Research
has shown that many primary teachers lack confidence in physical education,
perceive that they do not have the skills to teach physical education well and
that often physical education lessons are cancelled prioritising other
curriculum areas (Hardman and Marshall, 2000; Caldecott, Warburton and Waring, 2006).
Yet in Forest Gate Primary the school has succeeded in establishing a new
curriculum which is being embraced by generalist teachers and physical
education specialists alike, those with plenty of confidence in their ability
and those who describe themselves as definitely not sporty. The community of teachers
is increasing in size as the programme continues to spread across the school
with years 4, 5 and 6 embracing the approach. What factors have influenced the
sustainability of the programme? Why have teachers across the spectrum of age,
experience, confidence and seniority bought into this particular curriculum
innovation?
This chapter
presents the story of how a community of practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991) formed
to introduce Sport Education to year 5 in an English Midlands primary school in
2000 and became an ingrained and integrated part of the upper school experience
for pupils and teachers alike. The story
outlines the fluid nature of a teaching community in a busy primary school with
staff leaving and joining the Sport Education teacher group and the growth of
the community as the initiative expanded to other year groups. The analysis
considers what features particular to Sport Education have been influential in
the sustainability of this curricular initiative where others may flounder and
lose momentum. In particular we consider the impact of Sport Education on the
professional lives of the teachers involved; the extent to which the teachers
‘bought into’ Sport Education and what impact they thought it had on their
pupils’ lives; and the extent to which these teachers took ownership of the
programme, adapted it to the needs of their own pupils and integrated it with
the ethos of the school.