Abstract
The UK’s coalition government released a
statutory national curriculum in September
2014 that specified the programmes of
study and attainment targets for each
subject in all local authority-maintained
mainstream schools in England (DfE,
2013). The aim of this short article is to
debate the potential impact of the 2014
national curriculum physical education
(NCPE) on the long-term participation in
physical activity as an aspect of the leisure
lifestyles of pupils identified as having
special educational needs (SEN). Positive
early learning experiences in mainstream
PE are supposed to have a significant
impact on the lifelong participation in
physical activity as part of young people’s
leisure lifestyles (Kirk, 2005), including
those with SEN.
While attempts to address lifelong physical
activity as part of people’s leisure often
focuses on young people generally, and
their experiences of PE in particular, the
needs of those with SEN are rarely
considered by government, schools,
service providers or academics. Of course,
differences in national legislation,
education structures, funding mechanisms,
school priorities and conceptualisations of
SEN will influence the PE experiences of
pupils with SEN in other countries
(EADSNE, 2003) and, therefore, future
lifestyles. Particular light is cast in the
direction of the UK’s newest NCPE given
that the position of team games and
competitive sport appears to have been
strengthened, rather than challenged, in
mainstream secondary schools despite
research suggesting that (1) it is more
difficult to meet the needs and capitalise
on the capabilities of pupils with SEN when
these activities are delivered (Fitzgerald,
2005; Morley et al., 2005; Smith, 2004);
and (2) that the traditional, structured and
hierarchical sport-based PE curriculum is
at odds with the lifestyle activities of
adults, which can influence whether young
people carry on participating in physical
activity into adulthood (Wheaton, 2010).
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 196-201 |
Journal | Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 26 Jun 2015 |
Keywords
- Leisure Lifestyles
- Lifelong Physical Activity
- National Curriculum
- Physical Education
- Special Educational Needs.