Power, control and professional influence: the curious case of Physical Education in Scotland.

Abstract

The policies advanced for physical education in Scottish schools in recent decades have often been influenced by the contrasting stakeholder views of national educational agencies, teacher education institutions and teachers. This article presents in preliminary fashion a historical and contemporary analysis of the major policy interventions and the influences which have characterized their development. We argue that even though physical education has managed to retain its curriculum presence, lack of clarity and consensus on the nature and direction of subject intentions has frequently led to variable progress. What has helped in these circumstances has been physical education’s location as a conduit for various education, health and sport related discussions on achieving policy ambitions. However, further problematic realization of outcomes allied to encroachment from various health and sporting initiatives could mean that the largely fortunate circumstances within which physical education currently operates could change quickly unless identified targets are more clearly met.