ABSTRACT
Despite the commitment to physical education through its inclusion as a foundation subject in the National Curriculum, debates are ongoing about what the priorities and content of the subject should be. These debates include concerns about the relative importance of competition and co-operation in the physical education curriculum. In fact, at times the place of competition in schools has been at the centre of many fierce and sometimes acrimonious debates. The debate over the emphasis that should be placed on competition and co-operation is unlikely to become less prominent in the years to come. Hence, there is a need to identify some of the issues which are raised by this debate.
