Changing Government, changing attitudes: Shifting policy of competition within the Primary National Curriculum for Physical Education in England.

Broughton, Karen (2022) Changing Government, changing attitudes: Shifting policy of competition within the Primary National Curriculum for Physical Education in England. In: QRSE 2022, 25 - 28 July 2022, Durham University. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Objectives
An analysis of the three successive English primary National Curriculum for Physical Education (NCPE) from 1989, 1999 and 2013 using a Bourdiesian lens to interpret competition policy change.
Methods
Public policy analysis of Primary NCPE documents using a critical discourse analysis, focussing on discourses linked to competition.
Findings and Discussion
Competition has remained a dominant feature of each successive Primary NCPE. Consecutive Governments held similar beliefs around the capital that children gain from competing in sports, e.g., physical and personal skills, and character development. Each Government consistently upheld assumptions that competing promotes honesty and fair play, whilst being an enjoyable learning experience. Nevertheless, PE in the NCPEs diverged, with Conservative Governments connecting it to games, physical activity, and competitive sport, whilst Labour having a strong focus on the games discourse.
Conclusions
Competition has been afforded a privileged position within the NCPE by successive Governments. It has been deployed as a simplistic solution to address a range of concerns, from morals, fairness, to addressing the decline in elite level performance. This one size fits approach does not offer an answer to issues within the subject. Until there is clarity and acceptance over the purpose of the field of PE, the NCPE is unlikely to lose the dominant focus of competitive sport and therefore challenge the unquestioned doxa of competition behind advocating the benefits to all children.

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