The purpose of this study was to determine the status
of risk management in secondary school physical education
programs in Tennessee. One hundred and sixty secondary
school physical education department chairs were surveyed
through the use of a questionnaire. A national panel of
experts validated the instrument. Fifty-nine physical
education department chairs responded, representing a
response of 37.0%.
The study was divided into four sections: (1)
demographics, (2) risk management procedures related to
facilities and equipment, (3) risk management procedures
related to the physical education program, and (4) risk
management procedures related to medical standards and
practices. Frequencies and percentages of responses to the
questions were analyzed and reported. Chi-square analysis
was used to determine differences between some responses.
The findings from the investigation revealed that the
majority of all public and private secondary schools in
Tennessee have a specific person responsible for risk
management in physical education. There were no respondents
in this study who had been found guilty of negligence in a
court of law, nor had any been formally accused of
negligence. There were significant differences between
public and private schools in regard to some items on the
questionnaire. The results indicated that public schools
formally addressed more physical education risk management
issues than private schools. Conclusions and
recommendations were made based on information acquired from
the administration of this study.