The future of physical education (PE), its demise or triumph, has been predicted periodically over the last four decades based on pedagogical practices and trends within the physical and educational cultures and the influence of technology, youth culture and governmental policy on PE. Currently, at least in the U.S., the future of PE in K-12 education seems perilous and in need of reform. The purpose of this paper was to conduct a metanalysis of physical education and cultural literature in order to posit the probable and possible future of PE based on history, culture and current trends. Inspired by the concepts of cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1984, 1986; Prieur, Savage, & Flemmen, 2023) and the id2 of PE (Kirk, 2010), the researcher conducted a metanalysis of the institutionalized, objectified and embodied cultural states of educational stakeholders, i.e., academic, youth, physical, sport, and community/governmental cultures. Emergent cultural themes were applied to current and past id2 of PE in order to predict the possible and probable futures of PE. After clarifying the concepts of cultural capital and id2 of PE, this study synthesized various cultural consumptions of current academic, youth, physical, sport and community/governmental cultures in the US and similar western countries and applied them to PE. Probable and possible futures were narrated, which included, but not limited to, using technology within PE, outsourcing PE to private companies, revamping PE from the stakeholders’ cultural perspectives and remediating secondary PE to elective only status. Recommendations for future research provided.

Authors:
Matthew Grant, Valdosta State University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Matthew A. Grant is currently an Associate Professor of Teacher Education at Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA, USA.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

Bookmark