Games for Multicultural Physical Education

JOPERD • Volume 83 No. 9 • November/December 2012 I n a global economy, classrooms are composed of students from diverse, multicultural families and backgrounds. Unity in diversity (Williams, 1998) is a theme that ties historic beginnings and current trends in life and education to the strengths that diversity brings to society. Diversity encompasses race, ethnicity, gender, ability level, beliefs, religion, learning style, language, socioeconomic status, and cultural values (Banks et al., 2005). In a school, a microcosm of society, diversity is especially evident in the backgrounds, abilities, and lives of its students, which can greatly differ by geography and culture. Further, the trend of educating children with disabilities in classes with peers in their neighborhood schools has become an added dimension of diversity in general education classes (Auxter, Pyfer, Zitlel, & Roth, 2010). Given the diversity of students in U.S. schools and more specifically in physical education classes, it behooves teachers to include some indigenous physical activities into the curriculum. Perpetuating traditions in physical activity and sports and passing on their history is important since many physical activities introduced by both immigrants and indigenous groups have contributed to contemporary activities today. It is the responsibility of educators to help students gain not only an understanding of how to live a healthy and active lifestyle, but an appreciation for sports and games representative of this country that are as diverse as the students (Banks et al., 2005; McGehee & Reekie, 1999). Children are inquisitive by nature and generally enjoy socializing and learning with peers through physical activity. Physical activity is an opportune medium through which students can experience, and gain knowledge and values from, sports and games indigenous to different cultures (McGehee & Reekie, 1999). Teaching sensitivity and respect for the diversity of others through games and sports from the diverse cultures that exist may also be a way to eliminate or minimize the disparities that may exist in the educational environment (Banks et al., 2005). Typically, physical education classes have a wide range of ability levels, which creates a challenge for differentiating instruction for the variety of physical skills, knowledge, and social maturity. Use of traditional American sports and games can often widen the gap between students. One way to narrow this gap in physical education is to introduce novel, innovative, and/or multicultural activities. The newness or novelty allows everyone to begin at a relatively even level due to the fact that everyone is learning the basics for the activity together. The purpose of this article is to introduce two multicultural games, from two different geographic areas, that are usable in elementary or secondary physical education curricula. The games are ‘Ulu Maika or ‘Olohu (Rolling Stone Disks) from the Hawaiians and Rocball from the Micronesians. These games can be taught as part of a multicultural unit or even an interdisciplinary unit with another content area. Games for Multicultural Physical Education