, the actual status of physical
education in relation to other school subjects is perceived to be lower than
that accorded within the legal framework in all continental regions of the
world. In short, legally it has similar status, but in reality it does not.
Table 2: Legal/Actual Status of Physical Education (% rounded)
Legal (%)
Actual (%)
Global
86
43
Africa
50
14
North America
86
36
United States
84
37
Canada
100
29
Latin/Central America
89
13
Asia
73
20
Europe
94
67
Western Europe
100
71
Northern Europe
92
58
Southern Europe
78
67
Central/Eastern Europe
95
67
Middle East
91
70
Oceania
91
11
Region/Country
The status gap between so-termed 'academic' subjects and physical
education is lowest in the Middle East and European regions. The highest
incidences of the 'gap' occur in Latin and Central America (87%), Africa
(86%) and Asia (80%). Oceania (89%) has the highest incidence of perceived
status gap, surprisingly so at first glance but perhaps less so when the
context of significant level of discrepancy between legal policy requirements
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and actual implementation indicated earlier in Table 1 is taken into
consideration. Even in North America, Canada (71%) and the United States
(63%) show high levels of variance between perceived actual status and legal
status. Further evidence of the lower status and esteem of physical education
is provided in regard to its perceived worth as a school curriculum subject.
Approaching seventy per cent of countries' respondents assert that physical
education faces considerable scepticism regarding its academic value (refer
to Table 3).
Table 3: Scepticism towards Physical Education
Scepticism
(%)
No Scepticism
(%)
Global
69
31
Africa
93
7
North America
74
26
United States
87
13
Canada
72
28
Latin/Central America
63
37
Asia
73
27
Europe
57
43
Western Europe
60
40
Northern Europe
75
25
Southern Europe
50
50
Central/Eastern Europe
56
44
Middle East
70
30
Oceania
78
22
Region/Country
In many countries, there is a general feeling that much of the work carried out
in physical education is either a 'distraction', or merely 'a filler', or diversionary
recreational fun activity or playtime. Such views are especially upheld in
cultures, but not exclusively so, where intellectual, rather than physical,
development is highly or more highly valued. In many Asian countries, the
'subsidiarity' of physical education to academic subjects is a common feature.
The regard of physical education as a non-productive educational activity and
that it is academic subjects that are the important stepping-stones to a
successful future is not unique to Asia. On all continents, sections of the
general populace view physical education as a non-intellectual sphere of
activity as data from Africa (for example, Benin, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda
and Zimbabwe), the Caribbean (Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Vincent), Europe
(Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Russia and Scotland), Middle East (Iran, Qatar and the State of
Kuwait amongst others), North America (United States) and South America
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State and Status of Physical Education
(Bolivia and Colombia) bear witness to these perceptions. Even in renowned
sporting countries such as Australia and New Zealand, physical education
has been deemed to be a marginal subject in schools with low status of
subject and teachers; this inferior status is partly attributed to its practical
nature in educational contexts that favour intellectual activity (Macdonald &
Brooker, 1997) and negative image within schools, which renders it unworthy
of space in the timetable (Ross & Hargreaves, 1995).
Worldwide, it is obvious that as a practical subject, physical education
does not have equal status in the curriculum because it is regarded as
subservient to academic traditions. This is supported in its value in the
education and occupation markets. Even in countries where it has achieved
examination accreditation status, it remains at the lower levels of the prestige
scale within schools. Academic and cultural traditions have combined to forge
a subject hierarchy based in an intellectual-practical divide, a mind-body
relationship. As this survey found, belief and value systems in all regions of
the world favour academic hegemony in schools and academic subjects are
equated with the development of intellect. Physical education, on the other
hand, is regarded as being more concerned with the improvement of mere
practical performance and skills, and recreational activity. Consequently
physical education's practical orientation is not appreciated for its potential to
contribute to the educational experience of children. The result is
marginalisation, stemming from the lower prestigious esteem on the
hierarchical scale of school curriculum subjects.
It seems that low status and esteem are detrimental to the position of
physical education on occasions of adversity (e.g. climatic conditions, cultural
factors and competing interests such as examinations). In over half (61%) of
all countries (93% in Africa; 80% in Central and Latin America; 75% in
Canada; and 83% in Southern Europe, a region in which the situation
appears to be considerably less favourable than in the rest of the Europe), it
is reported that physical education lessons are cancelled more often than so
called 'academic subjects' (see Table 4).
Respondents were of the view that if physical education had a more
important subject profile, then it would be less likely to be cancelled. After its
inherently held low status, another reason proffered for the cancellation of
physical education was the use of the dedicated physical education lesson
space for examinations, concerts, ceremonial occasions and as dining areas.
A number of respondents made specific reference to the problem being
exacerbated in primary schools, where the lack of specialised facilities for
physical education puts greater pressure on multi-purpose space. Climate
and the weather were mentioned (7% of responses) as causal factors in the
cancellation of physical education lessons. In many countries the approach of
the end of the school term or year is marked by the cancellation of physical
education lessons to make way for teaching of other subjects in preparation
for examinations.
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Table 4: Impact of 'Adverse' Conditions on Physical Education
Region/Country
Cancelled
(%)
Not Cancelled
(%)
Global
61
39
Africa
93
7
North America
50
50
United States
45
55
Canada
75
25
Latin/Central America
80
20
Asia
67
33
Europe
53
47
Western Europe
50
50
Northern Europe
46
54
Southern Europe
83
17
Central/Eastern Europe
53
47
Middle East
67
33
Oceania
90
10
The reforms in education experienced in many countries in the 1990s
do not appear to have significantly impacted on the status of physical
education in comparison with other curricular subjects. Physical education
has generally maintained the same status level as pre-reform, that is usually
an inferior status. Some two-thirds of countries' respondents detected no
change in status but fifteen per cent commented that its status had actually
decreased after the introduction of reforms. There are some intra-regional
variations. In southern Africa, Tswanian respondents point to a positive
impact of educational reform on the importance and status of school physical
education, however, in South Africa recent reforms have further marginalised
the status of the subject; in Australia, there appear to be less marked
variations between States in the status of physical education pre- and posteducational reforms.
Attitudes of Head Teachers, Other Subject Teachers and Parents
Globally, there were expressions amongst the three 'significant others' groups
varying from supportive through indifference to non-supportive. Nonetheless,
despite the supportive, indifferent, non-supportive continuum variations, some
general inferences can be drawn about perceptions of attitudes towards
physical education by these three groups, especially from references to
marginalisation, inferior status and low esteem image. The findings of the
survey revealed that attitudes towards physical education amongst 'significant
others' were broadly speaking not supportive of the subject and often
demonstratively antipathetic towards its aims and outcomes (refer to Table 5).
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State and Status of Physical Education
Table 5: Attitudes of Head Teachers (HT), Other Subject Teachers (OT) and Parents (P)
towards Physical Education (% rounded)
Indifferent (%)
Supportive (%)
Region/
Country
Non-Supportive (%)
HT
OT
P
HT
OT
P
HT
OT
P
Global
44
23
33
29
46
38
27
31
29
Africa
27
9
18
36
55
18
37
36
64
North America
42
21
33
25
47
46
33
32
21
USA
46
24
35
23
45
50
31
31
15
Canada
16
-
17
34
60
17
50
40
66
Central and
Latin America
33
12
33
33
50
33
34
38
34
Asia
31
8
-
38
42
46
31
50
54
Europe
48
33
42
34
43
38
18
24
20
Western
Europe
47
37
42
37
52
42
16
11
16
Northern
Europe
33
14
33
67
71
50
-
15
17
Southern
Europe
38
37
50
50
25
37
12
38
13
Central and
Eastern
Europe
64
33
41
-
25
26
36
42
33
Middle East
60
22
40
10
33
20
30
45
40
Oceania
67
25
44
22
63
34
11
12
22
Within the three groups, a majority of head-teachers and parents in the three
regions of Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Oceania
appeared to be supportive of physical education. Somewhat unexpectedly,
head-teachers in Canada were overwhelmingly (84%) perceived to be
'indifferent' or 'non-supportive' of physical education. This feature is only
surpassed in its surprise by the 'indifference' or 'non-support' (100%) of
Canadian 'Other Subject Teachers', albeit, that in all other regions and
countries, attitudes of 'Other Teachers' levels of 'indifference' and 'nonsupportive' were all over sixty per cent (refer to Table 5). The emphasis here
is on perceptions and hence, these figures need to be interpreted with care,
especially as respondents were largely representative of the generic field of
physical education and sport.
Amongst 'Head Teachers' there are pervasive perceptions that physical
education is a non-academic subject with an orientation to recreational rather
than educational activity. Hence, it is accorded lower subject status, value
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International Sports Studies, vol. 23, no. 1/2, 2001
and importance than other curriculum subjects. Some head teachers narrowmindedly prioritise achievement and performance rather than quality physical
education programmes. Similar negative attitudes were found amongst 'Other
Subject Teachers'. Physical education is regarded as a lower status,
peripheral subject, as non-constructive and vocationally non-productive, as
non-academic lacking in educational value and merely as a compensatory
recreational activity. The prevailing features associated with head teachers
and other teachers were also evident in perceptions on attitudes of 'Parents'.
They were believed to lack interest in physical education, view it as nonproductive beyond school years and to be predisposed to favouring academic
subjects with time spent on physical education being seen to be a threat to
academic achievement and/or examination performance.
Resources for Physical Education
Finance
Funding of physical education with its initial high capital costs of facilities and
recurrent maintenance, apparatus and equipment costs is a contentious issue
in many schools in many countries. A finding in the survey is that globally,
whilst amongst forty per cent of countries there is a less pessimistic view that
during periods of financial constraints, physical education is no more likely to
be cut than any other school subject, in a majority (60%) of countries (in
Canada 86%, Central and Latin America 80%, Southern Europe 7 1 % and
Asia 66%), funding cuts are anticipated during periods of financial constraint.
It is expected that these anticipated cuts will lead to future reductions in
physical education programmes (refer to Table 6).
Table 6: Financial Constraints
PE Cut or Reduced
(%)
Not Cut or Reduced
(%)
Global
60
40
Africa
64
36
North America
65
35
United States
62
38
Canada
86
14
Latin/Central America
80
20
Asia
67
33
Europe
52
48
Western Europe
53
47
Northern Europe
50
50
Southern Europe
71
29
Central/Eastern Europe
42
58
Middle East
60
40
Oceania
55
45
Region/Country
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State and Status of Physical Education
This comes at a time when 46 per cent of respondents (in Canada 87%,
Central and Latin America 80%, Africa 67% and Central and Eastern Europe
61%) comment that physical education is already facing declining financial
support. On the other hand, in the Oceanic region, there is a contrary
tendency with only twelve per cent of its respondents indicating that physical
education is facing declining financial support. Within regions such as
Europe, there are several 'sub-regional' differences. For example, in southern
Europe, no respondents indicated that physical education is facing declining
financial support, whereas in central and eastern Europe, over sixty per cent
of respondents reported such a decline. Several reasons are cited for the
declining financial support for physical education:
•
low status in relation to other subjects with minimal significance not worthy
of support
• diversion of financial resources to other subjects and areas of the school
• low societal value in personal and national development
Comments elaborating on the impacts of financial constraints on physical
education show that a commonly held perception is that not only would
physical education be among the subjects to be cut or reduced but it would
be the 'first to go' (17%). A further twenty per cent suggest that financial
constraints will result in time losses and another twelve per cent that they will
lead to teacher cut backs. In explaining why this is the case, twenty per cent
of respondents specifically referred to the perceived lack of academic value of
physical education, often linking this to the fact that the subject is not
examined and the belief that the subject is just another 'play time'.
About sixty per cent of Central and Latin America countries' respondents
indicate that decreasing financial resources for physical education are linked
with education reforms. This is a feature, which is also evident in Central and
Eastern Europe, a region where 47 per cent of respondents ascribe
decreases in financial resources to governments' education reforms. The
perceived threats to the status of physical education in Canada were
exacerbated by a 1995 National Debt of $550 million and rising, a phenomenon,
which stimulated educational reforms based in economic realities. Alberta's
reform initiative excluded physical education from its 'basic education'
programme. In the province of Manitoba, a ministerial proposal for curriculum
changes posed a further threat to physical education by reducing the subject's
status to supplementary or optional status in Senior 1-4 levels. In the province of
New Brunswick, the number of full-time equivalent physical education specialists
for anglophone elementary schools was reduced by sixty per cent between 1992
and 1995, a reduction which was accompanied by the elimination of the only
consultancy position for physical and health education (Tremblay, Pella &
Taylor, 1996: 5). In some countries (for example, Australia and Belgium),
commentators (Williams et al. 1993; Carriero da Costa & Pieron, 1997) have
highlighted the integration of physical education with other subjects or areas
such as fine arts, health, social and personal development as a direct
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International Sports Studies, vol. 23, no. 1/2, 2001
consequence of policies based in economic realities and rationalisation of
curricula. In some instances, this has been interpreted as a means (and often
the only one) to safeguard the subject's future. One outcome is confusion
about the subject's aims and purposes. Another widely reported impact of
funding limitations is on swimming. The considerable financial investment of
maintaining, or gaining access to, swimming facilities exposes this important
component of physical education to cancellation of lessons or even omission
from curricula in many continental regions. As a contrast, and one that
underpins marked sub-regional differences and variations within continental
regions, sixty per cent of southern European respondents note that an
increase in financial resources to physical education is associated with recent
reforms in education.
Facilities and Equipment
The survey findings portray serious material resource problems in over twothirds of countries. The more general inadequacies of material resources are
illustrated in deficiencies in provision of facilities and are exacerbated by
problems of low levels of maintenance and insufficient supplies of equipment.
Over two-thirds (69%) of respondents stated that physical education is
commonly faced with the challenge of inadequate facilities and poor
maintenance of existing teaching sites. Table 7 shows a number of marked
regional differences within the global sample, in particular the so-called
'developing' regions showing a greater tendency to indicate that the issue of
facilities is a serious problem.
Table 7: Facilities for Physical Education (% rounded)
Adequate
(%)
Inadequate
(%)
Global
31
69
Africa
7
93
North America
38
62
United States
42
58
Canada
13
87
Latin/Central America
0
100
Asia
7
93
Europe
39
61
Western Europe
52
48
Northern Europe
34
66
Southern Europe
44
56
Central/Eastern Europe
21
79
Middle East
27
73
Oceania
30
70
Region/Country
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State and Status of Physical Education
Over ninety per cent of respondents in Africa and Asia indicated that facilities
are inadequate as did all of the respondents from Central and Latin America.
A majority (60%) of Central and Latin America respondents was of the view
that educational reforms have led to a decrease in material resources to
physical education. Yet, the problem of inadequate facility provision stretches
beyond the traditional economic divides of developing and developed nations
as illustrated by examples in England and Wales, the United States and the
petro-dollar economy states in the Middle East. Of particular note is the
situation in Canada, where inadequate provision was claimed by 87 per cent
of respondents. At a sub-regional level, Central and Eastern Europe has a
greater proportion of respondents reporting problems of inadequate facilities
than in the more economically prosperous regions such as Western Europe.
From the survey, supplementary comments on facility and equipment
provision were collated and categorised. The most common category of
responses suggests that because of the challenges of inadequate facilities
and their poor maintenance, the actual implementation of physical education
classes was made difficult and the quality of the lessons provided was less
than adequate. As Table 7 shows, the problem appears particularly acute in
'developing regions'. This problem is supported in comments from Asia
(China, India and Pakistan), Oceania (Papua New Guinea), South America
(Argentina and Colombia) and the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago) and
Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Hungary). However, the issue
of implementing physical education with inadequate facilities is not confined
to the developing regions as situations testify in Canada, England and Wales.
Other comments raised issues of the varied nature of the problem
across countries or states (22%), and the link between inadequate facilities
and financial constraints, which, as indicated above, is a serious issue
impacting on physical education. Also of some serious concern are claims
that new schools are being built without physical education facilities (5% of
respondents). Many of the African respondents in the survey pointed to the
disparity of facility provision for physical education with many new schools
without appropriate facilities for the subject and with the limited equipment
possessed by schools generally overused, damaged and outdated. In the
Western Cape Province of South Africa 42 per cent of schools are without
any sporting facilities (Western Cape Education Statistics Department, 1998).
There is also an indication that a form of 'apartheid' applies in facility
provision: an American sports marketing consultant recently visited South Africa
and recorded that 'White' schools are well equipped with personnel and
physical resources to provide numerous opportunities for physical activity
engagement. 'Coloured' schools are 'much less fortunate, and Black schools
[are] the most deprived of all . . . consequently, level of physical inactivity [is]
most prevalent in Black and Coloured communities' (Armstrong, 1999: 7-8).
Qualified Teaching Personnel
Across the world, it is common practice to have qualified 'specialist' physical
education teachers at secondary level (refer table 8), though in some
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countries, especially on the African continent, the scenario of secondary
school phase specialist teacher is not being fulfilled, and 'generalist' teachers
at elementary level. Any short-fall in specialist provision tends to be in the
economically under-developed world but not exclusively so.
Table 8: Specialist Physical Education Teaching Personnel (% rounded)
Primary
(%)
Secondary
(%)
Global
50
93
Africa
9
50
North America
74
95
United States
81
96
Canada
25
88
Latin/Central America
56
89
Asia
14
79
Europe
42
100
Western Europe
30
100
Northern Europe
50
100
Southern Europe
36
100
Central/Eastern Europe
69
100
Middle East
73
100
Oceania
20
90
Region/Country
Some countries do have specialist physical educators in elementary schools
(see table 8) but the variation is wide and there are marked regional
differences: 81 per cent in the United States, 69 per cent in Central and
Eastern Europe to fourteen per cent in Asia and only nine per cent in Africa.
The North American findings suggest a greater allocation of specialists in
primary (elementary) schools, with 74 per cent of respondents indicating this.
However, the difference between the USA and Canada is particularly marked,
with only 25 per cent of Canadian respondents indicating that specialists
teach physical education in primary schools, compared with over eighty per
cent of respondents in the United States. One exception in Canada is the
Province of Prince Edward Island, where the majority of schools have
physical education specialists (Luke, 1999).
In several regions, the generalist teacher in primary schools is often
inadequately or inappropriately prepared to teach physical education.
Respondents in African, Asian and Caribbean countries as well as Canada
and the United States highlight shortages of qualified physical education
specialist teachers.
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State and Status of Physical Education
Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE)
In many countries, the adequacy of teacher preparation for physical
education is arguable and initial training presents a problem even in
developed countries. In Australia, for example, the physical education
component in teacher training programmes varies from zero to 100 hours for
those students, who choose all of the physical education-related electives. It
is, however, safe to assume that students graduating from Universities as
primary school teachers would have received an average of 26 hours of
physical education course work. Such deficiencies appear to be paralleled in
England and there are similar tendencies in New Zealand. In the Canadian
Provinces of Alberta, Newfoundland and Ontario, new curriculum
developments are not being addressed in teacher education courses (Luke,
1999).
Findings show that there are considerable variations in time allocated to
PETE within both primary and secondary teacher preparation. Remarkable,
however, is the number of hours of PETE provided in some countries, which
are as low as eight hours with just 20-30 hours in total not being unusual.
This confirms a trend identified in the literature and highlights the insufficiency
of the time allocated to PETE in some countries for newly qualified teachers
to teach physical education in schools. Another discernible feature in the
survey is that the time allocated to physical education teacher education is
greater for secondary level than for primary teachers, the number of hours for
the former being almost double that for the latter.
Table 9: In-service Training for Physical Education: Regional Variations
Region/Country
Inservice Training
(%)
Global
74
Africa
67
North America
89
United States
91
Canada
50
Latin/Central America
63
Asia
67
Europe
72
Western Europe
76
Northern Europe
40
Southern Europe
88
Central/Eastern Europe
77
Middle East
73
Oceania
56
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International Sports Studies, vol. 23, no. 1/2, 2001
Regarding the professional development of teachers involved in physical
education teaching at the global level, close to three-quarters (74%) of
countries' respondents indicated a need for such developments. With regard
to regional variations, all continental regions had a majority of respondents
indicating a need for INSET training ranging from 56 per cent (Oceania) to 91
per cent (United States), (see Table 9). Ostensibly, North America has a
noticeably higher percentage (89%) of responses indicating a need for inservice training. This percentage indicator, however, may not provide an
accurate picture of the overall North American situation because of the far
higher proportion of United States' respondents than Canadian, which may
well have statistically skewed the continental region figure. At a sub-regional
level, within Europe, there is a marked variation between Scandinavia (40%)
and Southern Europe (88%) of respondents making such a claim.
In New Zealand, in-service and resource materials have been minimal
and have been exacerbated by a marked decline in physical education
advisory service numbers. The service, which peaked in the 1950s with eighty
advisors was reduced to twenty by 1982 and to nine by 1996 in the 1980s
and 1990s (Stothart, 1997) and is reminiscent of developments in England
and Scotland. In England, 'In-service training for teachers is sketchy because
financial constraints, inspections and other priorities affect the local
authorities' supporting role for physical education' (Oxley, 1998: 57) and in
Scotland, where in the last decade Visiting specialists have virtually
disappeared from primary schools . . ., the advisory service has been
decimated and there are insufficient people in powerful positions to tackle the
issue of the watering down of physical education in the primary
school" (Gowrie, 1998: 16).
Physical Education Curriculum Issues and Trends
Several commentators (see Griffey 1987; Janzen, 1995) have referred to
inadequacies in the quality of and lack of meaningful experiences in physical
education delivered in schools. Testimony to the regional persistence of the
quality physical education debate, are commentaries from Africa, England
and the United States. On the African continent, physical education
curriculum development and syllabus content are said to lag behind other
subjects and the great majority of programmes from elementary school
through to university are 'inadequate and haphazard' (Ajisafe, 1997: 24). In
England, a frequent observer of school practice decries 'the lack of
meaningful activity in the physical education lesson . . . [with] . . . primary
school pupils standing or sitting around during gymnastic sessions, but more
so in games of rounders and cricket', where there 'has been an odd cartwheel
in the outfield, a little karate in the covers and daisy-chain making in the
queue to bat, but very few children could catch, throw or strike a small ball
effectively' (Oxley, 1998: 56). In the United States, The "poor" and
"unacceptable" programs that speckle our country' result in school systems
contemplating 'reductions in time and number of programmes' (Fifer, 1999:
xx).
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State and Status of Physical Education
Another relevant and meaningful curriculum issue is that of competitive
sport. There are reports of predominantly games/sport competition-based
curricula in many parts of the world, which suggest that a 'performance
discourse' appears to prevail over a 'participation discourse'. It is a discourse
that is not generally readily welcomed. Whilst there remains a broad-spread
pre-disposition towards games and development of sports skills in the
physical education curriculum, there are signs that its purpose and function
are being redefined to accommodate other and/or broader educational
outcomes. In this connection and to some extent contrary to the perceived
emphasis on competitive sport in Australia, it would be perhaps ill-conceived
to give the impression that the criticisms of the over-emphasis on competitive
sport wholly represent the Australian situation. In the aftermath of the 1992
Senate Inquiry, the State and Territory Departments have variously attempted
to reform the physical education curriculum through a range of curriculum
initiatives. It is too early to make judgements on any of the various initiatives,
but whilst there are reservations about the continuing competitive sport
orientation, there is an indication, in Queensland at least, that physical
education may have 'turned the corner'. There are developments elsewhere
in the world similar to these recent Australian initiatives with physical and
health education curricula undergoing change. Following the revelations on
effects of inadequate levels of exercise in the United States' Surgeon
General's Report (1996), several States (such as Indiana, Michigan and
Minnesota) have embarked upon fitness-oriented physical education
curricula. Generally in Canada, there is a trend in syllabus content to
programmes focusing on active life skills for active living movement and
personal/social development (Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec).
The impact of educational reform on the physical education curriculum
was addressed and according to 85 per cent of respondents there has been
an impact of change. There appear to be only minor regional variations;
however, it is worth noting that the higher proportion of respondents indicating
influence of educational reform on physical education curricula is greater in
developed regions of the world, for example, North America, Oceania
(particularly Australia) and Europe. As portrayed above, the main impact on
physical education curricula, emanating from educational reform, is the shift
towards a greater health focus. In several countries, this is reflected in
physical education's integration with health education. A further nineteen per
cent of respondents indicated that pedagogical changes had taken place,
frequently equating with replacement of out-dated teaching methods with
more up to date and advanced teaching methods. One example of this is the
changes in both Australia and now South Africa to outcome-based curricula.
In spite of the recent physical education curriculum-related
developments reported earlier, the survey's findings still reveal strong
tendency orientations to outside school agencies and competitive sport
dominance. It remains to be seen whether curriculum developments and
other reform initiatives will help physical educators justifiably to claim a higher
status for physical education, worthy of improved time allocations, adequate
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International Sports Studies, vol. 23, no. 1/2, 2001
personnel, financial and material resources and hence, obtain a secure future
for the subject in schools. The nature and quality of delivery of the physical
education curriculum is fundamentally important to the future of the subject.
Concluding Comments
The survey formed the basis for establishing that there is cause for
considerable disquiet about the situation of physical education in schools
across the world. Moreover, notwithstanding the difficulties and problems of
collecting, interpreting and reporting on data from such a broad sample and
wide range of sources, there are a number of disconcerting common trends
and issues. The survey points to inadequate watching briefs on what is
happening (or not as the case may be) in physical education in many
countries and also highlights the need for more and better quality baseline
data in each country. Arguably, the data collated from individual responses to
the worldwide audit questionnaire instrument and documentation surveyed
may provide a distorted global picture of physical education in schools.
However, whilst there are many examples of positively implemented
programmes and good practices in physical education in most, if not all,
countries of the world, both in schools and in physical education teacher
education preparation, equally, idealistic and sometimes politically inspired
rhetoric can, and does, mask the truth. Actual implementation of policy into
practice exposes the realities of situations. Whatever the situation, there are
clearly common concerns. At the very least in many countries, physical
education is suffering from decreasing curriculum time allocation, budgetary
controls with inadequate financial, material and personnel resources as well
as low subject status and esteem. It occupies a tenuous place in the school
curriculum, is not accepted on par with seemingly superior academic subjects
concerned with developing a child's intellect and is marginalised and
undervalued by authorities. The survey suggests that there is fairly
widespread scepticism about the future for school physical education with
close to a third (31%) of the countries' respondents of the view that the future
of physical education is less than optimistic and, in some instances, that
physical education may cease to exist in schools in the near future. In
countries with polarised levels of developed economies such as the Papua
New Guinea and the United States, there are pessimistic warnings of the
future sustainability of school physical education.
A number of options are available to help resolve some of the global,
regional and national problems and so sustain a positive future for this
essential curriculum subject. Whatever the directions for possible solutions,
the emphasis has to be action-orientated - there is little point in 'fiddling' whilst
physical education 'burns'. An immediate imperative is the enhancement of the
quality of physical education programmes in schools. A longer-term resolution
to help overcome the problems is concerted international action to safeguard
the fundamental human right to physical education articulated in the 1978
UNESCO Charter of Physical Education and Sport. Encouragingly, there are
positive indications that such action is beginning to occur through co84
State and Status of Physical Education
operative initiatives within the international community (see Hardman, 1999a;
1999b). The November 1999 Berlin Physical Education Summit concluded
with an agreed Berlin Agenda Action for Government Ministers and an Appeal
to the General Conference of UNESCO; an Advocacy Action Agenda has
been prepared. Post-Berlin lobbying at the MINEPS III meeting in Uruguay in
late November-early December 1999 brought an immediate positive
response, which clearly places physical education on the world political
agenda. Intergovernmental agencies in general but national/provincial/state
governments or local boards with specific responsibilities for physical education
in schools in particular should, indeed must, now act to sustain and enhance a
future for physical education. This top-down approach, however, is in itself
insufficient. International action has to be complemented by, and inter-related
with, a range of other actions to assist in persuading decision-makers,
significant authorities such as head-teachers, other subject colleagues and
parents as well the immediate and longer term 'beneficiaries' of quality
physical education programmes, namely children in schools, of the
educational authenticity and intrinsic and extrinsic values of physical
education. Institutional agencies with specific responsibility for the
implementation of quality programmes should take corrective action to
reverse the declining trend and facilitate co-operation between all vestedinterested sectors to establish and/or strengthen partnerships in support of
physical education and to create an environment where it is valued. At
national level, multi-sector support should be mobilised to lobby for clear
government statements of policy to foster inclusion in physical education,
help reduce threats to physical education and procure a secure future for the
subject in the school curriculum. The messages from research and good
practice have to be widely disseminated, interpreted and applied in specific
national and local situations. Professional and academic journals, other
publications and national, regional and multiple local media channels (radio,
television and newspapers) have an important role here in fostering public
relations' exercises in all community settings and in promoting involvement of
organisations within the community to embrace partnerships of vested
interest groups from the full range of social institutions. Schools are a prime
institutional agency with considerable potential to significantly influence the
lives of young people and physical education can play a vital role in shaping
positive attitudes towards habitual physical in out-of-school and post-school
settings. Thus, given the pivotal role of schools in empowering young people
in physical activity participation experiences, developments should emanate
from schools but should be linked with local and wider community services.
The worldwide survey of the state and status of physical education in
schools has highlighted the danger signals, which are evidently clear for all to
see. The extent of future compliance with UNESCO's advocacy statement by
governmental and non-governmental agencies and so accord with the tenet
of physical education as a fundamental human right will be one future test of
whether its profound message has been delivered, understood and acted
upon.
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