Gender inequality in physical education lessons : is it a never ending story?

Abstract

Although Physical Education is at times perceived as less important than other academic subjects, in reality it is important for the child due to issues of holistic development. In this research I, as a researcher will be going into schools from each sector and study the effect of gender inequality during the Physical Education lesson. Therefore this study revolves around the Physical Education teacher and the students themselves (form 4 students). This study is involved in 2 local schools from each sector (i.e. state, church and independent). Interview and focus groups were the research tools used to collect data from teachers. On the other hand, questionnaires were used to gather relevant data from students about gender inequality. Questionnaires were handed out to 400 students (form 4), equally divided between female and male students. From this study it shows that gender inequality is still present in our schools, and no matter what kind of school. Another thing that was evident from this study is the fact that although teachers state that they are working towards greater equality, results show that teachers tend to be gender biased. Results also tend to highlight the fact that certain perceptions regarding gender inequality in Physical Education are more popular among male students than among female students. Although people are aware of the negative aspects of gender inequality, Physical Education lessons are still differentiated according to the students' gender.