Unit 11 Flashcards
(40 cards)
What’s the problem with girls and physical activity?
Girls are less active than boys in physical education classes and in general.
School-aged children are not as active as they should be and physical activity decreases with age.
The decrease for girls is more pronounced than for boys.
What country was late with regards to physical activity?
Canada
The US and Great Britain already had physical education programs in their schools, and sports and games were part of the curriculum.
Why was Canada late in regards to physical activity?
• A religious education focused on the mind and the soul. Meaning the body was pushed aside. Not concerned with the development of the body.
• The first educational act in 1807 concerned itself with grammar.
• Teaching was not regarded as a noble profession.
• Individual communities had the responsibility to erect a schoolhouse and pay for the teacher. If the community had limited funds, there would be no school.
When physical education appeared in Canadian schools around the 1840s the focus was on _________
Drills
Why was phys ed in Canada based on drills?
- The reason for the use of drills was that the first teachers were military veterans, Canada was in a period of approaching or close- to-passed warfare, it was cost effective (little to no equipment).
- In this sense, the goal of physical education was to instill discipline in students.
- Referred to as military gymnastics.
- Led to the popular thought that “Children who drill, are seldom ill.”
Why was phys ed male oriented?
- Even if the first published textbook for physical education in 1886 showcased exercises for girls, education towards women received half the funding.
- Remember, drills were linked to the military, and the military was a masculine sphere.
What implementation started the idea of fitness for all?
The implementation of Bill C-131 in 1961 and later Pierre-Elliot Trudeau’s decision to hire a consultant to assess Canada’s overall fitness leading to the implementation of ParticipACTION
What’s participACTION?
A not-for-profit communication agency to promote fitness in Canada, so to make fitness more visible and increase awareness.
What happened after the implementation in Canada?
- We start seeing fitness and movement skills in physical education classes.
- As of the 1970s, with the growing interest in sports, physical education curricula around Canada begin teaching sports at the high school level – which is what we have today.
Why are boys and girls divided into separate groups?
- Gender beliefs, biological differences
- PE classes for boys were aimed at developing abilities and skills to strengthen them and prepare them to support society through labor.
- PE classes for girls were aimed at preparing them for childbearing and motherhood. We also saw less participation due to less availability.
What did the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms do for phys ed?
No longer could individuals be excluded based on gender from participation in any educational program.
Dramatic increase in female sport participation and the beginning of co-ed physical education.
What is the persistent issue even if sport participation is increased?
- The divide still remains in physical education classes.
- Girls’ own perception of their physical education class and the negative experiences they have within them is a big explanation of the low levels of physical activity.
How can girls be motivated in phys ed?
It is shown that in order for individuals to be motivated to engage in an activity, they must associate some level
of value or importance to the task and believe that they can achieve some measure of success.
What are the low perceptions of value that girls report having?
- They do not associate some type of value to the task or activity.
- The perceived cost seems too high for the attainment value (doing well). (Attain a goal)
- The utility value (usefulness outside of class)
- The intrinsic value*** (feelings of enjoyment) (is it fun?)
What are the low ability beliefs or feelings of competence (feeling successful) that girls report having?
Our everyday behaviour is guided by the notion of demonstrating competence or avoiding incompetence. We find physical competence as an important indication of status in school.
True or false: research points the presence of gender stereotypes at an early age?
True
Parents dictate activities for their child before they start school. If the gender dichotomy is “respected” boys and girls will continue seeing certain activities as strictly “feminine” or “masculine”.
What is a persistent issue with the fitness testing?
- While fitness testing is still a viable way to teach and evaluate skills, the issue lies in the expectations of genders.
- For example, at age 6, both boys and girls are expected to do 2 pull-ups. Pull-up expectations for boys increases yearly to reach a requisite of 13 pull-ups by age 17. For girls, at age 7, 2 pull-ups. Age 8, 2 pull-ups…age 14, 2 pull-ups. Age 15…1 pull-up (because they expect girls to stop fitness).
- As for running, at age 10, boys are expected to run a 1.5km in 7:57min. Girls are expected to run the same distance in 9:19min. And expectations decrease as they age.
What is a persistent issue with social construction of the female body?
- At the high school level, physicality, or what someone should look like, is highly influenced by social media.
- There is still a belief of the presence of a “perfect female (or male) physique.” That image is constantly pushed out into social media feeds.
- While these images show women in gyms, they are still shown either holding very light weights or with no weights at all (compared to men), pushing the idea of a slim and small figure over a skilled and powerful one.
- These socially constructed bodily meanings highly influence engagement in physical activity, or at least which activities.
- Girls viewed physical education as irrelevant to achieving a desired body shape or size.
What is the real issue with phys ed?
- The structure needs to be reworked – the curriculum
- To this day, Physical Education curricula has as its top aim “the promotion of health and fitness and living a healthy lifestyle.” Which is the desired outcome of physical education.
- To this day, the majority of time spent in the gymnasium is on movement skills and sports.
- As for extracurricular sport…it’s all about winning.
What are the several reasons we see a reducing of physical education classes in schools?
• Lack of government and school board support.
• School administrators who do not value physical education
• Lack of accountability measures to monitor whether physical education is being implemented
• Significant focus on academics in high school
• Low staff interest and support
• Limited parent and community support
• No monitoring of application of education programs (my experience as a PE instructor)
What is the issue with power and performance sports in phys ed?
- The issue with power and performance sports in phys. ed is that is caters to certain male students which creates issues of marginalization. Equated with hegemonic masculinity.
- Power and performance sports are often offered when the teacher shows a lack of variety. Grab a stick and away we go.
- These sports-based curricula are a problem as, as seen, they exclude and disengage the majority of girls but also boys who lack the interest or skills in mainstream and dominant sports.
What is the Models-Based Practice?
- Founded on the principle of placing learners’ needs at the centre of all pedagogical decisions.
- The goal is to see who you are dealing with and then tailoring the system to their needs. It displays the fact that all children are different and, therefore, require various needs.
What is the ultimate goal for physical activity?
- Creating physically literate children.
- Physical literacy is the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities.
- Someone who is physically literate moves with competence and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities.
- Someone who is physically literate also finds enjoyment in physical activity and continues to apply their knowledge, finds motivation and includes physical activity in their daily behavior as they age.
What is intergenerational inequity?
Future generations will be negatively impacted by the environment-related activities of the current generation.
