American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance - AAHPERD

 Issue: September 2008

Three Examples of Kinesiology in Physical Education: Why, How, and for Whom?
Lawrence F. Locke

Abstract:
This article examines three distinctly different approaches to the task of helping public school teachers inject conceptual content into their physical education lessons. The first strategy is the production of a textbook prepared by one or several individuals. Such books typically espouse the desirability of including conceptual content, describe the curriculum that would result, report on field trials of that curriculum, and offer both unit and lesson plans as models. The example used here is the 1981 text written by Hal Lawson and Judy Placek. The second approach is the production of a series of resource monographs under the auspices of a professional organization. Such publications typically are written by individual specialists and are organized around distinct areas of scholarship. The example used here is the Basic Stuff series prepared by NASPE and published by AAHPERD in 1981 and 1987. The third alternative is to make physical education at the secondary level an examinable subject (where written subject matter examinations are used to determine eligibility for graduation). The example used here is the A-Level examination system employed for physical education in England and Wales. The strengths and limitations of each approach are noted, and the article concludes by questioning the value and practicality of curriculum alignment.

Article category: Curriculum Alignment of K-12 Physical Education and Kinesiology-Part 2