Exploring Australian secondary physical education teachers’ understanding of physical education in the context of new curriculum familiarisation

ABSTRACT

This paper explores Australian secondary physical education (PE) teachers’ understanding of PE in the context of new curriculum familiarisation. Data was initially collected through online surveys (phase 1), and based on this data, participants were sourced from, and volunteered to be interviewed as part of phase 2 (interviews). The analysis of the phase 2 data highlighted a diverse array of teachers’ views relating to PE that ranged from PE being synonymous with sport and a strong desire to develop habits and patterns of behaviour for long-term physical activity participation in recreational pursuits. Although the multi-activity program model is highly problematised in academic literature, it was found that the multi-activity model is prominent and uncontested in most secondary school PE programs. A conflict between the rhetoric and reality of the educative importance of PE was evident. Therefore, it is argued that there is a gap between the proposition for a curriculum to demonstrate the value of learning ‘about’, ‘through’ and ‘in’ movement, and the ‘everyday practice’ of PE found in schools.

KEYWORDS:

• physical education (PE)
• teachers
• physical activity
• curriculum
• teaching

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Shane Pill, PhD is an associate professor in the School of Education, Flinders University, Australia. His primary areas of research are concerned with pedagogy, particularly in relation to practitioners in the fields of physical education and sport coaching. Shane is a Fellow and Life Member of the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and was recently awarded a Prime Minsters Citation for Outstanding Contribution to University Teaching.

Steven A. Stolz, PhD is a senior lecturer in education from La Trobe University, Australia. He has a diverse array of interests; however, at the moment his current research interests mainly revolve around the application of philosophical ideas in education. Recent publications of note are as follows: The Philosophy of Physical Education: A New Perspective (Routledge), and a forthcoming edited book which he is co-editing titled, Using Theory and Philosophy in Educational Research: Methodological Dialogues (Routledge).

Notes

1 Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.