APPLICATION OF FAIR PLAY GUIDELINES IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Over the past three decades, once abnormal and abhorred behaviours have become the norm in sports arenas ù- both on the field and in the stands ù- in many parts of the world. Some observers attribute the behavioural decline to the democratisation of sport wherein control over games passed to lower social orders (Butcher & Schneider, 1998), while others attribute behavioural deterioration in sports to moral decay in the broader society (Peiser, 1995).
An argument stemming from the first explanation is that reprehensible behaviour spreads from commercial athletes (it is the utmost foolishness to refer to such athletes as professionals) to young people in schools as school athletes attempt to imitate the behaviours of the commercial athletes. An argument stemming from the second explanation is that behaviours on commercial sports fields and in the stands of the sports arenas are simply extensions of the social learning that occurs in schools and society generally.
The alternative explanations and implications are important because one's perception of the issue influences the solution approaches one will propose and that one will support. The thesis of this paper is that (1) the issue essential is one of moral values, as the second explanation posits, but that (2) the problem is so pervasive that teaching fair play in physical education instruction in the schools can only be a part, albeit a vital part, of the solution. The remainder of this paper addresses the issue of applying fair play guidelines in physical education.
An important problem associated with any approach to the introduction of the concept of fair play is determining what different people mean when they use the term fair play. Butcher and Schneider (1998) identified five approaches to determining the meaning of fair play. These approaches are as follows:
Fair Play as Play. This approach diff...