Sport and Education in Australia

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

170 hours

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Focused on physical education and community sport, this subject examines the place and significance of sport in Australia as a form of social education. It examines both historical and contemporary issues related to growing tensions between sport’s traditional role as a form of moral education and the emergence of sport as a commercial commodity and the growing role of the media. It will include topics such as elite sport versus sport for all, health and participation rates, social welfare, gender, violence, race and ethnicity.

On completion of the course it is expected that students should be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the changing place and practice of sport and physical education in the curriculum of Australian schools.
• Explain why sport and physical activity assume such importance in lives of many young Australians.
• Illustrate how sports programs can be used to engage young people with education and provide opportunities for socialization into Australian culture.
• Identify major social and educational issues arising from tensions between the traditional model of sport in schools and community settings, and a model of sport as a commercial commodity in Australia.
• Describe how elite level commercial sport can impact on learning and on the practice of community-based sport and sport in schools.

• Eight brief summaries of selected readings, completed over the course of the semester (400 words in total) submitted at the end of semester (10%).
• A Case Study examining a particular sport-related situation or scenario (1600 words) due mid semester (40%)
• Analysis of the representation of a current sporting event/issue in the media (2000 words) due at the end of semester (50%)

Attendance at all classes (tutorial/seminars/practical classes/lectures/labs/online classes) is obligatory. Failure to attend 80% of classes will normally result in failure in the subject.

Subject reader or readings online.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.