Investigating the implementation of Life Orientation learning outcome 3: physical education in the FET phase in rural schools

M.Ed.Despite the proven benefits of activity, people today are living sedentary lifestyles, resulting in a decline in the general health of the population. At the World Summit on Physical Education held in 1999 in Berlin, international delegates presented research evidence on the benefits of Physical Education (PE) and its important role in developing healthy, active children. However, the assumption that the ineffective implementation of PE in many of the schools in the past compromised the value of the subject and its status was lost. PE was a subject in need of review. Change was essential in order to ensure that the holistic benefits of PE were realised and that the knowledge, skills and values necessary to encourage lifetime physical activity participation were developed. In the new democratic South Africa, the need to establish curriculum principles founded on the fundamental values of the Constitution was essential for the growth of individuals, communities and the country as a whole. Although these principles are considered across the curriculum, the development and implementation of a new Learning Area (LA) known as Life Orientation ensured these principles were also entrenched in a specific programme. Of particular interest was the positioning of the PE outcome in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase. As a PE specialist who believes in the value and worth of PE, especially in its new guise within Life Orientation, the researcher noted, with concern, the apparent lack of commitment in many schools to uplift the state and status of this vitally important outcome within Life Orientation. Although the new curriculum was only implemented in Grade 10 in 2006, Grade 11 in 2007 and came into effect in Grade 12 in 2008, there were already noticeable gaps developing between policy and practice in some of the schools in South Africa. This study gave the researcher the opportunity to investigate the implementation of the PE outcome in the FET phase in rural schools in Mpumalanga Province where the gap between policy and practice had already been expressed.There were many implementation problems identified by the findings. The lack of the teachers’ relevant knowledge, skills and experience, the poor support received from the district and the schools, insufficient teaching and learning material, the almost non-existent facilities and equipment available and the large class sizes all contributed to implementation difficulties. A comprehensive picture of the many inter-dependent aspects affecting the implementation of PE programmes was acquired. The research conducted gave the researcher the framework to establish both the current level of implementation and the ideal level of implementation to which the schools could aspire