Physical education and school sport within the post-apartheid educational dispensation of South Africa

Abstract

This study theoretically presupposes that the individual is an integral entity, therefore, education should take place according to the harmonious development of all the facets of a child's being. Even in antiquity, physical education and sport were seen to be important for a balanced education. Every society implements physical education and sport according to own needs and requirements, according certain values to sport, which values are reviewed in this study. A literature study corroborates that the intellectual, physical and social development of the child undoubtedly forms part of the total environment of the educative process. Exclusion of any facet could cause an imbalance in the development of the child. Incorporation of physical education and sport in the post-apartheid educational dispensation of South Africa forms the later part of the investigation. Various factors in South Africa have an influence on the role and place of physical education and sport within the curriculum. Government involvement in sport can determine the place of sport in society and in the curriculum. The readmittance of South Africa into international participation and changes in the political policy also play a role. These factors pose the challenge and facilitate the

possibility to reinstate physical education and sport at schools. The structure of South African sport is undergoing a total change and the role players in the sports fraternity are now faced with numerous challenges and opportunities. Reinstating physical education and sport in the school curriculum serves a vital role in the reconstruction and development of a healthy and well-balanced society. Furthermore, reinstatement could reverse the consequences of social and economic injustices. Research undertaken in Australia, also provides some answers to problems for the South African situation. It proposes new initiatives that could be of help to the relevant role players in the planning of physical education and school sport in the post­ apartheid educational dispensation of South Africa.