Skiing is a typical winter activity units included in the Physical Education curriculum in Hokkaido which located in northern Japan. Upon examination of the present skiing unit, many problems are evident. It seems that these problems have resulted from the present unit planning which has been constructed and modeled after the alpine skiing unit.
The purpose of this study is to inquire into the possibility of improving the skiing classes by introduce a cross-country skiing unit.
The procedure included (1) the planning of a cross-country skiing unit, (2) instruction based on the planed unit, and (3) comparison between the alpine skiing type unit and the cross-country skiing type unit.
The subjects of this unit were 259 students from Asahikawa Junior High School, and the instructional period was from Feb. to March, 1987.
The results were as follows:
1. In reviewing the present skiing units which prevailed in Physical Education classes, many practical problems were found. These problems included class size, financial expenditures, facilities and equipment, and a biased view of nature of physical education teachers.
2. We found that a cross-country skiing type unit had a positive possibility for problem-solving after the instruction of the designated unit.
In conclusion, it is suggested that the cross-country skiing type unit should be introduced in many schools because it has the potential to be more effective than the alpine skiing type unit.
