Re-engaging Key Stage 4 Pupils in Physical Education:
Alternative sports vs Traditional Sports
Physical Education (PE) is considered to play a key role in enabling all students to enjoy and
succeed in a range of physical activities whilst promoting lifelong physical participation (NCPE,
2007). A high quality PE curriculum can be viewed as a suitable vehicle for the promotion of healthy
and active lifestyles and as Physical Educators we must design a diverse curriculum that will inspire
and prepare students for the future (QCA, 2006). The government has recognised the value PE has
on developing pupils’ awareness and understanding of the importance and desirability of an active
lifestyle both in and out of school (Department of Education and Science and the Welsh Office,
1991a, p.14) The PESSCL Strategy has been devised to enhance pupils physical participation by
2010, offering that all children have access to at least 4 hours of sport every week, comprised of at
least 2 hours high quality PE and sport at school, and the opportunity for at least a further 2-3 hours
beyond the school day. It is therefore vital that secondary school pupils remain engaged in physical
activities in order to foster lifelong activity, however with the reform of the National Curriculum for
Physical Education (NCPE) (2007), is there still a need to explicitly teach traditional sports or can
we integrate alternative and modern sports, such as Ultimate Frisbee into the curriculum to re-engage
students and achieve maximum participation at Key Stage 4 (KS4)?.
Shaping the Future
At KS4, the NCPE (2007) aims to ‘develop students’ competence and confidence to take part
in a range of physical activities’ (p. 199) and emphasises that such opportunities should be embraced
both in and out of school. Beyer (2008) claims that through improving confidence and knowledge,
students will recognise, integrate and maintain an active lifestyle well beyond their school years and
at KS4 this is ultimately what we are preparing students for as stated in the ‘importance of physical
education’ (NCPE 2007, p.199), pupils need to be equipped with the ability to make informed
choices about lifelong activity.
It is important that schools develop an innovative PE curriculum that will motivate students
to become and stay physically active (Beyer, 2008) and it can be argued that the reform of the NCPE
(2007) gives schools greater flexibility to tailor learning to the specific needs of the students,
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therefore is there a need to sustain traditional game play through KS4? Strand and Reeder (1996)
recognise the importance that pupils need to develop and acquire, select and apply skills and use
tactics within the traditional game situations, however this can be delivered during KS3 and
maintained through an extra curricula programme, whilst activities that foster lifelong participation
can be implemented throughout KS4.
When comparing the breadth of study between the NCPE written in 1999 and 2007, it is clear
that there is more flexibility to vary activities in the NCPE 2007. The breadth of study outlined in the
NCPE (1999) clearly outlines the knowledge, skills and understanding for the six areas of activity
and the content is prescribed to what needs to be taught, whilst the range and content for the NCPE
(2007) can be creatively interpreted, for example: 3a outwitting opponents, as in games activities, the
explanatory notes highlight this could be delivered through combat activities, such as judo or karate.
It can be argued that the uptake of such activities beyond school maybe higher than that of netball or
football. Research suggests that there are many reasons that affect participation in physical education
and Biddle (1998) argues that we need to understand the motivation of young people in school
towards physical activity, he suggests that a number of motives exist, including fun, social aspects,
and skill development (Biddle, 1998).
Action Research
This study is aimed to improve pupil learning and participation through the processes of
action research by exploring the idea of embracing the reformed National Curriculum for Physical
Education in order to engage Key Stage 4 pupils through modernised sports and shifting way from
traditional sports. Kemmis and McTaggart (1992) suggest action research is an approach to
improving education by changing it and learning from the consequences of the changes.
Data Collection Techniques
Data has been collected through pupil surveys using year 10 and 11 students from a
mainstream comprehensive school in Ipswich. The aim was to gain an insight into the pupils’
feelings and attitude towards the activities they participate in and how the curriculum could be
structure to encourage them to take up and remain involved lifelong activities.
McKernan (1991) claims that questionnaires are easy to administer and provide factual and
attitudinal information. I decided to use a rating scale and open questions to allow the pupils
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freedom to explain and qualify their responses. Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2000) suggest open
questions invites an honest comment and can elicit broader responses that may not have been
received through closed or multiple choice questions. Cohen et al (2000) propose that ‘open-ended
questions can catch the authenticity, richness, depth of response, honesty and candour, which are
hallmarks of qualitative data’ (p. 255). Time constraints may also cause limitations in responses.
Ethical principles were considered during the planning of my study. The information
gathered was kept confidential and only used in the context of the study. The schools and pupils
have remained anonymous. Validity is difficult to establish through a study of this nature and hard to
define. The project was designed to reliably collect data focused on the content of this study. McNiff
et al (2003) suggest honesty and trust are valuable traits to possess when carrying out action research
to ensure good ethical practice.
Analysis of Results
For the purposes of analysing the results the sports need to be categorised into what is
considered as ‘traditional sports’ and those that will be identified as alternative sports / activities.
This has been done by identifying the sports that have been taught throughout KS3, this would
include football, netball, hockey, rugby, volleyball, basketball, tennis, trampolining, rounders and
badminton, whilst dodgeball, aerobics, dance, gym, gymnastics and swimming will be considered as
alternative sports.
From analysing the results (See Appendix A) there was a high percentage of boys and girls
who do not want to take part in rugby and hockey, although Rugby is only taught to the boys. It is
also important to take into considerations of the schools facilities and specialities of the staff.
It can be seen that 2 out of 28 girls (7%) say they want to take part in netball whilst 15%
claim they do not mind taking part, yet there is a higher percentage of girls who would prefer to take
part in football than netball. Whilst more girls are more willing to take part in football than netball,
there are less girls who said they don’t mind football.
It is clear that football is a strong sport for the boys, whilst basketball and volleyball are less
popular, but pupils have highlighted that they are still willing to take part and this is the same trend
for the girls.
42% of the girls and 48% of the boys stated they would like to be taught dodgeball, 28% of
boys and 17% of girls claimed there were not interested in dodgeball, this shows there is strong
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interest in this activity and would satisfy 3a of the NCPE (2007) where pupils need to be able to
outwit opponents, it also teaches pupils to apply tactics within the game.
Badminton and tennis appear to be popular sports highlighted by both genders, whilst
trampolining is more popular with the girls and satisfies strand 3b of the NCPE (2007) by replicating
actions, phrases and sequences. This could also be achieved when teaching martial arts and learning
combat sequences.
A significant amount of pupils would like to go to the gym and be able to go swimming. This
is offered at the moment to pupils in year 11, however it could be explored during year 10 as well.
Facilities and money may restrict the provision of such activities however. It is important to note that
these two activities were the most popular amongst all of the students surveyed and directly relates to
their motivations for taking part in PE.
The creative activities, such as dance, aerobics and gymnastics showed a gender correlation
in which the girls strongly identified they wanted to or didn’t mind taking part in such activities
whilst the boys clearly showed they did not want to take part.
When analysing the results from the open questions (See Appendix B), 75% of pupils stated
they wanted a choice in the sports and activities which they took part in. There does not appear to be
many pupils who feel there are barriers to their participation or learning, with only four pupils
identifying potential barriers (see Appendix C)
The results show that 49% of pupils do not like taking part in traditional sports, 20% do like
these sports and 31% did not answer. From analysing the reasons for the above statistics, it appears
that many pupils suggest that traditional sports are boring because they have been doing them for so
long. It is apparent that pupils would also like to see different sports on the curriculum such as
boxing, judo, yoga, dance and martial act activities (see Appendix D) It can be argued that these
activities are more recreational activities promoting health and fitness.
Pupils motivations for taking part in PE identify they want to get fit, be healthy, relax and
enjoy themselves. It is important to understand what pupils want to achieve from their PE lessons in
order to plan a successful and diverse PE curriculum.
Discussion of results
The pupil’s surveyed for the purposes of this study were all from the same school and
therefore it is important to take into account the nature of the PE curriculum employed at the school.
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See Appendix A for an overview of the yearly PE Curriculum. Pupils are taught in single sex lessons
at KS4, and the sports covered throughout the year are prescribed by the staff. The delivery of the
curriculum is diverse, (see Appendix E to view the activities that are covered throughout the year)
however there is still a big emphasis upon teaching six to eight week units of work based upon more
traditional sports, for example netball, football and volleyball for the girls and primarily football for
the boys. It is apparent that the boys curriculum differs from the girls, which in some respects is
expected because of the different genders, however there has been integration of dodgeball, squash
and table tennis. From the results of the boy’s survey, this is a welcomed change in which they enjoy
taking part in.
It is evident when analysing the results of the pupil surveys that there are certain sports in
which all of the pupils enjoy taking part in or don’t mind taking part in, for example badminton,
volleyball and basketball and these are activities which they have been taught throughout KS 3 and
4. It is also apparent that there is a gender divide in certain sports and activities such as dance,
trampolining and aerobics where the girls are keen to take part in such activities whilst the boys are
happy to continue playing football and enjoy dodgeball. There appears to be more interest in
alternative sports by the girls and this could be because they have not had the opportunity to take part
in them compared to the boys, where dodgeball is taught on the curriculum.
At KS4 the NCPE (2007) identifies that pupils should get involved in a range of activities, be
able to experience a range of roles within physical activity and take part in school and community
sport. It is therefore important to take into consideration of what motivates the pupils and what they
would like to achieve in the lessons they take part in. It is clear from the surveys carried out, the
pupils view PE as a means to stay fit and healthy. This is a prominent objective identified in the
NCPE (2007) in which pupils should have the opportunity to follow pathways to other activities both
in and beyond school. This is also proven in which most of the pupil’s identified that they would like
to go to a gym or have the opportunity to go swimming. Whilst this may not necessarily be
accessible to all schools due to facility restrictions, it was also identified that pupils would be keen to
be involved in martial arts and aerobics, this could also provide opportunities for student to develop
specialised roles, for example being a performer, coaqch or official (NCPE 2007).
When reviewing the overall comparisons of the sports identified in Appendix A, it can be
seen that the pupils are willing to take part in most of the sports, with the exception of a few. It is
clear from their responses to the question ‘what other sports would you like on your curriculum’ that
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they would like different sports as highlighted in appendix D, however if the pupils had an
opportunity to choose which sports and activities they would like to take part in, it could be argued
their enjoyment and engagement in PE may increase as they have ownership of their learning. It
could also be argued that pupils could identify one sport in which they would like to specialise in
order to reach the highest possible standards in physical activity (NCPE 2007).
Conclusion
It is possible to say that instead of completely overhauling activities delivered in PE, it is
about understanding the motivations of pupils and giving them some responsibility for their own
learning in a structured and managed format. It has been identified in the results from the pupil
questionnaires that boys and girls enjoy different sports, whilst they also have common interests in
others, and it could be argued that PE departments need to take this into consideration, in order to
ensure all pupils enjoy learning and are motivated to achieve their best (Casbon 2006). Casbon
(2006) also argues that the revised programmes of study are designed to provide greater flexibility,
coherence for the curriculum as a whole and increased personalisation for learners. It is particularly
the latter part of this statement in which the conclusions of this essay are drawn towards, whilst
ensuring the key concepts, processes, range and content and curriculum opportunities are confidently
delivered. The flexibility given in the NCPE (2007) gives teachers better opportunities to help pupils
develop a deeper understanding of the key concepts and processes that underpin the subject (Casbon
2006).
To further this study, it would be interesting to take a wider look at PE curriculum’s in different
schools in order to establish a greater understanding for the need to put more emphasis on alternative
sports to promote healthy lifestyles or whether by providing a choice in the activities pupils take part
in is enough to keep them engaged and motivated during KS4 and inspired to continue being active
beyond school.
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Bibliography

Beyer, R. (2008) Restructuring the Secondary Physical Education Curriculum to Meet New
Challenges. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. 79 (9), pp 27 – 32.

Casbon, C. (2006) Moving on with the key stage 3 review. Journal of the Association for
Physical Education. 2 (1), pp 6 – 8.

Cohen, L. and Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2000) Research Methods in Education. 5th ed.
London and New York, Routledge/Falmer.

DfEE/QCA (1999) Physical Education, The National Curriculum for England. London, DfEE
and QCA.

DfEE/QCA (2007) Physical Education, The National Curriculum for England. London, DfEE
and QCA.

Kemmis, S. and McTaggart, R. (1992) Action Research. In: L. Cohen and L. Manion and K.
Morrison (2000) Research Methods in Education. 5th ed. London and New York,
Routledge/Falmer, pp.226-241.

McKernan, J. (1996) Curriculum action research, London, Kogan Press.

McKernan, J. (1991) Non – observational, survey and self report techniques. In: J. McKernan,
(1996) Curriculum action research, London, Kogan Press, pp. 124-140.

McNiff, J. Lomax, P. and Whitehead, J. (2003) You and Your Action Research Project. 2nd ed.
London and New York, Routledge/Falmer

Strand, B. and Reeder, S. (1999) Increasing Physical Activity through Fitness Integration.
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. 67 (3), pp 41 – 46.

QCA (1999) Programme of study for key
www.qca.org.uk/curriculm (Accessed 01/04/09).

QCA (1999) The new secondary curriculum, what has changed and why? (WWW). Available
from: www.qca.org.ukl (Accessed 01/04/09).
stage
4
(WWW).
Available
from:
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Appendix A
Results of Sport Surveys
Girls / Boys
8
Results of the Sporting Preferences for the Boy’s.
25
20
15
10
5
0
foo
voll
do ulti ma aer
gy
bad tra rou
net
hoc Ru
dan
ten
gol gy swi
tbal
eyb b/b dge mat rtia obi
mn
min mp nde
ball
key gby
ce
nis
f
m m
l
all
ball e
l cs
asti
ton olin rs
want to do it
2
14
don't mind
1
5
don't want to do it 22
6
1
4
4
3
12
4
6
5
7
6
12
15
6
10
10
8
17
15
9
7
7
11
9
12
2
2
7
6
5
3
12
13
18
20
6
6
8
8
8
15
15
4
4
8
6
6
13
13
9
4
4
9
25
20
15
10
5
0
foo
voll
dod ulti
aer
gy
bad tra rou
net
hoc Ru
mar
dan
ten
gy swi
tbal
eyb b/b geb mat
obi
mn
min mp nde golf
ball
key gby
tial
ce
nis
m m
l
all
all e
cs
asti
ton olin rs
want to do it
2
8
0
don't mind
15
7
don't want to do it
11
13
6
5
7
12
7
6
10
14
10
8
12
15
9
5
5
14
12
11
12
13
12
23
17
9
7
5
9
9
6
2
17
15
6
5
13
7
10
8
13
7
9
3
11
6
3
6
8
20
8
7
Results of the Sporting Preferences for the Girls
10
Appendix B
Results of Open Questions
11
Responses given for the open ended questions in pupils survey.
Do you like taking part in the traditional sports such as hockey, netball, football? Can you
explain your answer?
49% NO
20% YES
31% Did not answer
Reasons include:
 Boring
 People don’t take part
 Done it for so long
 Don’t enjoy it
 I like change
 Does not interest me
Are there any other activities you would like to see on your PE curriculum?
Activities stated were:
 Paintballing
 Archery
 Horse riding
 Cheerleading
 Martial arts
 Yoga
 Gymnastics
 Dance mats
 Gym
 Swimming
 Judo
 Boxing
 Golf
12
Are there any barriers that might be affecting your participation in PE?
35% NO
7% YES
56% Did not answer
Reasons for barriers:
 Grouping
 Periods
 PE Kit
 Messing about
At year 11, would you prefer a choice of activities that you would be taking part in?
75% YES
3% NO
21% Did not answer
What would you like to get out of your PE lessons?
Answers:
 Enjoyment
 Relax
 Be healthy
 Get fit
 Achieve and learn
 Become happy
13
Appendix C
Specific Responses to identify potential
barriers to participation
14
Are there any barriers that might be affecting your participation in PE?
35% NO
7% YES
56% Did not answer
Reasons for barriers:
 Grouping
 Periods
 PE Kit
 Messing about
15
Appendix D
Specific responses to identify sports that
the pupils would like to have on the PE
curriculum
16
Are there any other activities you would like to see on your PE curriculum?
Activities stated were:
 Paintballing
 Archery
 Horse riding
 Cheerleading
 Martial arts
 Yoga
 Gymnastics
 Dance mats
 Gym
 Swimming
 Judo
 Boxing
 Golf
17
Appendix E
PE curriculum for target school
18
Appendix F
Pupil surveys
19