PEL & the History of School PE

From simple to the complex

If we want to understand how PEL relates to school PE, we need to look at the history of school PE over the last 150 years. This is important because school PE has never been a fixed entity: it has always been evolving and developing from its simple and straightforward beginnings to the more complex subject area we now see.

The evolution of physical education

Becoming School PE: From the Simple to the Complex

PT: Physical Training

PE was initially called PT (Physical Training), and it was introduced into schools in the late 19th century because of concerns about the health and fitness of the military. PT was relatively simple because it involved children copying movement sequences performed by their teachers: it was a regimented and drill-like experience.

Multi-activity PE

As the 20th century progressed, however, efforts to make PE more educational were made through an approach that focused on short blocks of activities like games, gymnastics, dance and others. This was called the multi-activity approach and it was initially well-received, but by the end of the century, concerns were being raised about its one-size-fits-all nature, narrow focus on the physical and the fact that it tended to exclude many children. Calls for change became common.

Models & Approaches

In the 21st century, school PE is changing and going through a period of some turbulence. While the PE profession makes efforts to extend the educational nature of PE by introducing more holistic and inclusive approaches like Sport Education; Physical Literacy and Meaningful PE, governments are increasingly focussing on accountability measures. We now see the high-stakes national assessments in the senior secondary years concentrate on physical performance, particularly sport performance. In addition, school PE is now part of an open market and the subject area is increasingly being outsourced so that different stakeholders like sports coaches and others now teach school PE.

PEL

So, as the school PE landscape becomes more varied school PE is becoming disconnected and messy. Concerns are being raised about a lack of common purpose, shared vision and collective identity. School PE is becoming more complex and more ambiguous. It is within this tangled web that we introduce PEL. As we discuss elsewhere across the website, PEL offers the opportunity to reframe school PE as the ‘connective catalyst’ for the lifelong and life-wide PEL journeys of every child and young person.

PE is for Life