Search

The broad curricula reform in which most of countries have been involved over two decades has enable many of them to reorient their educational and training system to the so-called “competence based curriculum”. The Republic of Benin, like some other countries in sub-Saharan Africa does not remain on the side-lines of this “curriculum revolution”. The reform was engaged in all disciplines including Physical Education which adopted new programs based on the competence approach. However, the reform has raised many controversies (i.e. socio-political, educational, epistemological and didactical). This study analyses the teaching of a basket-ball unit at a middle school level. It examine against the background of the joint action theory in didactics (Sensevy, 2007) how a teacher implements the PE new programs during three lessons. The teacher, who is involved as an academic advisor in the reform, used a very traditional approach that reflects his professional habits rooted an objectives approach of mastery learning, associated with a strong overhang posture. The taught objects, the classroom management used by this teacher are in compliance with those recommended by the official texts, but have for consequences to value the surface dimensions of the competence based approach at the expense of the complexity of knowledge content really learnt which the epistemological mastery by this academic advisor remains also critical.

Sports and Physical Education (SPE), like any other discipline, contributes to students' education. These students, for a good acquisition of teaching content, should be invited to take notes of the theoretical and technological knowledge conveyed by Physical and Sport Activities (PSA), subject of teaching. This quantitative and qualitative study aims to identify the usefulness of the implementation of theoretical knowledge and note-taking of the information taught in the training of students in Physical Education classes at the secondary school level. To achieve this objective, certain key concepts from "The Anthropological Theory of Didactics" by Chevallard were employed. In accordance with this theoretical framework, a methodological approach was adopted that focuses on administering questionnaires to students in the second cycle. These students meet the criterion of regular attendance at physical education courses in two secondary colleges. This approach includes recording three sessions of physical education courses and conducting interviews with each teacher at the course's conclusion. The results indicated that the students do not have a favorable relationship with the theoretical knowledge transmitted in PE during the practice of the different Physical and Sports Activities (PSA). This is due to the fact that the teacher does not focus the student's attention on what he or she has really learned and what he must retain in order to facilitate the practice of the different Physical and Sports Activities. To summarize, the essential finding derived from this study was that students in PE would greatly benefit from an introduction of theoretical courses combined with written documentation of the pedagogical information provided. The integration of both elements could foster the development of citizens who are proficient both physically and intellectually.

Ten years after the implementation of the curriculum reform in the Benin secondary educational system, this study looks at the discourses held by different actors (supervisors, mentors, teachers) engaged in the conception, the experiment and the following of the reform in physical education (EPS) and science education (SVT). Semi-formal interviews were conducted with 32 individuals. The content analysis of their discourses was conducted through the ALCESTE software. The findings point out four classes of discourses, each of them related to different viewpoints. The structure of these viewpoints is built around two elements: the statute of the individual within the Benin educational system, the specificity of subject matter discipline.