Essay on Physical Education Philosophy

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Introduction

To provide a clear context for this assignment, the focus will be on the question “How are the changing values and visions of Physical Education reflected within new curricula?”. To answer this question, there will be a clear outline as to what curriculum is, a view on why it needs to be considered and then will state the importance to Physical Educators, of the need to consider the connections between changing values and visions for PE and the new curricula being developed. This assignment aims to reflect on how curricula are changing and are being used to promote and educate young children on the underlying causes of long-term physical inactivity. Childhood obesity is one of the primary example factors.

Young (2005), states how the importance of health and well-being will eventually be an enormous focus within curricula and supports the need for change. This is underlined by his comment ‘As health promotion initiatives become more integral to mainstream educational practice, I would predict that it will become more and more evident that the factors that produce effective schools from the viewpoint of educational achievement will be essentially the same factors which produce schools which promote health effectively’ this suggests the value and importance of physical education in effective schools.

Physical Education (PE) is now part of a collective alongside physical activity and sport, subsumed by the newly created curriculum area of ‘Health and Wellbeing’ (HWB), (Scottish Government, 2009). The fundamental aim of the Health and Well Being curricula area is to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding, skills, capabilities, and attributes necessary for mental, emotional, social, and physical well-being now and in the future (Scottish Government 2009). Bernstein (1977) has curriculum down as being a key structure in the process of schooling. Whereas Priestly (2019) states curriculum as a “multi-layered social practice, including infrastructures, pedagogy and assessment through which education is structured, enacted and evaluated”. The curriculum is needed for teachers and staff to know what they need to be teaching the pupils within physical education and also to work with the law besides the government guidelines and policies to keep their students abiding by the legislation.

Each curriculum includes its policy as a discourse to provide an opportunity to consider ‘the interplay between policy creation and response’ (Adams, 2011, p59). The ‘policy cycle’ when applied to the development of Physical Education within Health and Well Being, illuminates complex and contextualized policy processes that involve debate, conflict, and a struggle for power identified as the ‘context of influence’, the ‘context of policy text production’ and the ‘context of practice’ (Bowe et al,1992).

Discussion

Physical education is a critical part of a child’s development during their growth from a child into an adult. Not only does it keep them physically active, but it also educates them and gives them endless streams of information on how to stay healthy. Eileen Marchant (2014) discusses how physical education has changed from when it started years ago to where it is now in two entirely different locations, and she proceeds to focus on how it will continually improve. The development of the curricula is vital to keep educators up to date with their teaching. At the end of each stage of education, known as the Key Stages in school (numbers 1-4), the English curriculum has evolved tremendously to now include an evaluation to improve equality, fairness, and inclusion for all teachers and students involved. The English method is viewed by Curtner-Smith (1999) as a ‘top-down approach’ implying that the curriculum is built around the framework of the school and then shown to the teaching practitioners to interpret the curriculum as they feel. Very little instruction is given to teachers about how schools are going to accomplish the program, which may lead to uncertainty about how teachers conform to that curriculum.

The English curriculum does not see physical education as a ‘core subject”. Unlike English and maths. It is referred to as a ‘foundation subject’ and has been made mandatory over the years. This has specifically been put to ensure the physical welfare of all pupils. The English curriculum has been made aware of the lack of training that exists today in PE. The ‘PE and school sports premium’ support, however, is significant and has been extended from 2014 to 2020. This helps both primary and secondary educators to advance their awareness and then display curriculum visions and values to the children of safe active lifestyles.

In his ‘Not a Diet’ book, (James Smith 2020) reflects on how the fitness industry in the UK and Australia has developed itself into a very simplistic ‘one size fits all’ structure that is a failure. He continues to focus on how the system is very one-sided and misinformed. This can lead us humans, to be misled with poor or incorrect information, which often leads to people ignoring the value of maintaining a healthy body, due to this very selfish industry. If you had just one car for the rest of your life, you would have done all you could to take care of it, right? Therefore, why is the human body not seen in the same way? Where is this going? Children, at the beginning of their lives, often encounter physical education being marginalised by the establishment resulting in them ending up being physically unhealthy and another statistic in the category of obese. How does this link to curriculum and physical education? The ‘one size fits all’ system that the fitness industry has developed, can also be found within the educational industry. As the curriculum has changed over the years, ‘one size fits all’ is being replaced with more of an equitable and inclusive framework that can accommodate all children in various areas of their lives. The government and teachers now have more than ever (with the present COVID-19 pandemic) a much greater awareness of the accessibility and ability needs of individuals to participate in physical education. The significance of a stable curriculum for development is enormous.

Curriculum is a key structure in the process of schooling (Bernstein 1977). Curriculum is seen as a glue to hold the teaching department together, then in turn guides them into how they can display their pedagogical skills and pass their knowledge onto the younger generation. Australia uses its curriculum to develop the knowledge, understanding, and skills to enable students to use the information they have been taught. This will then enhance and encourage the pupils to be physically active, healthy human beings. The Australian curriculum has a very unique take on education and is always looking to develop through its visions and values. As a country, they value their physical education as a core subject and have over time developed their structure into two different types; personal, social, and community health being one whilst movement and physical activity being another. Unlike other parts of the world, physical education (PE) is taught within the Key Learning Area of Health and Physical Education (HPE) in Australia. They class Physical education as QPE (quality physical education). QPE is fundamental to improving student learning (Armour et al., 2017). The Australian educational system has adapted, which has allowed them to recently implement a system that allows teachers to view the up-to-date curriculum and see their existing practices, it also allows them to see how they are viewed as practitioners, this keeps not only the curriculum honest but also the people involved in the curriculum too.

The reasoning behind the purpose of the curriculum within Wales is to promote the positivity behind health among children and young people. This then develops children into a growing adult by being “ambitious, capable learners, ready to learn throughout their lives” (Professor Graham Donaldson CB, 2015). The Welsh government uses a curriculum to educate and develop not only the children but also the teachers’ pedagogical skills. This is done by consistent evaluation and change in the curriculum. Through questioning the curriculum, teachers have managed to gain a very good understanding of why the curriculum is needed. Curriculum in Wales has evolved over the years but first came to terms with (Plowden 1967) using the child-centered philosophy. The philosophy by Plowden then was developed in (1988) into the subject rationale of the national curriculum. The reasoning for change between 1967 and 1988 came from the evaluation of the educational inconsistencies. The Welsh curriculum felt there needed to be a better system for children to move through the stages of school which also helped the teachers and staff to have a better understanding of where the children were in terms of their education.

The Welsh curriculum is always being improved and is always looking to improve through the constant assessment by the Welsh government, which listens to the views of teachers, evaluates their guidelines by the government and then develops a sustainable curriculum to meet the needs of children from all environments. Similarly, to England, Wales has teacher training. This gives educators a chance to report their views and seek help from individuals further up the educational system with guidance around the curriculum. To find out why some are different and how they can counteract the problem, Wales also has an evaluation system that evaluates the success of schools and the failure of other schools to then set up a curriculum that will be consistent through their values.

The visions and values of the curriculum are also shown by their goals and what they are seeking to accomplish by having a curriculum. The curriculum is so critical that it provides a basis for those in the education sector to start the teaching process. Because of the diversity of all individual governments, all countries have different curricula. However, on an overall scale, the visions and values remain hugely similar across the board. The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has built a structure for the curriculum and has the same visions and values in all countries. Yes, due to culture, the methodologies of each country are different, but the idea remains the same providing a meaningful education, a meaningful physical education in this case. The OECD idea and framework are in place until 2030 to potentially enable children to be much more educated by then and to have a better understanding of the value of physical education. This gives teachers and educators a lot of time to reflect and adjust their practices between where we are now in 2021 and 2030 before it is reviewed and updated by the OECD.

Between Wales, England, and Australia. The changes made through their curricula are apparent through their constant effort to adapt to the evolving environment. Including this year’s pandemic (COVID-19), each country has had to respond at a very rapid pace, leaving little time to plan. This results in a huge amount of pressure on teachers and the government to ensure a balanced curriculum. The biggest improvement in the curriculum needs to be in online learning. Online learning is a fundamental shift in the way education is delivered, but instead of seeing it as an obstacle, it has become a highly successful way of learning for the majority of students. The exciting part about online learning is that everything is right in front of you. Students would have difficulties studying online. However, it is our job as a practitioner to be a step ahead and to fight against all the obstacles that will come with a unique adjustment.

Conclusion

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”, says former South African President (Nelson Mandela 1990). Although this statement is very true, there are a few limits to this statement. Children, if it is not engaging, are less inclined to listen and take up their education. It underlines the importance of why the curriculum’s values and visions need to be sustainable with an enjoyable education. This then encourages the children to also give them an appreciation of physical education to develop and remain safe as human beings. If students do not want to reap all the benefits of education, they will not be as likely to have an effect in the future. We need to ensure, therefore, that we have an education that facilitates their crucial development through an equitable, equal, and inclusive curriculum.

The value of having a good education, following on from (Mandela 1990), of being able to find meaning in something from an education will end up having a significant impact on your future as an individual. If it can promote your physical health alongside mental health within physical education, this demonstrates how vital a sustainable curriculum is. In my future practice, I’ve found all this stuff. I now have a lot more understanding of how curricula work and how I can use them for the greater benefit of students and the advancement of their education. I will now take into account the use of pedagogy. The user (the learner) is at the forefront of my approach to educating students about the value of physical activity and why meaningful PE plays a major role in their lives.

References

Scottish Government. (2009). Curriculum for excellence: health and wellbeing: experiences and outcomes Glasgow, Learning and Teaching Scotland.
Adams, P. (2011) From ‘ritual’ to ‘mindfulness’: policy and pedagogic positioning. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. 32(1): 57-69.
Department of Health and Social Care: Global Public Health Directorate: Obesity, Food and Nutrition 10800 (2018) Childhood obesity: an action plan, Chapter 2. Available at: https:assets.publishing.service.gov.ukgovernmentuploadssystemuploadsattachment_datafile718903childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action-chapter-2.pdf (Accessed: 241120).
Young, I. (2005). Health promotion in School – a historical perspective. Global Health Promotion 23:112-117.
Bowe, R. Ball, S.J and Gold, A. (1992). Reforming Educational and Changing Schools: case studies in policy sociology. London: Routledge.
Professor Graham Donaldson CB (2015) Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales. Available at: https:dera.ioe.ac.uk221652150225-successful-futures-en_Redacted.pdf (Accessed: 12012021).
James Smith, J. S. (2020) NOT A DIET BOOK. Available at: https:www.jamessmithacademy.com (Accessed: 13012021).
Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world. speech, Madison Park High School, Boston, 23 June 1990; reported in various forms

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Essay on Physical Education Philosophy

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