Ludger Jonischeit

The study considers the example of secondary schools in the Rhine province in order to investigate the genesis of school games, from their initial theoretical foundation through Basedow (1758) up to the end of the Weimar Republic (1933). It reconstructs and analyses the underlying technical theories, the administrative measures employed, the actual conditions at schools, and the possibilities for implementing the theories. This shows which factors encouraged or hampered the teaching of German stickball, football, tambourine ball and other games. Although the function of and the necessity for school games had been established many times, the subject was not officially included in the secondary school syllabus until 1882. Owing to poor administrative support and lack of school facilities further 43 years went by before, in 1925, “games” was promoted to an equal curricular position within the subject “physical training”, but by 1932 physical education was having to be restricted once more because of the dismal financial situation. The volume comprises an extended summary in English.

ISBN 3-89124-206-9
Aachen Meyer & Meyer Verlag 1999