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Educating the Student Body
TAbLE 5-5 Physical Education Teachers’ Ranking of Barriers to 
Providing Quality Physical Education (PE) in Victorian State Secondary 
Schools
Barriers to Providing Quality PE (N = 70)
Rank Order 
Most (“10”) 
to Least (“1”) 
Important
Mean
SD
Barrier
Category
Access to facilities 
10
8.10
2.30
I
Access to suitable teaching spaces
9
7.95
2.15
I
Access to equipment
8
7.37
2.10
I
Time tabling
7
6.17
2.50
I
Support from other staff
6
5.15
2.56
I
Funding for the subject
5
4.74
2.43
I
Support from management and 
administration
4
4.17
2.30
I
Leadership from heads of department
3
4.15
2.59
I
Access to professional development that is 
appropriate
2
4.00
2.13
I
Access to professional development from 
school management or leadership team
1
3.17
2.19
I
NOTE: I = institutional barrier; SD = standard deviation.
SOURCE: Jenkinson and Benson, 2010.
barriers listed in this table are similar to those identified for U.S. schools 
in Table 5-4. 
Jenkinson and Benson (2010) also presented teachers with a list of 
barriers to student participation in physical education and physical activity 
in three categories: institutional, teacher-related, and student-related. The 
teachers were asked to rank the top five barriers they perceived. Results are 
presented in Table 5-6.
Finally, Gallo and colleagues (2006) found that the greatest process 
barriers to assessing students in physical education were grading students 
on skill levels and abilities; time constraints; class size; and record keep-
ing, especially when assessing students on skills, cognitive knowledge, and 
fitness. 
Two key barriers to physical education identified in the studies summa-
rized above are staffing and funding. These barriers reflect a lack of support 
structure in schools for quality physical education. 

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
 
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