George Graham, Ph.D.

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George Graham, Ph.D.

• The Department of KinesiologyPennsylvania State
  University

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Contemporary Purpose of K-12 Physical Education

• Guiding youngsters in the process of becoming
  physically active and healthy for a lifetime

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Golf as a Physical Activity inK-12 Physical
Education

• Sport for a lifetime
• Equally appealing to boys and girls
• Body size is not a factor
• Great way to make new friends
• Emphasizes positive character values
• Good physical exercise
• Riding a cart is superior toriding a couch
• 10,000 steps or more if you walk

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The Emergence of a Sedentary Society

• Automobile
• Television
• Computers
• Convenience Engineering
• Built Environment
• Human Nature

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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Obesity is one of the greatest health challenges
of our time

• Obesity rates increased by 74 between 1991 and
  2001.
• Obesity rates have doubled in children and
  tripled in adolescents over the last two decades.
  One in seven young people are obese and one in
  three are overweight.
• Source National Alliance for Nutrition and
  Activity (NANA)

Percentage of young people who are obese
Data for 1966-70 are based on adolescents ages
12-17.
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K-12 School Demographics

• 53 million kids attend school every day in the
  United States
• Approximately 200,000 K-12 physical education
  teachers in the United States
• Virtually all youngsters have some physical
  education in their schooling

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Is Golf in the K-12 Physical Education Curriculum
Today?

• Who is including golf in their curriculum?
• Why are they including it in their curriculum?
• What might be done to increase golf in K-12
  curriculums?

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Survey of K-12 PhysicalEducation Teachers

• Survey was posted on PE Central (most popular web
  site for physical educators inthe world)
• Survey was available from August 1through
  September 5, 2003
• Only allowed to enter once
• Goal was to have 1,000 responses

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Survey Description (cont.)

• 2,445 responses from 49 states and 8 Canadian
  provinces
• 79.6 full-time K-12 teachers
• 37 male
• 63 female

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School golf programs...

• 70.0 Traditional clubs
• 68.5 plastic orwhiffle balls
• 79.4 were self-designed lessons

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One of the biggest obstacles to teaching golf is
safety
Safety Concerns

• Strongly Agree 25.6 625
• Agree 35.9 878
• No Opinion 10.2 249
• Disagree 23.3 570
• Strongly Disagree 2.5 62

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Cost of equipment is a major obstacle to teaching
golf
Cost Concerns
11.2
4.6
81.6

• Strongly Agree 45.3 1108
• Agree 36.3 888
• No Opinion 4.6 112
• Disagree 9.7 238
• Strongly Disagree 1.5 36

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Golf embodies positive values that benefit
children
Golf and Positive Values
0.5
5.4
91.4

• Strongly Agree 46.1 1126
• Agree 45.3 1107
• No Opinion 5.4 132
• Disagree 0.4 14
• Strongly Disagree 0.1 3

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How interested would you be in teaching golf if.
A system was provided that was both safe and fun

• Very Interested 76.1 1860
• Interested 19.9 487
• Somewhat Interested 2.6 63
• Not Interested 0.9 21

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How interested would you be in teaching golf if.
Equipment, training and a complete curriculum
were provided to the school at no cost
73.6
21.9
3.4
0.9

• Very Interested 73.6 1800
• Interested 21.9 535
• Somewhat Interested 3.4 83
• Not Interested 0.9 22

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What Teachers Have to Say

• In the school district where I teach, many of
  our schools are in the low socioeconomic group.
  ...we cannot afford a golf program if we had to
  purchase it. If we did have such a program it
  would be such a benefit for most children because
  it teaches them that golf isn't only a lifetime
  sport but they could learn respect, socialization
  skills and personal challenge.
• Tammy Farmer, Elementary PE, KY

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What Teachers Have to Say

• I think that two greatest barriers are lack of
  funds and PE teachers lack of experience and/or
  knowledge of how golf could be taught at this
  level. I would love the opportunity to explore
  ideas that could bring this activity to my
  students. I believe it is lifetime activities
  like golf that need to be implemented at the
  elementary level in order to give students the
  opportunity to learn skills towards an active
  lifestyle.
• Denise King, Elementary PE, WI

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What Teachers Have to Say

• Children are willing to learn new sports and
  games in PE instead of the traditional yearly
  lesson plans. Elementary children love it more
  because they can go home and encourage the
  relatives at home ways to stay physically fit.
  Golf is not a game for older gentlemen but a game
  for every one in the family.
• Christina Gaines, Elementary PE, MD

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Survey Conclusions

• Teachers believe in the value of golf
• For the physical benefits
• For the character lessons
• Respondents are highly receptive to including
  golf in their programs
• Cost and teacher training are a factor that needs
  to be addressed

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The National School Golf Program

• Directly addresses the needs identified by these
  teachers in the survey
• Through NSGP it is reasonable to expect that.
• Hundreds, eventually thousands, of teachers will
  provide millions of youngsters with a positive
  introduction to the sport of golf

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