Defining Physical Education: The Social Construction of a School Subject in Postwar Britain

Between the end of the Second World War and the present time, ideas about British Physical Education were created, and became established as orthodoxies and conventions. This book is about the forming of these ideas. It is also about the relationship between these ideas and beliefs more widely circulated in society, concerning the value and uses of sport and Physical Education in schools. It also examines the influence of these notions in the public debate about Physical Education which preceded the 1987 General Election.