ABSTRACT
The recent intensity of debate about the proper role of sport in schools has proved to be both heated and multi-layered. In most of the countries in this study there are three overlapping themes which provide the context within which school sport policy is shaped. The first theme is the school curriculum and the place of sport within it. The balance of control over the school curriculum between the central government, local/state authorities and the school board varies considerably and affects significantly the pattern of debate over the role of sport. In Ireland and the UK debate over sport has taken place largely at the national level, whereas in Australia, Canada and the US curriculum is a state matter, with variable degrees of school board autonomy, and produces a wider degree of variation in terms of the amount of time allocated to sport and its priority in the curriculum. Whatever the level at which policy debate takes place, there are a number of recurring sub-themes including the relationship between physical education and sport; between health and fitness, and sport; and between curricular and extracurricular sport. In addition, most countries have a long-running debate over the examination status of sport and PE and also over the appropriate allocation of time to the practice of, and participation in, sport as opposed to the analysis or theory of sport. A third sub-theme which periodically surfaces concerns the type of sport that should be played and whether priority should be given to the traditional as opposed to the new, and to competitive as opposed to non-competitive, sport. The final sub-theme concerned with curriculum issues focuses on the appropriate balance between the development of generic sports skills and the development of sports-specific skills.
