Journal of Primary Education

Abstract

This paper discusses the state of professional practice in the preparation of physical education teachers. Considered as a marginal subject in the school curriculum, physical education has become a subject that is in danger of being excluded in some European and North American educational systems. In Hong Kong the peripheral status of physical education demonstrates a similar risk and requires a change in the discourse of teacher training to avoid extinction.

This paper will critically examine present sport discourses which have all but replaced the discourse of professional preparation of physical education teachers with a dominant interest in scientism. The paper will suggest that physical education departments have successfully rebuilt their body of knowledge on positivistic science in order to improve the status of physical education as a legitimate academic university course. However, these departments have marginalised professional preparation of physical education teachers in the process. Our paper calls for a rebalancing of the professional preparation of physical education teachers in order that physical education teachers may gain a greater foothold in the curriculum of the primary and secondary school.

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