Assessing the Role of Head Teachers in Improving Physical Education in Primary School. Case Study of Primary Schools in Ibadan
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
The importance of physical education has never been more emphasized than it is right now. Physical education (PE) and sport are widely acknowledged to be significant and important in developing a dynamic and healthy lifestyle, as well as the solution to rising obesity rates worldwide. Physical education as a discipline can be traced back to Greek history to 2500BC. Although it was known as Physical Training (P.T), the goal was to develop an individual into a man of virtue who would be loyal to the state authority. According to Adelekan (2003), the National Policy on Education (1981) stated that secondary school education in Nigeria was intended to prepare children for useful living within society. This type of education is provided to children over the age of eleven. As a result, secondary education was divided into two segments: junior secondary and senior secondary schools. The junior secondary is expected to be both academic and pre-vocational, whereas the senior secondary is expected to be quite comprehensive, with a variety of fields such as academic, vocational, technical, and teacher training. The two were each running a three-year program and were expected to meet the following conditions: providing students with a desire for achievement and self-improvement at school and later in life, preparing students to face modern challenges of science and technology, and ensuring that the curriculum compensates for differences in talents, opportunities, and roles possessed by students after the program. To achieve the aforementioned goals, the government designated the junior secondary school as pre-vocational and academic, with physical education as one of the subjects expected to be taught at the junior secondary school level. However, physical education in most secondary schools has been hampered by a number of factors that continue to impede the subject’s development. This is because many people do not understand what physical education entails. There have been misconceptions about the term physical education, and many people do not recognize its importance to humanity because the subject is not widely regarded as important. According to Ajala, Amusa, and Sohi (2001), physical education is an important component of education that contributes to the overall educational program, including the development of health, physical welfare, and recreation. Despite the fact that it is not a new field, physical education continues to be defined in a variety of ways. Alla and Ajibua (2012) defined physical education as the educational process that focuses on physical activities that help to develop and maintain the human body. The achievement of its goals is heavily reliant on the leadership’s accountability for its direction. He also mentioned how many countries have utilized it to train their young. Akintunde and Ogundairo (2002) defined physical education as the phase of the educational process concerned with the development and use of the individual’s voluntary intentional movement skills, which is directly linked to mental, emotional, social, and physical reactions. According to this definition, the school program of physical education consists of a specialized learning environment characterized by many planned conditions and stimuli specifically intended to induce or provide opportunities for physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and other beneficial responses through which the student may become changed, modified, or educated in desirable ways as approved by the school board. As a consequence, physical education has come to be recognized as an important educational experience in which all pupils/students must participate on a regular basis throughout their primary, secondary, and higher education programs. Physical education, according to Ojo (2015), is a systematic instruction in sports, training, practice, gymnastics, exercises, and cleanliness provided as part of a school or college curriculum. The study, practice, and enjoyment of the art and science of human movement is referred to as physical education (Hardman, 2002). Physical Education is a subject in the curriculum that incorporates cognitive, emotional, and psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration environment (Kirui, 2007). From the above, it is clear that physical education as a topic is critical to a child’s entire development and, as such, deserves a prominent position in the school curriculum. It is important to highlight that Physical Education cannot be taught in the abstract since it is a practical topic; children and students must be encouraged to engage in the practical because this is the only way the subject’s effect can be felt. Pupils and students, for example, cannot be invited to participate in exercises or play games in the classroom. There must be a gymnasium, laboratory, or field where various workouts or sports activities may be performed. According to Umedum and Onyiliogwu (1986), standard facilities are required for participation and excellent performance in Physical Education and sports activities at all levels. According to Onifade (1995), the provision of qualitative and quantitative facilities is essential for the success of any Physical Education and Sports program. According to Bucher and Krotee (2002), facilities should be designed and built with the future in mind. Too frequently, buildings are built and then outgrow their usefulness in a relatively short period of time. Most of the amenities built in our secondary schools are very tough to enlarge or swap. According to Igbanugo (2004), athletes have been known to drop out or miss training because facilities and equipment are either non-existent or insufficient. In their opinions, Kirui, Etich, Langat, and Rop (2014) stated that physical education is frequently faced with the challenge of inadequate facilities and poor maintenance of teaching sites. It is also important to note that adequate funding is a pre-requisite factor; procuring the necessary sports facilities and equipment costs a lot of money. Adequate funds must be produced if Physical Education instruction is to be successful. According to Igbanugo (1986), funds must be produced owing to the expensive expense of buying equipment, constructing facilities, maintaining them, and recruiting personnel. She established the following funding sources: student game fees collected from each student attending a sport-raising luncheon or dinner, donations, and so on. External sources include mercantile houses and companies, benefactors, endowment funds in the form of alumni sports and fundraising events, and parent teacher associations. The problem of people is another critical aspect to consider. Owen (1981) proposed that since children are the primary focus of the school in the educational process, the efficiency and effectiveness of the working personnel in performing their responsibilities has a significant impact. According to Morgan and Hansen (2008) and Ojo (2015), one of the teacher-related obstacles in teaching Physical Education is a lack of training. Indeed, if current knowledge in physical education and sport is to be regarded as strategically essential, efforts must be undertaken on a regular basis to educate physical education instructors. According to Ojo (2015) and Nhamo and Muswazi (2014), one of the main flaws of the school Physical Education syllabus is that it is a hybrid of a teacher’s handbook and a teaching syllabus, making it difficult to understand, implement, and evaluate. Only competent, highly educated, and highly motivated Physical Education instructors who have received curriculum development training can understand and comprehend the syllabus.
1.1 Statement of research problem
Physical education has been characterized as an essential component of education that promotes a healthy lifestyle. It indicates that the significance and relevance of this topic cannot be overstated, and that efforts must be taken to ensure that it is taught correctly in schools. In other words, physical education instruction must be successful. As a topic that is both theoretical and practical in character, it must be given a prominent position in the educational curriculum. However, it seems that this issue is not receiving the attention it deserves in Oyo State’s Ibadan North Local Government Area. Physical Education seems to have been demoted to the point that pupils hardly discuss it. The excitement that should accompany participation in Physical Education seems to be waning. As a result, the researcher performed this study to investigate the barriers to successful Physical Education instruction in Junior Secondary Schools in Oyo State’s Ibadan North Local Government Area.
1.2 Objectives of the study
The primary objective of the study is as follows
- To find out if there is physical education in the curriculum of primary schools in Ibadan
- To examine the role physical education plays in the educational pursuit of primary school pupils
- to find out if there are equipment for physical education in primary schools in Ibadan
- To examine the role head teachers play in improving physical education in primary schools
1.3 Research hypothesis
H01: head teachers do not play a role in improving physical education in primary schools
H02: there is no physical education in the curriculum of primary schools in Ibadan
1.4 Significance of the study
The significance of this study cannot be underestimated as:
l This study will examine The Role Of Head Teachers In Improving Physical Education In Primary School. Case Study Of Primary Schools In Ibadan
l The findings of this research work will undoubtedly provide the much needed information to government organizations, ministry of education and academia.
1.5 Scope of the study
This study will examine Assessing The Role Of Head Teachers In Improving Physical Education In Primary School. Case Study Of Primary Schools In Ibadan. Hence selected primary schools in Ibadan north local government will be used as a case study
1.6 Limitations of the study
This study was constrained by a number of factors which are as follows:
just like any other research, ranging from unavailability of needed accurate materials on the topic under study, inability to get data
Financial constraint , was faced by the researcher ,in getting relevant materials and in printing and collation of questionnaires
Time factor: time factor pose another constraint since having to shuttle between writing of the research and also engaging in other academic work making it uneasy for the researcher
1.7 Operational definition of terms
Role: an actor’s part in a play, film, etc.
Head teacher: a teacher who is in charge of a school
Physical education: instruction in physical exercise and games, especially in schools.
