An analysis of curricular change in physical education

Abstract

Evidence suggests that physical education is not achieving its goal of promoting physical activity in schools. Part of the problem is, in part, due to the lack of curricula that engages high school students in meaningful experiences. Some districts still use the multi-activity model as the only or the predominant model for teaching physical education. The purpose of this study was to examine why selected experienced high school physical education teachers adopted adventure education as a curriculum model or as a methodology. Secondly, we looked at the process through which these physical educators went through when they adopted the adventure education curriculum. In other words, we explored what factors did influence their decision to adopt adventure education. The teacher change model proposed by Ni (2009) was used as a framework to conduct a qualitative interview to explore this curricular change. Four experienced physical education teachers from a large metropolitan area of United States were selected to participate in this project. The following themes emerged: a curriculum that is incomplete; curricular focus on the socioemotional; the student as a motivational factor; developing life skills; administrative support; relationship to a university program; adventure education as an ongoing process; and being self-confident.