The usefulness of physical education cannot be overlooked due to the changing face of modern education. Approaches to Physical education have gone through several developments. Varied criticism adds to the debate on the usefulness of PE in modern education and the need to change current approaches.
Regardless of these varying opinions, the significance of PE is largely ignored by researchers, professionals, educationists, and government officials. This indicates the need to focus the debate on the meaning of PE to modern education.
Obesity is a major challenge to students (Hedley, Ogden, Johnson, Carroll, Curtin and Flegal, 2004). Medical experts have called on governments to institute measures to compulsorily incorporate BMI tests as a means of curbing obesity and other weight related problems amongst school going children (Nihiser, Lee, Wechsler, McKenna, Odom, Reinold , Thompson and Grummer-Strawn, 2007).
However, harmonizing BMI tests and a school’s physical education is a major problem. Since BMI scores have major implications on the school’s competitiveness, schools have been found to use other means to manipulate students BMI scores. Additionally, the validity and legitimacy of BMI tests to identify a student’s status in terms of healthy body mass is a matter of intense debate amongst experts (McDonald 2011).
With regard to the place of physical education in modern education, McDonald (2011) argues that neo-liberalism seems to impose its self pervasively and as such influences how physical education is perceived within modern education institutions. Many schools are increasingly outsourcing physical education from private providers.
While this is aimed at maximizing benefits, the economic outcomes expected from privatizing PE outplay the effectiveness of PE programs. Such privatization, which turns PE into an economic activity, amounts to de-professionalizing of this valuable learning activity.
Additionally, private providers modify physical education activities and put emphasis on PE tests, rather than the physical activity, as a PE enhancing activity. McDonald (2011) suggests that the solution to this problem is for “PE to jump out of the water”.
Ennis (2011) argues on the need for balanced approach with regards to PE. Ennis (2011) asserts that a balanced approach to PE implies a variety of physical activities. Research reveals that active participation in PE requires students to attain competence in a number of motor skills, which include “throwing, kicking and jumping” (Ennis 2011). Competence in these skills makes a student more vigorous.
As such, PE should involve throwing; kicking and jumping as a way of helping students manage weight. Focusing on the physical elements of PE ignores the link between physical activity and enhanced brain performance, which in turn leads to improved academic performance.
Jewett et al (1995) define curriculum in terms of self empowerment. Curriculum should empower a student to attain a “social, political, and personal as well as economic satisfaction” (Jewett et al., 1995). Jewett et al (1995) state that empowerment is a personal drive and not imposed by others.
As such, curriculum is an active “transaction that facilitates the teaching learning process” (Jewett et al., 1995). This practical aspect of curriculum is otherwise referred to as praxis. Curriculum is perceived as praxis since it is not timeless.
Jewett et al (1995) argues that the curriculum is experiential and as such, a teacher’s educational beliefs and value orientations have a direct relationship with curriculum implementation. A teacher’s values largely influence the teacher’s educational attitudes; what the teacher believes the students ought to learn, how the student ought to participate in the learning process as well as the assessment criteria.
There are five basic value orientations which determine a teacher’s educational beliefs. The masterly of the discipline refers to the teachers knowledge on what ought to be taught at a given time. For instance, masterly of discipline means that knowledge is progressively complex and as such basic concepts ought to be mastered before complicated concepts are introduced.
As such, in PE physical skills ought to be taught first before swimming, athletics and other PE disciplines are introduced. The learning process also influences teacher education beliefs since a teacher knows that the students also ought to be empowered to make decisions about learning. As such students are active participants in deciding what type of activities they want to participate in during PE.
Thirdly, self actualization helps the teacher understand that education should be student oriented. The curriculum should be organized such that it helps student to self actualize and as such combines PE and other elements of education to improve a student’s self esteem. Fourthly, teachers’ awareness of social responsibility and justice enables them to develop currlucm that enforces cooperative learning.
In this case the curriculum is developed to bridge the gap created by race, religion and gender among factors. Finally, the advocacy of ecological integration function of education means that teachers develop a curriculum which enables student to foster equality and equity. This implies that a teacher develops learning activities that encourages student to subordinate personal needs to group needs. As such, group sports are encouraged.
While Jewett et al (1995) suggest teacher’s values as the underling influence in PE research, historical research reveals other existing and sometimes conflicting paradigms. Initially, sports education research focused on what happened in the gym. But with time this approach was criticized as too limited as it only focused on the behavior of the students and teachers.
This gave rise to the process-product model, a concept that was later criticized as too positivist in nature. The process-product paradigm lays focus on training the sports teacher. In the 1980s attempts were made to separate sports curriculum and pedagogical research. This ushered the hermeneutic paradigm, a period in which sports research was mainly conducted through qualitative analysis of existing literature.
This paradigm has been criticized as too theoretical and thus lacks practical applicability. Additionally, the socialization paradigm, a perspective that underscores socialization as a major factor that influences research on the teacher rather than on teaching physical education, emerged.
Despite the fact that the socialization paradigm has been largely criticized and downplayed, it has nevertheless contributed to the sports pedagogy paradigm. In the recent past however, the behavioral as well as socialization approach seems to dominate research in PE.
With regards to socialization research, the current research focuses on how teachers exploit information as a resource towards the enforcement of a sports curriculum. Similarly, current research seems also to focus on behavioral approach, an area under which training the teacher to acquire the most appropriate behavior has gained prominence (Bain, 1992).
The variance in paradigm and issues surrounding PE curriculum imply that there needs to be an all inclusive debate on the place of PE in modern schooling. All the concerns evident from the literature analyzed are vital towards the enhancement of a useful PE curriculum.
Reference List
Bain, L. (1992). Researching sports pedagogy. In Williams, T. (ed) Sport and PE. London: EAFM Press.
Ennis, E. d. (2003). Using curriculum to enhance students learning. In Silverman, S (ed) student learning and physical education: applying research to education institutions. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Ennis, E. D. (2011). Physical education curriculum priorities: evidence for education and skillfulness. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Hedley A., Ogden C., Johnson C., Carroll M., Curtin L. and Flegal K. (2004). Prevalence of overweight and obesity among U.S. children, adolescents, and adults: 1999- 2002. JAMA.291(23).
Jewett et al (1995). The curriculum process in physical education. Dubuque, IA: WCB Brown & Benchmark Publishers.
Macdonald, D. (2011). Like a fish in water: physical education policy and practice in the era of neoliberal globalization. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Nihiser, A., Lee S., Wechsler, H., McKenna, M., Odom, E., Reinold C, Thompson, D. and Grummer-Strawn, L. (2007). Body mass index measurement in schools. Journal of School Health. Web.