The Relationship between Scientific Approach to Curriculum Development in Education and Theory of Movement Education in the United States

Abstract

In recent years, the status of physical education in schools has declined in many countries. Behind such phenomena, it would be easily found the influence of worldwide education reform. Therefore, it is also easily supposed that in the near future the value and status of Physical Education in schools should be reexamined. What kind of theoretical background could one show to overcome such situation? One of the key problem to be solved would be curriculum problem as shown in Berlin Agenda. What kind of contents of P. E. could one show? From history of movement education, one could get the good suggestion on this problem.Movement education is one of the most popular concept in P. E. in schools in English culture, but not so popular in Japan. It's originally taken in the United States as a new concept of P. E. curricula in schools instead of the idea ‘education through the physical’.Based on the effort of Brown and Cassidy, one of the most influential persons, it was spreading the 1960's.In this study, focused on the Brown and Cassidy's original text ‘Theory in Physical Education -A Guide to Program Change-’ (1963), it would be tried to make clear the relationship between scientific approach to curriculum development in education and movement education and also characteristics of movement education concept in comparison with the idea ‘through the physical’.As the result of this study, following points would be suggested;a) Based on the Bruner's theory of structure of subject matter theory in education, curriculum of P. E. has constructed as a discipline centered curriculum. As the result, they have characterized the subject P. E., as the subject to teach art and science of human movement.b) In objectives of P. E., they have emphasized understanding and cognition of the knowledge in the field of human movement studies.c) They have abandoned multi discipline system in P. E. and shown human movement as the common content of P. E.In these sense, movement education of Brown and Cassidy should be highly evaluated as the theory which has shown the reason of the need of the subject P. E. in the curriculum theory level.