Physical Education in New Zealand: a Socio-Critical and Bi-Cultural Positioning

This paper briefly highlights the socio-historical context in which New Zealand has developed as a nation. In particular it examines how physical education’s initial development was dominated by European thought and more latterly within a bi-cultural context where the needs of an inclusive society are considered. Implicit in this development are the State’s imperatives for education, which over the last two decades have used a totally revised school curriculum as a key strategy in achieving its political and social agendas. To some degree physical education has been complicit in this. However with the relatively newly developed socio-critical physical education curriculum and the new senior school qualifications alternative ways in viewing the movement culture have become apparent. This, these authors argue, guarantees physical education immediate future.