Physical education curriculum reform in China: a perspective from physical education teachers

Background: Among the many changes occurring across Chinese society in the early years of the 21st century has been the construction and implementation of a new national curriculum which includes physical education (PE) as one of the main subject areas. Unlike the old PE curriculum with its sports performance-oriented criteria, the new curriculum puts the emphasis upon health and fitness, which is reflected in the change of name from ‘physical education’ to ‘physical education and health’ (HPE). The concept of the new HPE curriculum challenges many aspects of traditional PE theory and practices, and requires PE teachers to change their professional perspectives and pedagogic approaches. As a result, the curriculum reform progresses with difficulty. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how PE teachers understand, interpret, perceive and respond to the curriculum reform and to identify some key blockers that might prevent PE teachers from actively implementing the new HPE curriculum. Participants: Eighteen primary and secondary school PE teachers participated in the study. They were all full-time teachers with at least ten years' teaching experience. Participants were chosen with a view to establishing a degree of gender balance and providing a diversity of school contexts spanning the different socio-economic strata that exist across the area of China in which the research was conducted. Research design: The research was conducted using a qualitative, case-study research framework. Eighteen practicing PE teachers in a coastal city in the Northeast of China were interviewed. This is one of the designated experimental zones for Chinese curriculum reform. Data collection: Data collection included analysis of government educational reform policies and other curriculum reform documents, as well as a review of the relevant academic literature. Informal talks were held with PE teachers and a series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants. All interviews were audio-taped with the consent of the informants and each interview took approximately 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the interest of the participants and the natural pace with which the interview moved. Data analysis: The key issues and themes were identified from the interview data through a process of coding. The themes emerged from a search for regularities, recurring ideas, experiences and thoughts mentioned and shared by groups of participants. Findings: All eighteen PE teachers expressed their support for the fundamental goal of putting more emphasis upon health promotion in the new HPE curriculum. It is fair to say that the interviewed teachers, viewed as a group, overwhelmingly endorsed the broad direction of the new HPE curriculum. However, the data reveals a number of structural, personal and cultural factors that might prevent PE teachers from actively implementing the new HPE curriculum.