TY - JOUR
T1 - The post 16 gap
T2 - How do young people conceptualise PE? An exploration of the barriers to participation in physical education, physical activity and sport in senior school pupils
AU - Cowley, Joe G.
AU - McIntosh, Ian
AU - Kiely, John
AU - Collins, Dave J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.
PY - 2021/12/1
Y1 - 2021/12/1
N2 - Previous studies have identified several key barriers to Physical Education, Physical activity and Sport (PEPAS). However, there is a paucity of qualitative evidence investigating why young people do and do not participate in PA and the relationship between their levels of participation at different stages of life. This study builds on a previous study and aims to investigate the barriers to PEPAS in adolescents at transition stage. The extant literature highlights that instilling regular PA throughout life strongly relies on developing physical literacy through participation in high quality physical education. Despite the understanding of the importance of high quality physical education, there is an over emphasis on the short term outcomes of physical education (PE) sessions which have been noted to overemphasise immediate physical activity rather than focus on educational outcomes important to physical literacy. Anecdotally, the recent Covid 19 Global pandemic and subsequent lockdown has resulted in a digitalisation of PE in schools and a subsequent reliance of PA programmes based on adult fitness classes, which may not necessarily be categorised as PE in its true sense. Twenty-four respondents aged 16-19 were divided into five focus groups. Data were analysed verbatim using NVivo following the guidelines by Braun and Clark (2006) on thematic analysis. The findings indicated that most respondents equated PE with team sports. Findings suggest that Physical Educators need to acknowledge how past and present experience of PE impacts young people's future motivation to continue PA beyond school. Delivery of traditional PE lessons, prioritising sporting ability, can act as a participation barrier to pupils who consider themselves "non-sporty". Accordingly, a shift towards inclusive pedagogical models with an emphasis on a holistic approach, may best promote the physical literacy necessary for the competence and confidence to continue movement in a lifelong capacity.
AB - Previous studies have identified several key barriers to Physical Education, Physical activity and Sport (PEPAS). However, there is a paucity of qualitative evidence investigating why young people do and do not participate in PA and the relationship between their levels of participation at different stages of life. This study builds on a previous study and aims to investigate the barriers to PEPAS in adolescents at transition stage. The extant literature highlights that instilling regular PA throughout life strongly relies on developing physical literacy through participation in high quality physical education. Despite the understanding of the importance of high quality physical education, there is an over emphasis on the short term outcomes of physical education (PE) sessions which have been noted to overemphasise immediate physical activity rather than focus on educational outcomes important to physical literacy. Anecdotally, the recent Covid 19 Global pandemic and subsequent lockdown has resulted in a digitalisation of PE in schools and a subsequent reliance of PA programmes based on adult fitness classes, which may not necessarily be categorised as PE in its true sense. Twenty-four respondents aged 16-19 were divided into five focus groups. Data were analysed verbatim using NVivo following the guidelines by Braun and Clark (2006) on thematic analysis. The findings indicated that most respondents equated PE with team sports. Findings suggest that Physical Educators need to acknowledge how past and present experience of PE impacts young people's future motivation to continue PA beyond school. Delivery of traditional PE lessons, prioritising sporting ability, can act as a participation barrier to pupils who consider themselves "non-sporty". Accordingly, a shift towards inclusive pedagogical models with an emphasis on a holistic approach, may best promote the physical literacy necessary for the competence and confidence to continue movement in a lifelong capacity.
KW - barriers to participation
KW - inactivity
KW - past experience
KW - physical activity
KW - physical education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85110320479&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1515/ijamh-2021-0003
DO - 10.1515/ijamh-2021-0003
M3 - Review article
C2 - 34187138
AN - SCOPUS:85110320479
SN - 0334-0139
VL - 33
SP - 313
EP - 321
JO - International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health
JF - International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health
IS - 6
ER -