Urban School Physical Education Directors' Perceptions of Physical Education

Purpose

While many studies have been done to investigate problems and solutions regarding school physical education (PE) programs, few studies, if any, have tried to understand urban school PE from the perspectives of PE program directors (PEPD). This study was intended to investigate PEPD's perceptions of an urban school PE program so that a more comprehensive understanding of PE programs might be ascertained.

Methods

Participants in this study were 17 PEPD from a large city in the US (5 from elementary schools, 12 from secondary schools) with a minimum of two-years experience in the PEPD position. The ‘Elite' interview (Hertz & Imber, 1995) was used with semistructured questions regarding concerns, problems, and solutions for urban PE programs. All interviews were videotaped and transcribed and a detailed audit trail was used for establishing trustworthiness. Constant comparison technique (Patton, 2002) was used for data analysis.

Analysis/Results

Three major themes were revealed. First, the importance of PE programs in urban school districts was confirmed. The PE programs played an important role in providing a big portion of daily physical activity amount for urban kids and in developing healthy, whole persons, and was an integral part of the urban education system. Second, the major problems with the urban school PE programs were the lack of administrative support, shortage of facilities and equipment, apathetic and unqualified PE teachers, oversize classes, and lack of students' motivation. In addition, a higher prevalence of obesity among urban school kids than those in rural and suburban areas is a serious concern. Third, the urban school PEPD recommend the following solutions to solving the problems: writing grants and raising funds for updating PE equipment and facilities; using community resources to implement PE programs; seeking parental involvement and political support; building new schools; requiring more PE days/weeks; increasing the salaries of PE teachers; raising the bar for accreditation, and hiring of new certified PE teachers.

Conclusions

Perceptions of the PEPD on urban school PE reflect problems that urban school PE faces. Whereas the problems are comprehensive, the urban PEPD recognize the important roles that PE plays and are clear regarding the ways to solve those problems. However, to reform the quality of urban school PE is beyond the current capabilities of PEPD. Given the higher prevalence of obesity among urban school districts, decision makers at higher levels should take steps to solve problems that urban PE programs face.