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Chris Duffin 3756704

Research Essay
What are the barriers, which exclude different social groups during
physical education in secondary schools?
Physical Education is a mandatory subject for secondary schools students up until
year 10, and is taught by qualified physical education teachers. Education in Australia
is to be inclusive of all students and regardless of a students ability; they should
receive equal levels of physical education (Board of Studies New South Wales, 2008).
Physical Education is important as it engages students in the ongoing development of
the knowledge, understanding, skills and values to participate in healthy physical
activity (DEED, 2009, p.8). However, there are groups within secondary schools that
are disadvantaged due to physical, mental and social issues, and are often excluded or
fail to fully participate in class activities. These social groups include disabled
students, overweight or obese students, physically inactive students and those who
may not have fully developed functional motor skills. All these students find physical
education more difficult than those who are regularly active. Physical Education
teachers play an important role in ensuring that classes are structured to meet the
demands of all students, and to ensure high levels of engagement and participation. If
they fail to do this, it can have a significant impact on the students well being, as well
as the overall school culture. This is because students, who are not motivated to be
physically active, are less likely to continue on being active throughout and outside of
school. This can result in an unhealthy culture at the school, and have a negative
impact on the community with less sport and recreational activities participated in by
students.
Equal opportunity in physical education is important to avoid segregation and
isolation of students during classes. Physical Education classes consist of diverse
individuals, who can be disadvantaged due to being perceived as either different or
because they cannot fully participate, such as if they suffer from a disability. In the
US, 95% of students aged 6-21 who were disabled attended regular public schools,
with 80% of those participating in general physical education classes (US
Government Accountability Office, 2010). This demonstrates the strong possibility
that many physical education classes will have a student who is not physically able to
participate fully in classroom activities, potentially presenting a barrier to that student.
That is unless the lesson has been planned appropriately with alternative activities that

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the students can undertake. An example of this was at Point Cook Senior, where a
student had limited use of their legs so was unable to do kicking in a class playing
Australian Rules Football. The teacher encouraged the student to use handballing and
focus on marking so that they were still participating. This was a positive experience
as the student was still engaged and not feeling left out due to his disability.
Gender is another barrier that can influence the exclusion of different social
groups during physical education. Laker (2002), states that gender and ability are
amongst a list of issues, which have the potential to influence the level of
participation in physical education. There is a tendency for females to feel less
included when participating in male dominant sports, such as rugby and football as
well as there is less participation from males when playing female dominant sports
such as netball.
Physical ability is another major influence over participation in physical
education. Students who are considered to have greater physical attributes are more
likely to have positive views of physical education classes, because they are able to be
more involved and find the tasks more achievable than those with less developed
motor skills. Students with less developed motor skills often find themselves being
left out in team discussions, decisions and are often ignored when in a game
environment, rather leaving all organisation and decision making to the more highly
skilled students. This leads to feelings of rejection, being left out and lead to negative
views of not only the other dominant students but also the teacher and physical
activity.
Physical activity has been identified as a key component for the development of
healthy learners (DEECD, 2009). The rise in number of overweight and obese
students in Australia has resulted in a challenge to physical education teachers to
continue promoting a healthy active lifestyle in young adults. It is important physical
education teachers provide classes, which are inclusive of all students and allow for
students of varying levels of fitness to participate. Trout & Graber (2009) described
that overweight and obese students felt socially excluded during physical education,
felt unsupported and that the classes and activities were too physically demanding,
often resulting in repeated failure. This leads to negative views of physical education,
excuses to be exempt from participating and a failure to meet the requirements of the
curriculum. Students who are overweight and obese, often experience similar feelings

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as students who have less ability, due to the perception that they are less competitive
and unable to perform at a high standard. Physical Education classes should have
varied degrees of difficulty to cater for individual differences. An example of this
done successfully was in a Physical Education class observed at Point Cook Senior
Secondary that was doing hurdles during athletics. The teacher set up varying heights
of hurdles so students who felt uncomfortable with their ability to jump over a high
hurdle, were able to use another lane with a lower height. This was a simple alteration
that didnt exclude any student or extend away from the lesson outcomes and resulted
in a successful engaging class.
Inclusion involves educating and meeting the needs of each student. Teaching an
inclusive group involves altering the curriculum and teaching style to ensure that there
is a positive working environment for the students (Kudlacek, 2001). An inclusive
physical education classroom implies that no student is being negatively affected to
allow all students to receive adequate instruction and support (Block & Zeman, 1996).
A key to ensuring positive behaviours in educational settings lies in the attitudes of
teachers, who are important role models and set the standard for the students to follow
(Avramidis & Norwich, 2002).
A teachers attitude involves them exercising certain behaviours based on
personal beliefs, which can be positive or negative (Ajzen, 2005). These attitudes
have the potential to have a significant impact on the culture and morale of a
classroom, and the level of participation from students. Their attitudes also formulate
the relationships that they have with the students. It is important that teachers form
positive relationships with their students, which will also encourage positive peer
relationships. An inclusive classroom will overtime build with good rapport between
peers, as well as between teachers and students.
The impact of exclusion can lead to low levels of self-efficacy, which Bandura (1997)
described as a persons perception of their ability to perform a behavior successfully.
This can lead to strong levels of helplessness, anxiety or depression, resulting in a
negative behaviors in the future such as low levels of motivation or even choosing to
give up. This negative attitude can spread amongst similar groups of students and
affect the school culture, which should be supportive of physical education.
Consequently, this can influence community involvement in local sport and
recreational activities, because students that are having negative experiences at school

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will not be ongoing in extracurricular activities. A positive school environment and

attitude towards physical education, leads to greater community involvement, as when
students get older, they will see physical education as an opportunity, rather than an
inconvenience.
The barriers that restrict social inclusion of groups during physical education classes,
can be overcome through effective classroom management, teaching strategies and
designing classes with a wide arrange of activities of varying requirements of skill
and fitness. An example of this working successfully involved the mixture of genders
and abilities in team based activities such as cricket and handball, more tactical or
thinking based activities to include students who are less skilled, and team building
games that build positive relationships between students. The focus of building
individual strengths and needs into a class is something that will result in stronger
levels of inclusion and participation (Brickner, 1995). By avoiding just mainstream
activities and teaching methods, it exposes a greater range of skills, tactics and
movements, of which some students who had previously felt left out, may feel more
comfortable completing.
There are many different barriers that exclude social groups from full participation
and engagement during physical education classes. Disabled students, overweight and
obese students, as well as gender and ability are all characteristics that have the
potential to have a negative influence on how students view and value physical
education. As such, it is important to consider all students needs and abilities to
create inclusive classroom activities where students feel positive attitudes towards
physical education. This starts from the attitudinal behaviour of the teacher, who plays
a vital role in structuring the lesson, using various teaching strategies and adapting the
curriculum to make it more engaging and inclusive. They must build positive
relationships with students and encourage strong peer relationships to build the moral
of the classroom and to promote a strong culture towards lifelong physical activity. An
inclusive classroom has a flow on effect throughout a secondary school and leads to
wider community involvement and greater participation in sport and recreational
activities over a longer period of time.

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REFERENCES
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Open University Press.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
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Kudlacek, M. (2001). An attitude toward inclusion instrument based on the theory of
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Laker, A. (2002) The Sociology of Sport and Physical Education: An Introductory
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Trout, J., & Graber, K. C. (2009). Perceptions of overweight students concerning their
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U.S. Department of Education, National Centre for Educational Statistics. (2013). The
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