Delivering Physical Education in selected schools in Soweto, South Africa: Soweto Active Schools programme

Abstract

The Soweto Active Schools Programme is a joint pilot initiative between the Gauteng Department of Education, Nike Africa, and the German International Cooperation (GIZ) to enhance physical activity in five primary schools in Soweto. The programme utilizes Physical Education (PE) during schooltime, while building the capacity of PE teachers to teach PE and Extra School Support Programme (ESSP) coaches (a programme of the National Department of Education) to deliver school sport. The aim of the study was to evaluate the Soweto Active Schools Programme for optimal delivery of the PE component. The research constitutes a descriptive design, utilizing Programme Theory Assessment (PTA) methodology and integrating quantitative and qualitative data sets to provide information on the delivery of the programme. Purposive sampling conducted by the schools’ decision-makers ensured optimal representation and intercase comparisons. A total of 249 questionnaires were completed by three teachers delivering sport, 15 teachers teaching PE, and 231 Grade 5 and 6 learners. Forty-seven (47) research participants took part in focus group sessions, of whom 30 were learners, nine HODs for PE, and eight teachers teaching PE. Principals and sport masters of all five schools made up the 10 interviewees. Quantitative techniques provided nominal data which was partly contextualized by the qualitative data and substantiated by the triangulation of the data sets. For the qualitative data set, line-on-line coding was utilized that rendered items for axial coding and theme development. Results indicated that although the programme theory has far-reaching benefits, aspects that deserve attention are access to physical resources such as facilities and equipment, the level of training and preparedness of teachers, as well as the level of motivation and workload of teachers.

Keywords: Physical Education, Life Orientation, programme delivery, programme theory
evaluation.