The Situation of Physical Education in Schools: A European Perspective

Barriers to Providing Quality Physical Education in Primary Schools in Ghana

“…First, the perceived barrier identified by most of the teachers was lack of resources such as teacher's guide/manual. This finding is consistent with previous studies on barriers to teaching PE in Africa [11] and Ghana [21]. A similar percentage (62%) of kindergarten teachers in Ghana also identified lack of resources as a major barrier to teaching movement and physical activity [21].…”

“…Finally, professional qualification influenced teachers' views of the importance of PE as a school subject. This finding is consistent with the research that PE is a marginalized subject [11,15]. Participants with a Bachelor's degree were more likely than those with a Post-Secondary Certificate -A‖ to perceive more barriers in teaching PE.…”

“…This is inconsistent with a previous study [21] that found no significant gender differences in kindergarten teachers' perceptions of barriers to teaching movement and physical activity. The sport-oriented nature of the primary PE [11] curriculum may explain the tendency for male teachers to focus on sports, rather than instructional PE. Consequently, they would more likely perceive issues relating to the regular PE class as barriers.…”

“…School PE can play a vital role in achieving the recommended amounts of physical activity. However, in a global survey of the situation of PE in schools, [11] observed that the sports dominated nature of PE in many countries runs counter to achieving this goal. Furthermore, research indicates that most children do not accrue sufficient amounts of moderate to vigorous physical activity [12,13].…”

“…The Ministry of Education Science and Sports (MOESS, 2007) noted the role PE can play towards academic work and the improvement of the general health of the community [14]. Some scholars and researchers have lamented that the early years are important for developing fundamental motor skills that, in turn, contribute to the optimal development of physical capacities, yet only 60% of African countries actually implemented their PE programs in accordance with policy [11]. In Ghana, for example, successive governments have not demonstrated total commitment to PE as a school subject [15].…”