Advances in Social Science and Culture ISSN 2640-9682 (Print) ISSN 2640-9674 (Online) Vol. 5, No. 2, 2023 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc 69 Original Paper The Shortcomings and Improvement Strategies of Public Physical Education Courses in Chinese Universities TANG YAO 1&2* , CHENG YANG 3 & ZHU HONGJing 4 1 Guiyang Institute of Humanities and Technology, Guiyang, CHINA 2 Faculty of Psychology and Education, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, MALAYSIA 3 College of Physical Education, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, CHINA 4 College of Physical Education, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang, CHINA * Corresponding author: tangyaogege@126.com Received: March 6, 2023 Accepted: April 10, 2023 Online Published: April 17, 2023 doi:10.22158/assc.v5n2p69 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/assc.v5n2p69 Abstract With the development of China’s higher education, China’s university education has developed rapidly and the number of students enrolled has been increasing. At present, the number of college students in China has exceeded 24 million, showing a prosperous scene. However, with the rapid development of college education, the participation rate of college students in sports is generally low, and the college physical education courses set up to promote college students’ sports have not played their due role. This study analyzes the shortcomings of current college physical education and proposes that college physical education in China should change the current situation of outdated teaching concepts, unreasonable teaching evaluation system, insufficient teaching content, and cultivate college students’ interest in sports and lifelong sports. Keywords college physical education, physical education, physical education, physical education 1. Introduction University public physical education is an important part of university education, which can improve students’ health awareness and physical practice ability, strengthen students’ physique, and promote students to become qualified talents with all-round development of morality, intelligence and physique (Wang, 2015). College physical education is compulsory, and physical education credit is a necessary condition for students to obtain degrees. Its purpose is to develop students’ physical fitness, learn scientific fitness, and entertainment, release the physical and mental pressure of college students in www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 2, 2023 70 Published by SCHOLINK INC. their studies and life, cultivate the habit of exercise, improve the awareness of sports and health, and develop the concept of lifelong sports. At present, China’s primary and secondary schools generally focus on exam-oriented education rather than physical education, resulting in poor overall physical fitness of college students. The physical quality of college students is a major issue related to the country and the national people’s movement. How to make college students better participate in physical exercise is the goal of every college physical education worker (Yao, 2022). In 2010, the Outline of the National Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development Plan (2010-2020) proposed to reform the education quality evaluation and talent evaluation system, improve the education and teaching evaluation, and explore various evaluation methods to promote student development (the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, 2010). In 2002, the Ministry of Education of China issued the National Guidelines for the Teaching of Physical Education Courses in General Universities, which proposed that physical education courses must be offered in the first and second grades of universities. Completing the prescribed physical education credits is one of the necessary conditions for students to graduate (Ministry of Education, 2002). Some schools have also added the assessment results of physical education courses in proportion to the development of scholarship programs, limiting the participation of some students with poor physical quality in the selection. 2. Deficiencies of Physical Education in Chinese Universities 2.1 Old Teaching Concepts In the teaching process of college public physical education courses, some teachers’ teaching ideas and concepts remain in the past and are bound by traditional education concepts. In the face of the relevant concepts of the new curriculum reform, the transformation is not timely, the understanding is not clear enough, and the new spirit of the curriculum reform cannot be correctly interpreted and grasped. Many teachers still follow the old path of traditional teaching with the slogan of new curriculum reform in the teaching process (Zhang & Zhao, 2020). Students are still in a passive position in the teaching process, and it is difficult to play the role of students as the main body in the physical education class, and it is difficult to achieve the teaching effect and mobilize the enthusiasm of students in physical education. 2.2 The Teaching Content Is Boring The content of university public physical education is lack rationality. Many schools pay too much attention to the training of students’ sports skills in the process of physical education, while ignoring the training of relevant sports theories and emotions, resulting in teaching only for students to master and improve the level of sports services, which is not conducive to the realization of the three-dimensional goal of teaching; Most universities focus on competitive events in the selection of teaching materials, and fail to effectively utilize and integrate the content according to the school’s own and local characteristic teaching resources, which makes the teaching lack of characteristics and vitality, www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 2, 2023 71 Published by SCHOLINK INC. and is not conducive to the effective development of physical education teaching (Wang, 2014). 2.3 The Teaching Evaluation System Is not Reasonable Bound by traditional concepts, some teachers are still using traditional teaching assessment models. In the current teaching process of university public physical education courses, many teachers pay too much attention to the evaluation of the final skill level in teaching evaluation, while ignoring the evaluation of students’ learning process. In terms of evaluation methods, most of them adopt same way of examination. This backward evaluation method and evaluation concept, evaluates public physical education curriculum overemphasize objectivity and quantification, and the evaluation content is rigid and single, which is not conducive to the comprehensive evaluation of students’ learning, and affects the development of students (Kang & Duan, 2012). In addition, in the evaluation process, there is still a lack of convincing evaluation criteria for the learning of non-skilled items that cannot be evaluated by examinations, which makes the objectivity of the evaluation of public physical education curriculum teaching lack of stability and not conducive to the sustainable development of teaching. 2.4 Limitations of Sports Facilities Sports facilities are necessary for sports teaching and extracurricular sports activities. The lack of sports facilities will affect the development of extracurricular sports activities in sports teaching. However, due to the continuous enrollment expansion of Chinese universities, the number of students has been increasing, and the country’s investment in higher education has not kept up with the pace of the enrollment expansion of the university for a long time. For its development, the university can only invest limited funds in the construction of various disciplines, while the investment in school sports venues and equipment is limited (Liu, 2009). This has led to a reduction in the per capita area of sports venues and per capita sports equipment for students, affecting their physical exercise. 3. Discussion 3.1 Establish the Teaching Guiding Ideology of Health First In the reform and innovation of university public physical education curricula, guiding ideology is the key. The National College Physical Education Curriculum Teaching Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education provide the guiding ideology of health first for the reform and innovation of college public physical education curriculum and guides the reform of college public physical education curriculum. Universities should implement the guiding ideology of health first, cultivate students’ interest in sports, and establish a student-oriented teaching concept. 3.2 Strengthen the Construction of Teaching Staff and Venue Equipment With the continuous expansion of university enrollment, the number of college students is increasing. But the sports teaching staff and venue equipment have not kept up with the pace of enrollment expansion. From the perspective of teachers’ academic structure, undergraduate education still accounts for a large proportion, and teachers’ scientific research level is not high, and the sports venues and sports facilities in most colleges and universities have not been able to adapt to the expanding number www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 2, 2023 72 Published by SCHOLINK INC. of students. These are not conducive to the development of school physical education and extracurricular physical activities. 3.3 Select Appropriate Teaching Contents and Methods, and Pay Attention to the Cultivation of Students’ Lifelong Sports Awareness From the perspective of teaching content, college physical education is still affected by traditional school physical education. The teaching content is mainly competitive sports, and the teaching content is mainly basic technology teaching, which is difficult to arouse students’ interest in learning; At the same time, teaching methods should also be flexible and should be able to adapt to the characteristics of students of all ages and their own physiological and psychological characteristics, to achieve better teaching results. The content of physical education curriculum textbooks should be in line with the development of the times, fully tap local resources and characteristics, achieve the update and modernity of the content of the textbooks, enhance the vividness and vividness of the textbooks, and meet the interests of students (Ma, 2014). 3.4 Design a Reasonable and Scientific Evaluation System for the Physical Education Curriculum The curriculum evaluation of physical education teaching should be comprehensively evaluated from various aspects, starting from the actual situation of each student. Take the learning effect of students on sports knowledge and skills as an evaluation aspect, and also pay attention to the physical development of students and the cultivation of sports ability; It not only assesses the students’ achievement of reaching the standard in physical education, but also combines the progress and effort of students’ learning and exercise; We should not only evaluate the intuitive learning and training effect but also pay attention to the evaluation of students’ psychology and learning attitude in physical training. 3.5 Implement the Course Selection System in the Form of Clubs Most universities implement the form of physical education class of two hours a week, which is far from the goal of exercising for one hour a day, and it is difficult to meet the students’ physical training needs. Therefore, universities can set up optional courses in the form of different items, levels, and time to meet the physical training needs of students at different levels and preferences. Students can choose individual sports items according to individual conditions, train students to master the means of physical exercise and stimulate their interest in participating in physical exercise, and promote the development of student’s physical and mental health and the formation of lifelong sports awareness. 4. Conclusion Universities physical education are related to student’s physical health and the development of sports habits, as well as the future of the country and nation. College physical education should change the current phenomenon of single teaching form, boring teaching content, unreasonable evaluation system, and insufficient venues and equipment. Physical education teachers should actively explore and learn, improve teaching quality, carry out teaching with a more scientific and reasonable evaluation system www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 2, 2023 73 Published by SCHOLINK INC. and rich content form, and cultivate college students’ interest in sports and the formation of lifelong sports. Reference Zhang, W., & Zhao, J. (2020). Research on the curriculum and teaching problems of public physical education in colleges and universities—A review of College Physical Education. Forest Products Industry, 8, 119. Kang, J. Y., & Duan, Z. Y. (2012). Research on the optimization of teaching content and assessment methods of public physical education. Journal of Shanxi Coal Management Cadre College, (04), 216-217 The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council. (2010). 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