ABSTRACT
Participation in physical activity outside and post-school has been reported as being low (e.g. Cale 1997; Sports Council 1995a, 1995b; Thirlaway and Benton 1993). One reason for this may be that young people are ‘turned off physical education and report negative attitudes towards physical activity post-school (Coakley and White 1992; Sports Council 1995a, 1995b). Further, the performance of national sports teams in international competition has been criticised and initiatives have been undertaken to improve their performance (e.g. Sport: Raising the Game (Department of National Heritage (DNH) 1995); Labour’s Sporting Nation (Labour Party 1996); England, The Sporting Nation: A Strategy (English Sports Council (ESC) 1997). Concerns about low participation and about the poor performance of national sports teams have led to questions being asked about the way in which games are taught in schools.
