What are the Sociological Aspects of Physical Education ? – if you also have the same doubt, stay tunned with this article because your every doubt is going to be clear in this article which cover about socialogical aspects of physical education.
Aristotle called man a social animal. Society is a must for humans because unlike other organisms, they are not self-sufficient in meeting out their basic needs. No man can live a recluse’s life.
But…
Before knowing more about Sociological Aspects of Physical Education, one should know what is physical education.
So lets get started…
Table of Contents
What is Physical Education ?
Physical Education which includes play and sport as well, is an organised programme of physical activity that influences the development of such personal and social qualities and characteristics among the participants as a right attitude towards fellow citizens, friends, events and objects etc.
It includes discipline, helpfulness, team spirit, patience, unity, friendship and many other, which constitutes human personality as a large number of activities such a small game, relays, athletics, team game like Basketball, volleyball, hockey etc. are played on team or a group basics.
According to Wikipedia, Physical education, also known as Phys Ed., PE, gym, or gym class, and in some commonwealth countries as physical training or PT, is a class that pupils are required to take at school.
For human beings society is a protective shield, an educative media and a psychological sanctuary. A child’s humanization and socialization occur only in society.
Man’s social development is as important as his biological and psychological growth. Social activities like sport are part and parcel of social milieu.
It is a great experience for all individuals to engage in sport, which is a highly action-packed drama enacted on life’s stage so actively and enthusiastically.
Games and Sports as a Sociological Aspects of Physical Education
Man is sportive by nature. Hence, sport is as old as the mankind. It is ingrained in human culture. Without it, there is neither joy of life nor scope for growth personality and character.
Right from the beginning of human civilization and over the millennia of history, games and sports have been recognized as mankind’s cultural heritage.
All great civilizations of the world – the Greek, the Chinese, the Roman, the Egyptian, the Indus, etc. – had attached great importance to physical activity and sports for three major reasons :
- regular exercise enabled people to enjoy high levels of health and fitness, which helped produce strong and tough soldiers for defence ;
- games and sports served as a great pastime, and a source of recreation; and
- sports provided the talented persons a big opportunity to develop and exhibit their talent and to perform at their best.
The Greeks shall always be remembered as pioneers for developing a sport system in the form of Pan-Hellenic Festivals especially Olympic Games which served as a perfect medium of education, health, fitness, enjoyment, fun and social bonding for their people.
Though the Olympic Games of the modern era are different in many respects from those organized in Greece centuries ago, the values, ideals and the philosophy underlying them continue to be almost similar.
A number of ceremonies performed at the Olympic Games today such as the oath of fair play taken by the participants, lighting of the Olympic Flame, etc., draw inspiration from the ancient Pan-Hellenic Festivals.
The Olympic Games are the most valuable gift of the ancient Greece to mankind; they have become mankind’s cultural heritage because they carry a strong appeal for individual excellence, character development, cultural uplift, and universal brotherhood of man.
Culture really has no meaning without games and sports being a part and parcel of it. It is no secret that all modern games and sports have evolved from very simple play and outdoor activities enjoyed by thousands of generations of man over centuries.
Running, jumping, throwing, chasing, catching, hitting, kicking, climbing, swimming, etc., are primarily human survival reactions which helped evolution of man into what he looks like – an upright complex moving, thinking and acting machine that performs in a social today environment.
With the passage of time, as civilization progressed, these activities transformed into sport and people begin to participate in Olympic sports for the sake of enjoyment on the one hand and testing their strength and endurance on the other.
Much has changed in man’s life since then (e.g., ways of speaking, expressing, fighting, eating, cooking, dressing, etc.), but the philosophy, values and efficacy of games and sports as embodiments of culture and civilization have hardly changed dramatically.
Continuity of games and sports in space and time over the centuries in some form speaks volumes of their value to man and the mankind.
If there were no sports, human beings would be missing the joy, beauty and solace of skill and movement that make life efficient, efficacious, colourful and worth-living.
What is Culture and Cultural Heritage ?
Culture is a very wide term that includes the established parts of life that are created by individuals in a particular society at different stages of historical development – ideas, beliefs, values, knowledge, behaviours, arts, material traits, tastes, etc.
It is the means by which society defines and perpetuates itself. By establishing and passing on shared values, beliefs, artifacts, norms, traditions, and appropriate behaviours of the group that have significant meaning, a culture affirms itself and is adopted by the individual participants of that group.
Culture is a human phenomenon that is diverse and has unlimited potential because of people’s creativity.
Lets discuss about Cultural Heritage…
Cultural heritage denotes some significant idea, practice or institution that have had its origin in the hoary past in the happiest times of human experience and that has continued to exist in one or the other form through the millerinia.
It is in this sense that sports and games are considered a cultural heritage of mankind.
Games & Sports as a Man’s Cultural Heritage
Specific forms of play, games, and sports may have distinct roles and importance within different cultures, but the spirit behind them continues to be uniformly the same everywhere.
Although play may be culturally universal, it differs in manner, style, and form across cultures. Games of chance may not exist at all in certain societies, vet games of strategy and physical skill are prevalent in achievement-oriented societies.
Styles of music, dance, art, etc. may differ from culture to culture but not of sporting activities: This is what gives sports and games a universal acceptance and acclaim as a cultural extravaganza, and makes them an exhibit of culture across the world like Rome, martial arts that of China and Japan, and Yoga that of India.
No doubt, all these Outdoor sports are a proud legacy of the European culture, gymnastics that of Scandinavia systems of physical activity and sporting traditions began as an outcome of some collective thought of some progressive community at some point of their struggle for existence.
Then became a great social legacy (inheritance) of man in due course; they have, nevertheless, transcended all the racial, lingual, and geographical boundaries and become cultural inheritance of man.
Sports have helped man perpetuate such social, cultural and moral values as cooperation, coexistence, morality, humanism and universal brotherhood which the civilized man has cherished and practiced all through history.
They have sought to teach every participant to be tough, daring, courageous, upright, honest and steadfast even under most difficult or trying.
If culture really refers to what we love most and cherish best – sublime thoughts, eternal values, good deeds, healthy customs and traditions, long-lasting affiliations.
Life-conserving interpersonal relationships, soul-stirring modes of singing, dancing, and playing – then certainly play, sports and physical activity are a true mirror of human culture.
How does Games and Sports help in personality development ?
Games and sports have existed in great variety since time immemorial. They have reflected man’s survival reactions (activities) : running, jumping, throwing, hitting, kicking, swinging, chasing, climbing, etc., have helped man to keep alive.
Gradually, the developed into enjoyable competitive activities too across the world in the same fashion and almost on similar lines with similar objectives.
For this reason…
They seem to be alike in skill structure, play dynamics, rules and interactivity. Some sports like archery, shooting, gymnastics, athletics, etc., are of individual character, others like basketball, handball, football, and hockey are team sports.
In some sporting activities, there is close body contact, and in others too much aggression but all of them provide humans fun, enjoyment and pleasure both as participants and as spectators.
Their value in terms of growth and development is immense, which can be explained in several ways.
At the outset, games and sports make participants physically strong, resilient, tough. muscular, and brawny because they involve vigorous body movements directly connected with health and fitness objective.
All sportspersons, whether young or old, are found to be highly fit and healthy and they continue to remain so throughout life provided they do not stop playing sports having carry-over value like tennis, swimming, archery, golf, badminton etc.
In youth and adulthood sports may be played on competitive basis, but with advantage more recreational element may be introduced. The intensity and impact of play mu brought down with health objective taking precedence.
All sports are skill-based activities. Motor skill and sport skill training formally starts t school in an organized manner. The better skilled a child is the more chances he or she has to become a good sportsperson.
Sports skills learnt in childhood help you perform variety of activities in life smoothly and profitably. This way, games and sports make you fairly skillful A skilled person is very economical in his energy expenditure; he produces more with lesser amount of energy used than an unskilled person.
Boxing skill acquired at school, helps you tackle a goon in the street. Most games and sports are fairly strenuous and demanding in terms of physical and mental qualities. It takes years before you exhibit excellence in them.
However…
they provide you opportunity to show your superiority and potential for high performance. It is rightly said that if you want to know the character of an individual, challenge him to a game.
If he plays well, he is skillful; if he bungles with score, he is a cheat; if he gets tired quickly, he is unfit; if he loses temper, he is emotionally weak; and so on.
What is the role of sports in our life ?
Sports and games are a wonderful means of testing your health and fitness objectively. You need not go to a gym to get a judgment on your health and fitness.
Play tennis or golf for an hour or so and you will know how fit you are. If you are low fit and not very healthy, you will be getting tired soon and feel like quitting.
Those fit and healthy are capable of playing for long hours on an end. While good health is prerequisite for all activity in life, requirement of fitness for different activities and sports differs.
The level of fitness required for archery or shooting is qualitatively different from the one required for soccer, handball or volleyball whether you play it at a recreational level or competitive level.
Fitness standards required for 100m dash, Marathan race, high jump, pole vault, discus throw, etc., are pretty high. That way competitive sport not everybody’s cup of coffee. Only the talented and exceptionally fit can play competative sport.
Some of the manifest (or obvious) functions of sport especially for children include recreation, fitness, and the ability to express aggression in a positive, rather than destructive way.
Sports and games are perfect instruments of developing social relationships among all sorts of people-men-women, high-low, rich-poor, young-old, socially backward-forward skillful-unskillful, and so on.
When they compete against one another in a friendly manner, they exchange among themselves their social and cultural virtues and values.
Sport provides a forum to learn skills such as discipline, confidence, and leadership and it teaches core principles such as tolerance, cooperation and respect. It teaches the value of effort and how to manage victory as well as defeat.
When these positive aspects of sport are emphasized, sport becomes a powerful vehicle through which the United Nations can work towards achieving its goals- brotherhood, amity and understanding – among individuals and nations of the world.
Apart from the above, games and sports
- make you physically fit both for sport and life.
- help you live a healthy and vibrant life.
- give your opportunity to exhibit and develop the talent you possess.
- keep your attitude towards work, people and life in general positive.
- teach you how to tackle problems of life in sporting way.
- provide you opportunity for social and cultural interaction so as to make a you a better man.
- bring about harmony between your muscle and mind; in other words ensure your integrated development.
- develop in you qualities of head and heart, making you a better leader at school, and later in life; and above all, and
- teach you how to be sportive in defeat and balanced in victory.
Read about Weird Role of Motivation in Sports.
Role of Physical Education in Promoting National Integration
Physical education is a recent but right expression for various organized physical activity programmes carried out in educational institutions, as a measure for an integrated development of a child.
Long ago…
Ancient Greeks set harmonious personality development goal for education of their children.
The word physical primarily refers to body and indicates such bodily qualities as strength, speed, stamina, endurance, co-ordination, flexibility, movement etc. – all so fundamentally important for health and fitness for work, defence, and competitive sport.
Education is defined in hundred ways but when used in conjunction with physical, it is understood to be an effective device by which we all educate (teach) ourselves physically and through it achieve complete personality development objective.
The basis of man is primarily physical and all other aspects of his personality emerge from and depend on the state of his bodily health, wellness and fitness, Sound mind lives only in sound body, said Aristotle long ago.
Physical education with play, games, sports, dance, gymniastics, martial arts constituents of basic programmes, is a perfect education for development of body, mina spirit in perfect ways.
Its aim, according to National Plan of Physical Education and Recreation such personal and social qualities as will help him to live happily with others and build him (1956), is “to make every child physically, mentally, emotionally fit and also to develop up as a good citizen.”
The American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (1965) stated that major purposes of physical education are to :
- help children in a skilled and effective manner in all selective activities in which they engage in the physical education programme, and also in those situations that they will experience during their life time;
- develop understanding and appreciation of movements in children and youth so that their live become more meaningful, purposeful and productive;
- develop an understanding and appreciation of certain scientific principles concerned with movement that relate to some factors as time, space, force and mass relationships;
- develop through games and sports better interpersonal relationships; and
- develop the various organic systems of the body so that they will respond in a healthful way to the increasing demands placed on them.
What are the Sociological Aspects of Physical Education ?
The role of physical education in developing in the participants various qualities of head and heart through play involving muscle-mind integration has yet to find a parallel.
At the outset, physical education is the beginning of all education for the physique is the foundation of personality. The first lesson of life an infant learns right after birth is the lesson in activity or movement.
With time, physical development causes mental, emotional and social development to take place. In the integrated development the whole child is involved and the whole child is the central focus.
Better physical health and wellbeing, higher organic fitness for work and sport, essential movement skills, and a happy virile youth leading to a relaxed happy life, are direct and measurable outcomes of participation in regular play, exercise or physical activity.
Exercisers enjoy life more fully and they become capable of postponing aging far better than do non-exercisers. They bubble with energy throughout life.
Through activity medium physical education causes emotional and national integration to take place both inside and outside school.
While engaging in group play/ activity children and adults cast off their lingual, economic, social, cultural, religious and geographical distinctions and disparities.
While in play, they are nothing but humans only. Play has the potential to harmonize and integrate individuals, the people and the communities both nationally and emotionally.
The concept of Bhiartigam mass show of set drills, exercises, dance, rhythmic movements, gymnastics, etc. its varied form – is rooted in national, cultural and emotional objectives; it integrate man with man and man with environment.
So…
The modern Olympic Games are simply fierce sports contests of strength, speed, power and endurance among young and energetic elite athletes they also are a celebration of the human spirit reflected the bright and beautiful youth of varied geographic, cultural and national affiliation.
Attitudes are our beliefs about people, things, objects, events, activities, etc.
They are an outcome of either our direct experience or observational learning unceasingly taking place in the social environment – we learn to do what others do.
Importantly…
Attitudes change with our experience. Our current attitude towards our parents, teachers or physical activity may change tomorrow as we encounter new situations and see new relationships emerging.
Only right and stable attitudes make life becomes worth-living. Good attitudes develop through proper education and training at home, at school and in the society in general.
Children learn what they observe around and what they experience in an environment. Psychologists as well as educationists. that playfields are the best sanctuaries of developing right attitudes among people through play or sport.
No one can hide their feelings, beliefs and thoughts about anyone and anything when engaging in you develop right attitude towards one and all.
There is no two opinion that vigorous physical activity helps us push out the toxins from our personality so that we remain as pure as possible in body, mind and spirit. This is the only highroad to develop right attitudes.
SUMMARY
Title : What are the Sociological Aspects of Physical Education ?
This article mainly contain that what are the sociological aspects of physical education. The following points are covered briefly in this article.
- What is Physical Education ?
- Games and Sports as a sociological aspects of Physical Education.
- What is Culture and Cultural Heritage ?
- How do sports and games help personality development ?
- Roles of Games and Sports in life ?
