Date of Award

8-2010

Thesis Type

PhD

Document Type

Thesis

Divisions

Faculty of Education

Institution

Universiti Malaya

Abstract

This qualitative study was aimed at describing and understanding the implementation of the Form One Physical Education curriculum in schools. The focus of the study was on the actual process that occurred in the teaching and learning of Physical Education which involves the planning, delivery and evaluation phases. As concluded by Marsh and Willis (2007), there have been three approaches to research on curriculum implementation namely fidelity of implementation, adaptation and enactment. Due to the nature of the Physical Education curriculum which is complex and dynamic, the adaptation perspective was seen as being the most suitable for the study of its such an implementation in schools. This approach would also enable the study of the role of the teacher in curriculum implementation and the understanding of factors influencing the teacher in adapting the curriculum. The participants of the study were four teachers teaching in the Klang Valley. They were selected based on the criteria of education or training background and teaching experience. Data were collected through observation of the teaching and learning of their Physical Education classes over a period of seven months, interviews with the teachers, and analysis of relevant curriculum documents. During the study, the teachers carried out the teaching and learning of the core aspects of the Physical Education curriculum namely fitness, skills, and sport-related issues. The validity and reliability of the findings were enhanced by the strategies of triangulation, long term observation, member checking, researcher’s bias and audit trail strategies. This study found two main factors which influenced teachers in making adaptations to the curriculum to fulfil the aims and objectives of the curriculum namely infrastructure and equipment. This study also found that there was a wide opportunity to adapt the curriculum because it was not subjected to examinations. This has also influenced the lackadaisical attitude of Physical Education teachers towards their tasks as implementers of the curriculum; on the surface the teachers (according to their lesson plans) seemed to have implemented the teaching and learning according to what was stated in the curriculum documents, but in practice what was written or planned was not carried out. In other words, the official or written curriculum differed from the implemented curriculum and the curriculum experienced by the students. This gap between the official and implemented curriculum was influenced by the teachers’ attitude, interest and conceptions regarding the importance of the Physical Education curriculum and their role related to it. The findings of this study also showed that the curriculum can be effectively implemented by teachers who were not trained in the subject but who were interested and had a strong sense of responsibility towards their role as curriculum implementers in schools. One implication of the findings is that the planning of the Physical Education curriculum must take into account the unique characteristics of the curriculum such as the need for appropriate adaptation when faced with constraints related to infrastructure and equipment. The interest of teachers and students should also be taken into account. Planning that takes into account these factors can ensure the achievement of the noble objectives of the Physical Education curriculum, that is to help students attain fitness through the learning of physical activities and the practice of fitness.

Initial

khm

Additional Information

Thesis (PhD) – Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, 2010.

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