How to Give Sports a Chance to Children Who Are Afraid of Physical Education Lessons at School

For some school-age children, PE is the best lesson of the week – a chance to get away from their desks, go outside and run with their friends. For others, it is often a painful experience – a time when they feel humiliated, embarrassed and may even experience physical pain.

The research have shown that, especially for girls, PE can be a source of stress that leads to missing lessons or even being absent from school altogether.

IN my own researchI spoke to high school students who both liked and disliked PE and found that the idea of ​​competitive sports was a clear source of contention. Those who were good at them didn’t want those who were less talented to “get in their way,” while those who were less talented didn’t want to be forced into competition. They also felt less “liked” by their PE teachers and their more athletic classmates.

Another problem for both boys and girls was ill-fitting and inappropriate clothing and lack of privacy when changing.

But that’s not the end of the game. Just because a child isn’t looking forward to PE doesn’t mean they never will be. Research shows that making a few straightforward changes can make PE lessons enjoyable for most school-age children.

For example, a shift in emphasis away from competitive sports can quickly reduce bullying of less able children. And a shift away from prioritizing participation over excellence can dramatically boost the confidence (and participation rates) of those less able – because what really counts is participation.

If teachers yell at or criticize needy performance, it can damage the confidence of even the most talented players. (I once witnessed a gym teacher aggressively—and without a hint of irony—chastising several boys playing American football for making “schoolboy mistakes.”)

Instead, PE should be about all children enjoying and taking part. If schools value participation over beating other schools, the nature of PE changes. When this approach was tried in one studyThis quickly led to greater engagement and improved student behaviour:

As one student commented:

I actually joined the football team because all the violence disappeared… Before, they were like, “You lost us the game, you son of a bitch, it’s all your fault.” With the recent [approach] it’s more like we’re all there, just trying to get better. No one’s fault. Now’s the time to do it.

Other changes introduced in the study gave students the opportunity to decide what sports were available (why not rock climbing or trampoline, for example?). They also had the opportunity to design PE kit and reorganise the changing rooms.

Get everybody moving

To those who claim that we need competitive sports to “build character,” I would point out that there is simply no evidence to support this view. But what we can build when we allow adolescent people to work together in a spirit of support and cooperation is leadership and mutual understanding.

If we need competitive sports to build our national teams, it should be outside of school. PE is about participation by all – not excellence of the few at the expense of the many.

At home, the most essential thing a parent can do for a child who is struggling with PE is to take their concerns seriously. Avoiding bad PE experiences is completely rational – it is not bad behaviour. However, being physically busy is incredibly essential for children and adolescent people, so how, when and at what level they do it should be their choice first and foremost.

It’s good if there’s an opportunity to take part in activities they enjoy outside of school, such as a family bike trip or a visit to the swimming pool. My research showed that the greater children’s self-confidence during physical activity outside of school, the greater their self-confidence during physical education classes at school.

If PE is still causing stress, communication with the school can be key. Perhaps changing rooms could be improved or dress codes relaxed? Aged-fashioned ideas about PE uniforms should not prevent children from taking part in and enjoying physical activity. There is no reason why a child has to wear shorts or a mini skirt to participate in PE.

PE should be a part of school where students can interact, work together and do the necessary exercises. As it is, children spend far too many hours at school sitting down. The precious little time they have for movement should be spent doing something busy – and something they find fun.