In the ensuing discussion, an example of how the content of a PE curriculum can be modified to suit the changing needs of girls as they approach womanhood is given. Aspects of the ‘hidden’ curriculum are also revealed as important influences upon the participation level of female adolescents in PE.

Physical educators, parents and politicians alike have become increasingly concerned in recent years by girls’ participation in physical education and sports (Babb & Kirk, 1999). Evidence shows that adolescent girls are far less likely to lead active lifestyles than their contemporary males. Whilst this has obvious physical disadvantages (e.g. increased risk of osteoporosis and coronary heart disease), it can also affect the development of feminine self-confidence and self-esteem. Perhaps the notion of modifying PE curriculum to suit the changing needs of these young women would not have been seriously considered during bygone days of physical training and instruction in schools. However, if we continue to be unsuccessful in our attempts to inspire the majority of female students to participate in physical activity outside school (and beyond their scholastic years), then a review of what we teach must take place.

Over the last thirty years or so, the evolution of Physical Education has been quite dramatic. The concept of physically educating a person has indeed widened to embrace their social, emotional, spiritual, moral, aesthetic and intellectual education. Notwithstanding the complex nature of PE, our central aim should be to educate young women to want to participate in sports for the rest of their adult lives. In this sense, we are trying to attain our utopic vision of physically active females through each phase of their lives. Our responsibility as physical educators weighs heavily on our shoulders, since it is no exaggeration to say that we can positively or negatively influence a young woman’s life-long attitude towards physical activity. Physical education experiences for some adolescent girls can become irrelevant, frustrating, and indeed prevent them from wanting to participate in sports activities beyond school. Whilst unable to wave a magic wand and find the perfect solution to each individual adolescent girl’s physical needs, I believe it is possible to raise the general level of female participation in physical activity through prudent curriculum design.

The distinct gender differences that exist between young adults - particularly from the onset of puberty - warrant serious consideration when developing a physical education programme. Since I began teaching at The International School of Geneva 13 years ago, I have worked extremely hard to develop a curriculum that is non-sexist, co-educational, and also flexible enough to enable female students from 14 years upwards to select physical activities with or without a distinct gender bias. In most schools, a number of adolescent females will be extremely able sportswomen, others will struggle in physical activities, whilst the majority will have levels of ability that fall between these two extremes. However, it is clear that by the age of 14 years (or even earlier in some cases), preferences for certain physical activities are visible. If this issue is not addressed, we run the risk of socialising young women out of physical education. Amongst young women aged 16-24 only one third apparently achieve the recommended amount of moderate intensity physical activity (Hanebro et al, 1997). We need to ask ourselves why this happens, and seek ways in which we can promote young women’s life-long involvement in physical activity.

In the lower years of The International School of Geneva, we consider that boys and girls should have equal access to male-dominated activities such as Soccer and Rugby. We therefore no longer have a gender differentiated PE curriculum, in response to student complaints that we were ‘sexist’ to offer Rugby only to boys, Field Hockey only to girls, and so on. Games and teaching approaches have consequently been adapted to suit a mixed gender environment, and female students seem to feel more included in these formative years.

Our PE programme for students aged 14-16 continues to cater for all physical abilities and gender interests, by providing a selection of activities that will appeal to the sporty and less sporty female. The table below outlines our annual PE programme:

Students must choose one module (A, B or C) for each time period given, to create their individual programmes of PE. Through choice, all students seem to gain a greater sense of ownership, and more importantly, female motivation and attendance have greatly improved since implementing this type of curriculum.

We are able to maintain the girls’ interest, by offering them an alternative to the traditional games-dominated PE curriculum when they reach the age of 14. At this age, it is apparent which girls are successful in team games. An able games player will never pass to a weaker student if they know that she will continually drop the ball and lose possession for their team. These same girls who are less competent games players often really enjoy the more aesthetic, health-related domains of the PE curriculum. This is the philosophy that underpins the PE programme that we offer to adolescent girls at this age. We are also aware that the majority of girls who leave our school do not continue to pursue team activities, opting instead for more recreational and individual sports such as yoga, aerobics and dance. We have to therefore ask ourselves if we should be insisting that these young women participate in traditional team games until the end of their sporting school life. Should we not instead be broadening their experiences to include more ‘feminine’ activities such as yoga, aerobics, and trampoline?

Another element that can adversely affect a young woman’s participation in PE is their clothing. Bodily changes during adolescence can make young women extremely self-conscious about participating in activities clad in figure-hugging PE kit. Many PE departments in UK schools insist that short games skirts must be worn by female adolescents, particularly during outdoor game activities. In other schools, leotards are compulsory for the aesthetic domains of PE such as dance and gymnastics. During the 1970s and 1980s, traditional uniform rules such as these were widely accepted as the norm. However, just as society has changed enormously during the last thirty years, so have the attitudes of our young women. Rules are regularly challenged, and a more sensible and humane approach to PE kit for young women of the 21st century needs to be adopted. It must be preferable to have enthusiastic females participating in tracksuit bottoms and T-shirts, rather than having students come to PE lessons dreading wearing their ‘mini skirts’ in cold temperatures, or refusing to wear leotards that show every bump and bulge. If young women are restricted and embarrassed by archaic PE kit policies, then PE lessons can all too often become a battleground.

Physical Education should be inclusive and facilitate all students in their learning, be they female or male. We should offer equal opportunities at all stages of Physical Education, and choices of activities at later stages in the adolescent’s life. We should consider the repercussions of excluding young women from male-dominated sports, and simultaneously offer them ‘feminine’ alternatives to a traditional games-oriented PE curriculum. Young women’s interests in physical activities are primarily fostered at school level, and we have a responsibility as physical educators to nourish girls’ sporting motivation.

Of course the ways in which girls’ attitudes to PE can be improved are never straightforward. Certainly, there is a need to address current inequities and gaps in provision for young women at school level. Moreover, the dominance of male sporting culture, and stereotypes about appropriate feminine behaviour for women should be recognised and understood. Sports marketing and promotional materials that portray girls and women in a positive way are, of course, essential to contravene this. Nonetheless, teachers also need to raise their expectations of young women, and set certain targets in schools to ensure that gender equity is achieved in PE and the general school environment. ‘Feminising’ PE by offering wider (and perhaps more relevant) choices to them at later stages of their school career may well be one solution to the female ‘drop out’ syndrome in PE. This may subsequently have a positive effect on young women’s attitudes to sports in later life, giving them the basic skills and confidence to become active adults.