The difficulty of policy transfer in physical education
The failure of Unesco’s Quality Physical Education in South Africa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21783735 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christina Uhlenbrock (University of Münster), H E Meier (0000-0002-5852-4814, University of Münster, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 139-152 |
| Publication date | 2023-03-04 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1740-8989 • E-ISSN: 1742-5786 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17408989.2021.1958176 |
| OpenAlex | W3183349730 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 20 |
Background Scholars have long emphasised the complexities and difficulties of educational policy transfer as educational systems develop path dependent.Purpose The case study of the Quality Physical Education (QPE) pilot project in South Africa aims to show that besides a lock-in effects in national educational policies, decoloniality, that is, a decreasing acceptance of policy approaches from the Global North in the Global South creates new transfer obstacles.Methods The case study employs a process-tracing research design. The policy revision process of the QPE project is examined in detail. Data sources include governmental reports and minutes, 17 semi-structured interviews and field notes of participant observations. The data were analysed by qualitative inductive and deductive coding.Findings The QPE project failed in its ambition to reinstate PE as standalone subject because it proved impossible to solve the substantial coordination and resource allocation problems between different ministries, the university and the school sector. The project never gained policy salience as it ignored the more fundamental problems of the educational system and the everyday experiences of South African communities. Moreover, South African stakeholders perceived the project as patronising and neo-colonial. Hence, the project rather reinforced the existing policy path, which is focused on sport as extra-curricular school activities rather than PE.Conclusion While the QPE pilot project seems to have catalysed a discussion on PE among South African stakeholders, the failure of the QPE project might indicate a growing resistance against asymmetrical policy transfer from the Global North
Political science · Public relations · Evaluation and Performance Assessment · Policy Transfer and Learning · Public Policy and Administration Research
Process-Tracing Methods
Null
The Divided Welfare State
Teaching Physical Education
In Search of the Global East
Who Learns What from Whom
Public-private partnerships in physical education
Defining an Organizational Role in a Contested Field
Leveraging funds for school infrastructure
Processes of Policy Borrowing in Education
Learning from Abroad
Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics
Framing Processes and Social Movements
| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |