Sport and Society - Emergence and evolution of modern sport - A-Level Physical Education

Select a course.

arrow_back

Sport and Society - Emergence and evolution of modern sport

infoWhy this? The Emergence and Evolution of Modern Sport helps students understand how sport in Britain has developed from its pre-industrial roots to the organised and regulated activities seen by the end of the twentieth century. Students explore the social, cultural, economic and technological factors that have influenced participation and shaped the development of modern sport. This topic provides an understanding of why sport looks the way it does today, allowing students to appreciate the impact of historical change on participation, provision and performance.

scheduleWhy now? This topic is taught before studying twenty-first century sport and contemporary issues because it provides the historical foundations needed to understand modern sporting society. By examining the development of sport through the pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial periods, students gain the contextual knowledge required to explain current participation trends, barriers to involvement, commercialisation, media influence and the role of sport in modern society. Studying the evolution of sport first enables students to understand not only what modern sport looks like today, but why it has developed in that way, providing a strong basis for the more analytical and evaluative content that follows later in the course.

Pre-industrial Britain had a two-tier class structure in which the wealthy gentry had greater access to exclusive pursuits, while peasants mainly took part in local popular recreation.
The gentry participated in activities such as hunting and real tennis because they possessed the money, land, equipment and leisure time these pursuits required.
Peasant pastimes included mob games, fairs and smock races, which were often local, occasional, physically violent and governed by simple or unwritten rules.
Agricultural work left peasants with little regular leisure time, so participation was concentrated around holy days, festivals, fairs and seasonal celebrations.
Low literacy levels and limited formal education meant that the rules and traditions of pre-industrial pastimes were usually passed on orally rather than through written codes.
Weak policing allowed violent mob games to continue, although authorities sometimes attempted to prohibit activities that caused disorder, damaged property or disrupted work.
Limited disposable income restricted poorer people's access to specialist facilities and equipment, whereas the gentry could employ professionals and offer prize money or wagers.
Pedestrianism involved competitive walking or running and was supported by upper-class patrons who organised contests, placed wagers and sometimes employed lower-class performers.
Poor roads, slow transport and the absence of railways made most pre-industrial pastimes local and produced significant regional variations in rules.
Women had fewer sporting opportunities than men because of domestic responsibilities and social expectations, although working-class women could participate in activities such as smock races at fairs.
Industrialisation and urbanisation initially reduced space and leisure for sport, but rising wages, improved working conditions and the Saturday half-day later increased working-class participation and spectatorship.
Greater law and order, improved literacy and the formation of National Governing Bodies led to rationalisation, meaning sports gained standardised written rules, regular competitions, officials and organised clubs.
The Football Association was formed in 1863 and the Rugby Football Union in 1871, helping to establish nationally recognised rules for their respective sports.
Railways enabled teams and spectators to travel further, making regular fixtures, national competitions and larger spectator crowds possible.
Amateurism presented sport as participation without payment and was associated with upper- and middle-class ideals, while professionalism allowed skilled working-class performers to earn money from sport.
Victorian ideas about femininity discouraged women from vigorous or competitive activity, although changing educational and social opportunities gradually increased female participation in selected sports.
Nineteenth-century public schools transformed traditional games through rationalisation, using organised sport to develop discipline, leadership, loyalty, sportsmanship and moral character.
Thomas Arnold, headmaster of Rugby School, promoted Christian morality and responsibility through the prefect and fagging systems, while later public-school leaders gave organised games a more central role.
The cult of athleticism treated physical endeavour and competitive team games as essential for developing character, while Muscular Christianity connected physical strength with Christian morality and service.
During the twentieth century, compulsory secondary education, the 1944 Education Act, grammar schools and later comprehensive schools widened access to organised sport, while increased leisure, disposable income, transport and the changing status of women further expanded participation.

rocket_launchYou must be able to

Identify whether a social or cultural factor affected the characteristics of sport, participation in sport, or both.
Explain a factor by making a supported chain of reasoning that links the factor to a change in access, organisation, rules, behaviour or participation.
Compare pre-industrial and post-1850 sport using relevant contrasts such as local versus national, unwritten versus codified, occasional versus regular, and violent versus regulated.
Analyse how social class shaped participation by distinguishing between gentry and peasants, and between amateur and professional performers.
Explain how public schools rationalised games and then spread their rules, ethics and traditions through former pupils, universities, the armed forces and the British Empire.
Discuss the importance of several factors by presenting evidence for each one and reaching a reasoned judgement about their relative significance.
Use evidence from historical interpretations, written research and representations such as Tom Brown’s School Days while distinguishing observed evidence from contextual knowledge.
Construct an extended answer with a clear argument, accurate Tier 3 vocabulary, developed explanations and a conclusion that directly answers the question.

Curriculum Portal