PESS

The first major comparison when looking at PESS in the UK & USA is the actual view of PESS. In the UK, PESS is seen as a high status subject as a whole, but the PE aspect is the part which is mainly implemented into the curriculum to try to stick to the amateur ethic that is taught throughout sport. In the USA, however, it is mainly school sport that is implemented in schools because of the lombardian ethic. This means PE is very low status and is hardly considered a proper subject although this isimproving as the USA are trying to improve obesity levels.

 

The second biggest comparison is the actuallly NCPE's. The UK has a well planned out NCPE which is given to every school in the UK so that PESS is compulsary all over the country. In the USA, there isn't a NCPE and instead the NCAA deals with how PESS is implemented. This isnt done very well tho as not all schools actually have PESS on their curriculums so that they can focus on training sports teams instead.

 

The way teachers are treated in both countries is also very different, with UK teachers given long contracts which pay depends on acheivements academically. in the USA, PE teachers are not paid very well and it is instead coaches who are brought into the schools too take the sports teams that get the highest wage. they are however employed on a hire and fire basis which means there is a lot of insecurity in the job as losing a few games could mean they get sacked from their position.

 

Another big difference is how the sports teams are viewd to the public. In the USA, the sports teams are local heroes who play infront of thousands of people, unlike the UK who play infront of their teacher and a couple of spectators who decide to watch on very basic facilities unlike the huge specialist stadiums that are built in the USA.

 

The USA have made a big breakthrough with womens sports which has yet to be seen in the UK. This is thanks to the Title XI legislation that was introduced in 1972 which promotesequality in both mens and womens sports. The UK doesnt have a legislation like this and instead funds male sport heavier. A Sport England report shows that 8.63 million males aged 16 years or over played sport once a week compared with just 6.86 million females.