부산대학교 도서관

The purpose of this article was to describe current curricular practices and issues in elementary and secondary physical education (PE) in the United States (US) and discusses desirable reform directions for K-12 PE to be supported as a relevant subject within school cultures. Since the 1990s, the area of PE has adopted the concept of standards based on the longstanding tradition of a localized curricular approach. The nature of broad PE standards allowed for local flexibility and teacher autonomy while it also has resulted in a number of disparate standards-based programs across states and local school districts. System-wide change for the school PE curriculum is needed to secure credibility as an independent school subject. The introduction of a standardized national curriculum, however, does not seem advisable in the socioeconomically, culturally, and locally diverse US’ learning context. It could prompt diverse ideological issues such as divisions among racial/ethnic groups and among socioeconomic classes, the resistance and anti-sentiment of local entities to change, and a hegemony of legitimate knowledge. Curriculum reform for school PE would have to be initiated in a light touch manner for the current standards-based model, but not total standardization for curricula.