PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY at Canterbury Christ Church University

This course is designed for those with a relevant foundation degree and will give you the opportunity to gain further knowledge, skills and understanding to help you enhance your career in physical education while you work, enabling you to ‘earn and learn’.

Our links with external organisations including Kent Sport, the Kent School Games and various coaching companies, provide you with opportunities to gain practical experience in the delivery of events and competitions.

You’ll have access to an indoor sports hall with three multi-use rooms, a fitness suite with a comprehensive range of cardio-vascular and resistance equipment, a free-weights area, and a performance analysis room.

You will explore areas including:

• physical education and physical activity
• school and youth sport
• research methods
• cultural and contemporary issues
• health education

Why Physical Education and Physical Activity?

The Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Physical Education and Physical Activity (PEPA) is designed to offer you an exciting opportunity to engage with theoretical and practical aspects of learning, teaching and coaching whilst working in the sector. The programme will offer you a vocational higher education experience, whereby you can work in a related setting such as a school or other physical activity and sports environment alongside while completing academic study.

This integrated approach will offer a very real synthesis of theory and practice and will enable you to benefit from continued opportunity to put your learning into practice in the workplace. Those who successfully complete a BA (Hons) PEPA may then wish to apply for PGCE or School Direct (or other routes into teaching) programmes to become qualified teachers.

Another option is further study at a higher level such as the Masters by Research within the Faculty of Education that can have a physical education or physical activity focus. Others will gain employment in a school setting; join a company/provider or develop entrepreneurship set up your own company to provide physical education and/or extra-curricular physical activities or develop a career in sports development or health promotion.    

What will i study?

This is a one year, full-­time, work-­based course which enables you to gain a qualification whilst continuing to work. The course develops a critical and analytical knowledge and understanding of physical education and physical activity. It will also enhance and extend communication skills, competencies and skill for teachers, coaches and physical activity professionals involved with children and young persons. You will study six modules. Learning takes place in the workplace (a minimum of 10 hours a week) and at University 36 days per academic year, one day per week in line with school term dates.

During the contact sessions of each module there will be discussions of theoretical frameworks supporting content and application of these frameworks to different physical activities and learning environments. The time allocated to independent study will allow for further reading and planning how frameworks apply in the workplace. Meanwhile, the assigned work­based tasks will engage you in learning how principles and concepts operating across different physical activities and physical education settings are applied according to the needs of the learners.