A Review of Policies on the Reform and Development of Physical Education after 40 Years of Reform and Opening Up

During the past 40 years of reform and opening up, we have piled up abundant practical experiences in the reform of physical education. At the age of “no perplexities”, the reform process must be summed up fully and seriously so that we might get beneficial enlightenment for the future development. Policies are basic tools and important vehicles for government to develop and regulate the cause of physical education. Therefore, policy is an essential perspective in reexamining the reform and development of physical education. By using literature review method, historical method and logic analysis method, this paper untangles and surveys the development of school physical education policies in the past 40 years, tries to summarize characteristics of the evolution and change of policies, progress achieved, standing problems, and then puts forward some policy suggestions. The fundamental characteristics of the evolution and change of policies can be concluded as follows: Chinese government has attached great importance to teenagers' healthy growth and the development of adolescent physical health policies, which thoroughly demonstrates policies' authority; the policies' continuity and stability have been ensured in the process of gradual reform; with the interaction of the elite decision-making and citizen participation, the scientization and democratization of physical education policy processes have risen notably. The achievements are as follows: the promulgation and implementation of a series of policies effectively led and promoted the reconstruction, improvement and perfection of school physical education in all stages of China, promoted the reform and development of school physical education, and highlighted the positive functions and effects of the policy. The standing problems include: factor-driven evolution logic of policies has constrained reform's integrated promotion; enforcement difficulties have long existed, which has made it difficult to achieve the reform progress and the actual effect as scheduled. The “top-down” policy running approach, in other words, the power-oriented operation mode dominates policy implementation, and leads to lack of impetus for reform in grass-roots practitioners to some extent; social quality of policy process is faint, and the reform lacks sufficient social support; the mechanism of policy monitoring and evaluation is not perfect, which weakens the scientificalization, rationalization and performance of the reform to a certain extent. In regard to these problems, this paper suggests that we must strengthen policy research, initiate policies more scientificly, execute policies more forcefully, so as to provide more robust policy barricades for the new developments of China's physical education. The specific policy strategies and suggestions are as follows: strengthening policies' overall planning; carrying out policies with more democratic pattern; perfecting social support system for the reform and development; strengthening new physical educatiuonal tank construction; constructing three-in-one interactive mechanism among researchers, policy-makers and practitioners, etc.