Limited research has explored physical education (PE) within Northern Ireland (NI). The research that has been carried out has focused on PE in NI as one part of the United Kingdom, positioned alongside England, Scotland and Wales (Gray et al., 2022a, 2022b, 2023) rather than focusing on this country specifically. Consequently, we know very little about policy or practice in this unique social, cultural and political context. Addressing this gap, the current research explores teachers’ experiences of PE in NI and the opportunities and challenges they face.

Researching PE in NI is important, not only to understand this unique context but specifically how this might impact what is done (or could be done) in the name of PE. NI is comprised of two main political communities: unionists, who are pro-British and mainly Protestant, and nationalists, who are pro-Irish and mainly Catholic. Notably, the political divisions which exist between the nationalist and unionist communities are reflected in NI’s schooling system, where 93% of learners attend a school belonging to their religious background, meaning just 7% of learners attend an integrated school (Milliken and Roulston, 2022).

The schooling system is further divided along what Gardner (2016) refers to as one of NI’s ‘major fault lines’, academic selection. This means at the age of 11, learners across NI sit what is known as the transfer test, the results of which determine whether a pupil is permitted to attend a selective Grammar school or a non-selective post-primary school. Roulston and Milliken (2021) note that despite the fact both types of schools teach the same curriculum and prepare learners for the same high-stakes examinations, grammar schools are perceived to be more academic than non-selective schools. Therefore, having a school system that is segregated based on both religion and academic selection has resulted in the creation of many different types of schools such as Catholic maintained, Controlled (state), Voluntary Grammar and Irish Medium Education (McFlynn et al., 2022).

The political and school divisions noted above have undoubtedly contributed to division in sport within NI. Hargie et al. (2015) report that 51% of their survey respondents felt that segregated schools were a major cause of segregation in sport. However, many respondents (57%) felt that there was nothing wrong with having different sports for Catholics and Protestants. The  sporting divide has implications for sporting experiences in school and, consequently, the PE curriculum that learners experience. For example, a child attending a Catholic maintained school is likely to experience Gaelic Games but unlikely to experience Rugby and Hockey, whereas a child attending a controlled school is likely to experience Rugby and Hockey but not experience Gaelic Games. On the other hand, children who attend an integrated school are likely to experience all these sports, thus meaning these learners receive a broader games experience than those attending Catholic or Controlled schools.

In our previous work (Authors, 2025, forthcoming) we have begun to explore the structure and key discourses within the NI PE curriculum. In doing so, we identified several opportunities afforded by this curriculum but also challenges related to the political context within the country and its unique, often contentious, approach to education. Fundamental to the NI curriculum is the importance of curriculum aspects (e.g., subjects) being joined together to ensure relevant and meaningful experiences for learners. This notion of cross curriculum   learning is explicit within the ‘Big Picture’ approach, providing holistic, interdisciplinary opportunities for PE. In this presentation, we look to build on this work by exploring how PE teachers understand and engage with the NI PE curriculum and in doing so, the opportunities and challenges they face. 

This presentation focuses on data collected with eight PE teachers working across a range of schools (Catholic Maintained; Controlled; Voluntary Grammar) within NI. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews conducted via Microsoft Teams. Once recorded, interviews were transcribed to facilitate the analysis process. Participants were recruited via on of the author’s professional networks within NI. A total of 12 teachers were contacted and of that eight expressed an interest in taking part in the research. All eight were sent an information sheet and consent form which was returned by all prior to interview. Having outlined in previous work the dominant discourses within the NI PE curriculum, as well as some of the contextual challenges, the aim of the interviews was to begin to understand how teachers enacted the curriculum and the opportunities/challenges they saw with the curriculum and the wider political/cultural context in which PE sits. To make sense of the interview data, we engaged in a process of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019), engaging in a systematic, but also collaborative, flexible and iterative, process of generating codes and themes. Guided by the interview transcripts, this involved assigning phrases to relevant units of texts to reflect/summarise meaning and then grouping similar units of meaning (codes) together to generate themes. This process was carried out for each interview separately, before bringing the themes from each interview together to identify themes across the participants.

Initial analysis has highlighted that the teachers recognised and grappled with (e.g., the dominance of sport/games ; the selective nature of the schooling system) several curriculum challenges, we detail elsewhere (see Authors, 2025, forthcoming). However, there were important contextual considerations that shaped how these challenges played out in practice. The data analysis generated four overarching key themes: 1. The impact of sport and its link to schooling and religion. Participants noted how their curriculum was often activity driven and the options were closely linked to the type of school and the background of pupils in terms of political and religious associations. 2. Teachers’ awareness of the segregated schooling system. Linked to the first theme, there was an awareness among participants that the segregated nature of education impacted what was possible or not in term so curriculum content within PE . 3. The PE/Sport nexus. Participants working in certain school types recognised the wider role sport played in the schools’ ethos and recruitment. As such, there was a recognition that PE was not valued but instead seen as sport (in name, Games, and often in practice, how it was delivered ). 4. Curriculum engagement opportunities. Across all participants, curriculum discourse was evident but for some there was a tension between curriculum and the tenets of the curriculum (‘Big Picture’) and expectations from Senior Leaders within the school and parents. While for other participants, curriculum discourse and recognising the potential of the NI curriculum were fundamental to their practice. These initial findings highlight the need for advocacy around what PE is or might be within NI (beyond sport) recognising the progressive, holistic (‘Big Picture’) curriculum that PE sits within. In thinking how PE might look in practice, there needs to be greater time given to the subject and professional development opportunities for teachers delivering it.

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