Models Based PE: Sport Literacy - Education in, through, about, and for sport

In my PhD, I looked at a hybrid model of Sport Education + Tactical Model + Youth Sport Development for sport teaching in physical education which I called Sport Literacy. I have outlined Sport Literacy as a concept in a previous blog here and in a series of published papers easily available via a Google search, so I won't elaborate again on the idea in this blog. I sometimes get asked, what is the starting point to developing Sport Literacy in a PE program? So the purpose of this blog is to look a little at that.

Firstly, I see the development of Sport Literacy progressing from Game Sense or Game Intelligence (education in movement: games and sport) broadening out into a focus on education through, about and for movement as students progress through the curriculum from fundamental movement skill attainment to applications of movement ability (specialised movement skills) to the transfer of those skills, capabilities and understandings into active participation in movement culture 'throughout life'. (Figure 1).

That does not mean that holistic education in, through, about, and for movement are not always present in physical education in this model, as they are. I am suggesting a layering of emphasis along a developmental continuum providing coherent complexity progression - necessary for learning otherwise we get participation and performance in PE but not learning (Figure 2).

To be clear, I am not suggesting physical education is sport. I am recognising that sport is and should be one of the movement focus areas of physical education. Sport is a valued and appealing form of physical and social activity for many in many countries, imbued with symbolic meaning and a sense of a common community experience that exists as a shared understanding of what is the routine and everyday lived occurrences. I agree with Evans (2003) that unless great attention is given to the education aspects of sport by situating sport as a site of education and learning, rather than it being merely a means of providing physical activity provision,sport in physical education is unlikely to impact on the abilities that students both bring to physical education and derive from physical education.I am persuaded by the argument of many that the 'traditional' or 'common' physical education curriculum model, described as the multi-activity 'come and try' model built on only sufficient time to provide a movement experience or showcase of existing ability needs to be replaced if physical education is to be of educative relevance and value in schools rather than continually having to 'fight' and 'justify' its existence (Crum, 1983; Locke, 1992; Siedentop, 1994; Kirk, 2010). Launder (2001) observed that short units of work within the multi-activity curriculum plan limit the time students engage with content, which can result in a progressive and accumulated lack of readiness to engage with new or more complex motor skills and conceptual knowledge. Similarly, O‘Connor (2006) suggested that because of the multi-activity design model physical education is inadvertently skewed towards rewarding the already athletic and capable students who have largely developed their skill and knowledge outside school, and who thrive at the expense of less skilled students. The consequence Kirk (2005) indicated is that secondary school physical education programs in traditional form have been ineffective in promoting lifelong participation in physical activity and movement cultures/communities of practice (like sport). Physical education implicitly if not deliberately becomes a site only capable of talent identification rather than learning. The Sport Literacy model is my attempt to provide an alternate vision to the multi-activity model for sport teaching in physical education. I share some ideas on how to put that vision pragmatically into practice in the two resources covering Foundation/Kindergarten to Grade 10 games then sport teaching in physical education: Play with Purpose: For Fundamental Movement Skills Teaching from ACHPER(SA) here and Play with Purpose: Game Sense to Sport Literacy from ACHPER National here