The Physical Education Curriculum - Thoughts for Debate on the Aims of a Physical Education Department.

One of the long-standing debates in physical education is about whether the subject has value in its own right, or is best seen as a useful vehicle through which desirable attributes can be acquired, e.g. personal qualities such as perseverance, social skills such as co-operation and cognitive skills such a problem solving. According to Whitehead (2000) the debate is sometime referred to as the means/end issue. Is the subject an end in itself or a means to other ends?

If physical education is advocated worthwhile in its own right the case has to be made for the value of pupils participating in and becoming skillful at a range of physical activities. The focus being on promoting physical development and enhancing physical competence. The recognition of the value of becoming a skillful participant may be easier to promote in respect of some activities than others. Activities that have a high profile nationally (or even globally) and can readily be continued into adult life, e.g. football over gymnastics and activities that relate to personal survival such as swimming are more strongly supported than dance for example. The more likely the support for some activities than others, however, has a ring of using the subject for extrinsic ends which, in the cases cited above, maybe the production of winning national teams and the prevention of accidental death.

What has to be formulated is a case for the value of becoming physically skilled per se. This case will have to take the brave stance of reminding the skeptic that we have physical capacities and potential and that these are fundamental to human existence and integral to human nature. Supporters would need to argue that these attributes and not inferior in the sense that the body/mind split has tended to label the body as of lesser importance. If education is about nurturing all aspects of human potential, the physical has an indisputable place in the enterprise.

If physical education is advocated as a means to achieving other ends, such as personal and social development, teachers of this subject have to face the challenge that other areas of the curriculum can also realize the same ends. If physical education does not bring anything unique to the curriculum and is only contributing to the broad aims of education, it could be argued that it is not time well spent and be consigned to the extra-curricular programme.

There are at least two ways to answer this point. 1) is that the nature of physical education lends itself very clearly to pupils acquiring certain personal and social skills e.g. situations in physical education unequivocally demand team work, challenge pupils to be self-reliant and require pupils to use their imagination. Pupils responses are immediately visible and achievement of any of the above can easily be observed and assessed. 2) is to argue that pupils need a range of contexts in which to acquire attributes such as personal and social skills. Some pupils master these skills more readily in one context than in another. It is undeniable that physical education provides a unique context and many cite examples of certain pupils making signifiant progress as a result of successful engagement in physical education.

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Among those who advocate physical education as of value in its own right, one of two broad aims may be identified as paramount. One aim could be to produce athletes of the highest standard; the other could be to give all pupils the opportunity to improve their movement skills.

Some physical education teachers see their task as enabling those pupils with the most potential in the physical domain to excel. The justification is that every child has particular skills and abilities and it is the responsibility of every teacher to identify and nurture pupils who demonstrate this potential in their subject. Education is about fulfilling potential and physical education teachers should direct their energies toward those pupils for whom physical education is their area of achievement. It is certainly the case that for some young people physical education is the only subject in which they excel and it is through this subject that they develop their self-confidence and self-esteem. An advocate of this view would have to counter the argument that s/he is neglecting a large proportion of the pupils: those not destined to be highly skillful performers. Indeed, it could be claimed that this majority of pupils are those who need the skilled guidance of the teacher more than the naturally gifted pupils. A case could also be made that able athletes can be more than adequately catered for in extracurricular time in local or regional clubs and teams. An elitist approach such as this may also result in a curriculum that is comprised predominately of competitive team games and a situation that allows some pupils to specialize almost exclusively in a limited number of activities. Advocates of this more elitist approach would argue that a focus on high standards and the elite provides inspirational role models for other pupils, and winning school teams can bring prestige to the school and a sense of pride to all in the school community.

Those teachers who advocate entitlement for all would be concerned that every pupil reaches as least a base line level of physical skill through involvement in a wide range of activities. This base line level has been described as 'physical literacy'. Physical literacy endows pupils with a confidence in their ability in physical activity, an understanding of the nature of different physical activities and the knowledge that experience of physical activity is satisfying and rewarding. A physically literate individual is likely to continue to participate in physical activity after leaving school and will not be apprehensive to trying his or her hand at new activities. Critics of this view could argue that physical literacy is too nebulous a concept to serve as an ultimate aim and that the result would be a leveling down of achievement. Furthermore they could point out that many people live fulfilled lives without taking part in any physical activity. They could take the stand that teachers should devote their time and experience to working with able and motivated pupils. Those supporting an inclusive approach would argue that their aim is for every pupil to reach his or her potential, not for all to reach line level of performance.

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Those who see the principal value of physical education in the process would probably share a number of beliefs with those who support an approach aligned to physical education as a 'means to an end', with the experiences of learning in physical education as being the vehicle to achieve desirable general educational aims. Process advocates could claim that the quality of the product is entirely dependent on the quality of the process and that all learning is crucially about making sense of experience. Though working on challenges set in the subject pupils learn to, co-operate, solve problems, create and persevere. Advocates of the process value of physical education would also favor inclusivity in that the aim would be for all pupils to have equal opportunity to have experiences from which they can learn. This learning would include emphasis on the experience of taking part in physical activities. Time would be taken to reflect on all aspects of the processes of planning movement, performance and re-planning in the light of the experience. It would also include an appreciation of personal potential and the setting of realistic personal goals.

It is not difficult to anticipate the criticisms that could be leveled at this aim of learning through the process of engagement in physical education. Those would include claims that the aims were too vague. Opponents could argue that aims such as these would be impossible to control or measure and that every child would be learning something different through and experience. Opponents could also question the disregard for the quality of the outcomes and doubt wether pupils would feel any sense of achievement if no value was placed on the standard of their performance.

For the 'product advocates'  the aim could be high quality performance. As far as possible the quality would be measurable or clearly judged against predetermined criteria. They would argue that success breeds success and that pupils thrive on the knowledge of how well they are preforming. Process advocates could caution against very mechanistic methods of assessment and the demoralising effect of never achieving as well as the most able. A defense for product advocates would be to argue that their approach is one where pupils are competing against themselves, working to improve personal performance, not comparing themselves to others.

Notes taken from a paper by Whitehead (2000)