Citation

Hickey C, Jin A. Asia Pac. J. Health Sport Phys. Educ. 2010; 1(1): 19-26.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/18377122.2010.9730322

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Among the many changes occurring across Chinese society in the early phase of Y2K is the construction and implementation of a new physical education (PE) curriculum. Not unlike recent changes in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, this process has seen a heightening of the emphasis on health. Presented within a wider framework for making the school curriculum more relevant, PE is more closely aligned with China's emerging population health concerns around lifestyle practices of its youth. Foremost here are burgeoning social anxieties about decreased levels of physical activity, poor dietary practices, risk-taking tendencies, and a general shift in focus from ideology to skills. This paper reports on a study undertaken to explore the perceptions of Chinese PE teachers and their engagement with the new PE low professional status, lack of resources, lack of training and the grip of deeply rooted cultural values.