Comparison of Principals’ Physical Education Perceptions between Two Different School Systems in China

Howard Zhenhao Zeng¹, Wen-Yan Meng^{2 }
(1. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, USA; 2. Education Research Institution of Jiangsu Province, China)

Abstract: This study examined how principals view and perceive physical education (PE) from two different school-systems in China, and providing meaningful information for their ongoing education reform. Participants were 138 principals (n1/“Gansu-school-system” = 75, n2/“Jiangsu-school-system” = 63). Principals’ Perception of PE Questionnaire—Chinese Version (Zeng, 2012) was employed for data collection; this questionnaire included 16 items regarding “Functions”, “Features”, “Challenges”, and “Teachers-qualification” of school PE. Participants can respond to each question on five options (score from 1 to 5). Data-analyses were done by descriptive-statistics and independent-group t-test. Results/findings included: top-three highest-score items are: Item 9 “Financial budget cuts”; Item 10 “With certified teacher”; and Item 16 “PE is an ideal course”. When comparing the mean scores differences between the two school-systems, six out of sixteen comparisons showed significant differences (p < .01); e.g., Item 1 “PE plays a vital role”, Item 3 “PE is an academic discipline”, Item 5 “Obesity is a health problem”; all above items showed that “Gansu-school-system” scored lower than “Jiangsu-school-system”. These findings illustrated that because “Gansu-school-system” belongs to a “Poor/Developing-region”; their principals believe PE is less important than other courses. Principals from “Jiangsu-school-system” a “Rich/Developed-region”, conversely, expressed much stronger beliefs on Item 1 and Item 3. Principals of “Gansu-school-system” expressed their schools have much less obese children; unlike children in “Jiangsu-school-system”, obesity has become their health concern. In summary, principals from two different school-systems perceive PE differently: principals from “Gansu-school-system” believe PE is less important than other courses, principals of “Jiangsu-school-system”, however, believe “PE plays a vital role in their school curricula”.

Key words: children, physical-education, curriculum reform, challenge, opportunities