Availability and Conditions of Sports Equipment and Learners’ Participation Levels in Sports in Primary Schools in Katima Mulilo, Namibia

Abstract

Sports equipment and facilities play a vital role in the teaching of Physical Education (PE) and are equally important in developing sports-related skills among learners. The main purpose of this study was to investigate and assess the availability and conditions of sports equipment and facilities in primary schools in Katima Mulilo, in the Zambezi Region of Namibia. An observational study was adopted for this study, where Physical Education school teachers were observed using the available sports equipment in the schools during their PE classes. The targeted population consisted of 10 teachers within 10 respective primary schools. Two questionnaires were administered to collect data on available facilities and equipment. Data was analysed using SPSS statistics software. Based on sports code level of participation, athletics was found to be the most popular activity with 35% of learners taking part. Soccer came in second with 25%. Netball was the third most played sport, with 20% of participants in annually scheduled competitions at regional and national levels. Volleyball was the fourth highest with 10% of learner participation. The lowest four sports codes were boxing at 5%, rugby 3%, gymnastics 1%, and cricket 1%. Sport facilities available in all the schools were all found to be in deplorable conditions. This study therefore concluded that sports equipment and facilities were either unavailable or completely in poor condition in all primary schools under study. So, it is very important to get the right tools and facilities so that physical education and sports can be taught and learned well.