Teaching values and the holistic development of young people through physical education

Our trainee PE teachers experienced a workshop aimed to promote the teaching of values and the holistic development of pupils in schools through physical education.

Whilst the focus was on how football can address particular social issues, the methodology and application can be applied to any game within the secondary school PE curriculum.

The workshop was run by coaches from Brighton and Hove Albion’s charity Albion in the Community along with Football 4 Peace International Co-founder, Dr Gary Stidder. They teamed up to demonstrate how physical education can be a catalyst for promoting equality and appreciating diversity in society by focusing on ways that trust, respect and responsibility can be embedded as intended learning outcomes within lessons.

Through Street Football World’s football3 programme, players start to look at the dynamics of football in a new light where they begin to respect their opponents and make a bridge between their behaviour on the pitch and in their daily lives. They learn to give as much value to the process as they give to the outcome.

With three halves and no refs, football3 is a different way to play. With a focus on fair play, equality and teamwork, it empowers young people with the skills they need to flourish off the pitch. Taking a sport like football and making it into a tool for social integration is important.

PGCE and School Direct PE route Leader Dr Gary Stidder said: “The work that Albion in the Community are involved in through Football3 is very similar to the aims and objectives of The University of Brighton’s pioneering and ground-breaking Football 4 Peace programme. It further demonstrates how physical education teachers can adapt their lessons from performance related outcomes to the development of holistic education.

“It also helps to dismiss the myth that PE teachers just coach sport.”