Abstract
The implementation of quality physical education (PE) inspires and instils lasting, healthy behavioral patterns, hence having the potential as an educational tool to teach values in today’s society. The goal of PE should be to contribute to the acceptance of the infinite qualities of the Republic South Africa’s (RSA) diversity and to claim the RSA’s diversity as a source of strength, that forms a universal bond of a common set of values. There has been a global change in the interaction of children with their environment; their lives are shaped by forces that do not necessarily assist them to learn and apply values. In most countries today, the responsibility for developing values is assigned to schools' informal teaching settings. Values-based education offers an investment in individual and societal improvement through implementation of a values framework. This qualitative research aimed to develop a PE program aligned with the current South African curriculum, enriched with values of Olympism and Ubuntuism, and to present PE teacher training workshops (TTW). Participatory action research was used as the basis determining how data were collected, analyzed, and presented on an ongoing, cyclical basis. Ten intermediate phase PE teachers from five different schools in the Tshwane District of the RSA participated, as they could respond best to the research questions and enhance understanding of the phenomenon under study. The TTW assisted in building and supporting PE pedagogical knowledge as teachers critically reflected on the diversity and inclusivity of their PE class context. An examination of the wide variety of teaching strategies, specifically those used during teachable moments, which were employed throughout this research, could be linked to the clarification of the values of Olympism and Ubuntuism. This thesis developed material for the intermediate phase PE curriculum that underpins the values of Olympism and Ubuntuism as core values that were modeled by teachers and guided their work. The outcomes are envisaged as using PE as a tool to teach values and proposing recommendations to the Department of Basic Education of the RSA, to improve and implement a quality PE curriculum that is applicable to practice and that will optimize the chances of meeting the South African National Curriculum Statement standards. A PE program with the aim of holistic development, based on the values of Olympism and iv Ubuntuism, can strive to ensure that the values set out in the RSA's constitution are part of PE organization, planning, and teaching at every South African school. KEYWORDS: Intermediate Phase / Olympism/Physical Education / Teacher Education / Ubuntuism / Values-Based Education.
Ph.D. (Education)