Physical education down under: Fusion or confusion

Abstract

At the International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance (ICHPER-SD) Conference held in Wellington in October 2006, the authors presented a keynote titled: Physical Education Down Under: Fusion or Confusion. This presentation was somewhat unusual as it took the form of a three act play. The story line was based around a final year teacher education student (Digger) who had a passion for physical education – doing it, studying it and wanting to teach it. In the first two scenes the story evolved around Digger planning for an in-class assessment – a 10 minute presentation on an issue relating to physical education and/or sport (in school). Digger was a dogmatic character who relished the opportunity to engage in arguments with his lecturers and fellow students about matters to do with physical edcuation. Although a ‘novice’ this helped him develop a good understanding about the purpose of physical education and its place in the school curriculum. The setting for the third scene was a lecture room at the university where the students were to give their presentations. To ensure the students took this task seriously, the Professor made it a competition. The prize for the student with the best presentation was a trip to the ICHPER-SD conference. Five minutes into the scene Digger was asked to step forward to deliever his presentation to the Professor and ‘Lady PENZ’. It was titled ‘Food for Thought’.