PDF(2.7mb) - 國家政策研究基金會

260 Taiwan Development Perspectives 2009
physical education.
In addition, for the purpose of building a “lifelong
sports society,” the Japanese government has been
promoting the establishment of comprehensive community
sports clubs and youth sports corps, and physical
fitness improvement plans in school. As of the end
of 2006, a total of 2,155 comprehensive community
sports clubs had been established in 783 districts
throughout Japan (Japan Sports Association, 2005).
There were 36,286 youth sports clubs with a combined
membership of 929,960 at the end of 2006 (Japan
Sports Association, 2007). As for the physical fitness
improvement plans for children, the Ministry of Education
has conducted various surveys on physical strength
and sports capabilities. The findings in 1985 showed
both physical strength and sports capabilities among
children were found to go down. The ministry introduced
a new physical strength test and adopted a set of
comprehensive strategies for the promotion of children’s
physical strength in 1999. Four years later in
2003, the ministry created a website on the enhancement
of the physical strength of children where visitors
could download information about the status of children’s
physical fitness, lifestyles, contents and test
items of the new physical strength test, various outdoor
activities, comprehensive community sports club, and
youth sports corps. The purpose was twofold: to help
children develop good lifestyles and habits and to elevate
the effectiveness of the physical fitness improvement
plans through proper use of the material by
schools, families, and communities.
A recent study shows that ten years after Japan
started administering its new physical fitness examination
in 1998, the Japanese children and adolescents
braked the downward spiral in their basic exercise ability
in the 50-meter run (speed), softball, and handball
throws (muscle strength), while making improvement in
sit-ups (endurance), the sit-and-reach (flexibility), side
cross jumps with a 20-meter run (agility, reaction time).
In short, the new physical fitness examination helped
schoolchildren and adolescents bounce back in physical
fitness in the ten years. (Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, 2006). The
strategies worked.
(2) Strategy for American Children and Adolescents
President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed a
Council on Youth Fitness in 1956. It was renamed the
President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in
1966. A series of plans was implemented. The council
laid down regulations for awards and for the betterment
of national physical fitness. More than six million children
and adolescents have passed the test on physical
soundness to win the President’s Challenge Award since
1996. Of the various groups making contributions to
the physical fitness improvement, the National Association
for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE) is the
one worthy of special mention. The membership of the
association comes from the K-12 PE teachers. The association
developed in 1986 a set of test standards for
sports skills in 1986 as guidance for various levels of
school in the conduct of physical fitness studies and
activities. In 2004, the association proclaimed a new
curriculum stating clearly that the objective of PE in
American schools was to bring up citizens who have
sufficient knowledge of physical fitness, skills and confidence
to remain physically fitness for life. As jurisdiction
over compulsory education rests with each state,
the state rather than the federal government set its own
PE development standard on the basis of the NASPE
curriculum.
One example suffices. The state of California
rules that its PE curricula are enforced in all elementary
and high schools. On the other hand, schools are allowed
to spare students PE for two years at their own
discretion, although senior high students must earn at
least two PE credits before graduation. At the same
time, while schools are encouraged to apply physical
fitness standards set by the state government, all students
have to go through a comprehensive physical
fitness test before graduation, and results of the test
must be included in each school’s reports on the basis
of which the overall school performance is judged.