Strategies for Building Morality in the Physical Education Classroom

Abstract

Public school is viewed as an optimal setting to enhance a student’s personal and social behaviors. Specifically, the school setting has potential to provide a positive influential environment to develop character (i.e., moral values), such as demonstrating respect, responsibility, honesty and integrity. Even though schools provide the framework to reinforce moral values, students at every level of education (i.e., elementary, middle school, high school) are demonstrating signs of moral decline. Quality integration of moral value structures within the school classroom can be accomplished while addressing standards-based curricular goals. Research interventions on the integration of moral value structures in schools, and specifically physical education, suggest improvements in student moral behavior inside and outside of school settings. Within physical education, moral issues naturally arise. Additionally, one of the major goals of physical education is to address the affective learning domain. The affective domain includes many facets of moral development including, but not limited to, demonstrating integrity, honesty, cooperation and respect. However, research suggests that unless moral development strategies are intentionally addressed, students’ moral maturation process will not likely occur. Thus, the purpose of this article is to inspire K–12 physical education teachers to integrate moral development strategies into their classrooms. Included are strategies to help physical education teachers be moral mentors for their students and develop a moral community in the gymnasium.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christopher Barton Merica

Christopher Barton Merica ([email protected]) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Health and Applied Human Sciences at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC.