Concepts of Physical Education in Europe

In spite of the impacts of globalisation and understanding or awareness within international pedagogical communities of contexts of principles and practices in national delivery Systems, there appears to be no ready general consensus of the meaning of the term, the function and range of concepts of physical education. Culturally specific 'local' interpretations are widespread. Thus, degrees of congruence and diversity are juxtaposed in a 'globalisation'/'localisation' debate (Hardman, 1998). The reasons for diversity are not just culturally related because firstly it depends on the definition of the term concept and secondly of the function and structure of physical education as a school subject (see Bain, 1994). Across Europe, concepts of physical education are just as diverse as their terminological definitions: in some countries the English term physical education is translated literally (e.g. Italy, Spain, Portugal); in France the term is l'education physique et sportive; in Sweden it is idrott i hälsa (sport and health) and in Germany it is Sportunterricht (Sports teaching). Taking these terminological divergences into account, it is not wholly surprising that different and various concepts of the subject exist in terms of the curriculum: in strict or liberal regulatory implementation of the physical education curriculum; in general or precise prescriptions for content; in traditional and/or new aims and objectives; in central governmental and/or local school-based concepts; in teacher-or student-centred teaching concepts; in sport or movement-based skill concepts; in process and/or product approaches, and in diverse and sometimes even contradicting concepts of physical education teachertraining.