An evidence-based physical education curriculum assessment in the Republic of Korea: Can we respond to students’ voices?

抄録

The purpose of this study was to examine the actual condition of students’ learning in physical education (PE) classes and the effectiveness of the PE curriculum revision in the Republic of Korea (ROK) according to the results of a 2013 survey. Firstly, we considered the backgrounds and the major points of ROK’s national PE curriculum revised in 2007, 2009, and 2015. Secondly, we examined the effectiveness of the revisions using the results of a 2013 survey. The survey used the Learning Career Assess Scale (LCAS; Unno 2011; Unno et al. 2013a). The sample consisted of 507 (7th grade), 451 (9th grade), and 424 (university freshmen) students from all over ROK. ROK has revised its national PE curriculum on an unprecedented scale and prepared to manage the curriculum quality. The survey responses showed significant differences between male and female students in the three dimensions of Learning Product, Learning Attitude, and Teachers’ Instruction. These differences existed at all school stages. Middle school students had the lowest scores for most factors, but we could not identify the cause of the decline of scores in this school stage. As significant differences found in all the dimensions of LCAS, it seems that an issue for PE curriculum management in ROK is how to reduce these differences using evidence concerning the condition of students’ learning in PE class.