|  | ICSSPE News | No.55 January 2009 |
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New ICSSPE Publication |
“Second World-wide Survey of School Physical Education” by Ken Hardman and Joe Marshall ISBN: 978-3-9811179-2-9 Price: 15.95 EURO Physical education is a highly important and indispensable subject in schools today. To date, there have been two World Summits on Physical Education that have raised global awareness of the concerns surrounding physical education and its place within curriculums. The first World Summit was held in 1999 in Berlin, Germany, which led to the Berlin Agenda for Action and the Second Summit was in Magglingen, Switzerland in 2005, where participants committed to supporting the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and endorsed the Magglingen Commitment for Physical Education. The research conducted by Ken Hardman and Joe Marshall was instrumental at both Summits and provided much needed evidence of the situation and status of physical education in different parts of the world. Initiatives that have occurred since then indicate wide-spread political will to positively address the situation of physical education in schools. Evidence suggests that many governments have committed themselves to making provision for physical education; nonetheless, some have been reticent in translating this into action. This publication outlines results of the second World-wide Survey of School Physical Education, which reveal several areas of continuing concern: gaps between policy and practice; physical education curriculum quality and relevance; insufficient curriculum time allocation; perceived inferior subject status; lack of competent qualified and inadequately trained teachers; deficiencies in facilities, equipment and teaching materials and inadequate provision or awareness of pathway links to wider community programs and amenities outside of schools. Despite some improvements in inclusion policy and practice, barriers to equal provision and access opportunities for all still remain. Thus, the overall scenario is one of ‘mixed messages’, of positive initiatives and stabilisation in some countries, juxtaposed with little change or relative decline in other countries and regions. This survey highlights the crucial importance of continuous and systematic monitoring. Ken Hardman and Joe Marshall have always supported the development of physical education as well as ICSSPE’s work through their academic activities and with this second Report they provide the reader once more with data on the progress made and the existing challenges in physical education world-wide. The publication of this new Report is evidence of ICSSPE’s ongoing commitment to provide updated information on the state and status of physical education world-wide, which can serve as a basis for decisions within governments and educational and sports organisations.The publication is available in ICSSPE's bookshop (www.icsspe.org). http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 New ICSSPE Publication