History of Physical Education

Brief Historical Perspective

There is a long history of material, starting in the last couple of decades of the 19th century, which has examined the history of physical education (Ainsworth, 1930; Hartwell, 1886, 1905; Leonard, 1905, 1915, 1923; Rice, 1926, Schwendener, 1942). Nancy Struna has argued that the growth in the research on the history of physical education reflected an increased interest in physical education both publicly and institutionally at schools, colleges and universities. She also notes that the writers of these early history treatises had little or no formal training in history; they were not trained historians, but physical educators with an interest and a desire to record history. These writers worked without support from their own departments, probably little or no collaboration or advice from historians working in other areas, and did not have access to formal associations for like minded physical educators to discuss their interests. As Struna (1997: 151) summarizes, these physical educators worked in an academic vacuum, and perhaps it is not surprising that: “The books on history from this period were descriptive chronicles” in which “events unfolded; connections and explanations were left untold”.

The history of physical education became an increasingly popular topic from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. The field was marked by the emergence of the first major histories of physical education. Pioneering amongst these world histories of physical education were Van Dalen et al. (1953) A World History of Physical Education: Cultural, Philosophical, Comparative and Dixon et al. (1957) Landmarks in the History of Physical Education. These were the most comprehensive surveys of physical education from the ancient societies through the Middle Ages, to modern Europe, the United States and a host of other contemporary nations. What these sources had in common were their attempts to survey the international developments of physical education with a heavy focus on linking physical activities in ancient, pre-modern and modern societies. Not surprisingly, given their pioneering status and their internationalist approaches, both of these sources went through numerous reprints and editions.

Another important aspect of the history of physical education, typified by Peter McIntosh's (1952; 1962; 1963; 1971, 1981) and Earl Zeigler's (1973; 1975; 1979; 1988) work, was its diversification to include the emerging topic of the history of sport. In fact, some of the physical educationalists have been acknowledged as the founders of the modern discipline of the history of sport (Huggins, 2001). There was a greater appreciation of sport as a related but separate academic pursuit to physical education. As the preface to Zeigler's (1979: vii) History of Physical Education and Sport argues: “the term ‘sport’ is gaining broad recognition and use as an area of intensified study, research, and practice” to the point where “some authorities now conceive of the term ‘sport’ as being separate, or different, from the term ‘physical education’”. Whereas the history of physical education was originally a diverse field which focused on physical education but also encompassed historical aspects of sport, sport was now seen as having an independence deserving of separate academic status. Zeigler was forecasting the emergence of the history of sport, which as we shall see, eventually outstripped and consumed the history of physical education.

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