Background: National school curriculum statements detail what it is important to learn and are highly context- and discipline-specific. The health and physical education (H&PE) learning areas have multiple learning purposes, and facilitating this in curriculum design is a significant and challenging task. Objective: There is little reporting…

Psychiatric disorders, particularly substance use disorders, are an impactful and highly prevalent public health concern in youth from low-income neighborhoods (YLINs). Indeed, prevention and intervention programs for mental health disorders that have evidenced improvements in youth from general population are not well integrated into community…

As comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) professional development becomes increasingly available to current K-12 physical education teachers, this special feature shifts attention to the preparation of future PE teachers and teacher educators for CSPAP. The purpose of this concluding article is to summarize the undergraduate- and…

Background: Addressing the limitations of existing Local Wellness Policies (LWPs) and promoting their implementation remain priorities for health and education agencies. One gap has been the absence of a standard assessment to support LWP revision. During planning for an initiative to improve school nutrition and physical education policy, the…

Physical education has been an integral part of the school curriculum for more than a century. Although the focus has changed over time, the major objective has remained relatively constant: to provide students with the knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and confidence to be physically active throughout their lifetime. As more physical…

In "Physical Education Teacher Effectiveness in a Public Health Context," we took a broad view of physical education (PE) teacher effectiveness that included public health need and support for PE. Public health officials have been consistent and fervent in their support of PE, and for more than two decades, they have called on schools to…

As a result of their participation in K-12 physical education, students should obtain high levels of physical activity and learn motor and/or sport skills. How to accomplish these outcomes in the context of K-12 physical education is a continuous challenge for teachers. The purpose of this article is to introduce the play community model, which…

This article argues for a new direction in research on health education within physical education (PE). Governments are increasingly looking to schools as a convenient form of public health investment. PE is implicated in health because of its core focus on physical activity, but there is little evidence to suggest that PE improves health…

The "Curriculum for Excellence" (CfE) guidelines and associated learning experiences and outcomes have been developed following a national debate on the purposes of education in Scotland. The recent development shifts physical education's (PE) role in Scottish education, changing from contributing to the "Expressive Arts" area…

Although the benefits of regular physical activity are widely acknowledged, recent findings indicate that a growing number of youth are not as active as they should be. The impact of a sedentary lifestyle during childhood on lifelong pathological processes and associated health care costs have created a need for immediate action to manage, if not…

In our reflection on Rink's (2013), McKenzie and Lounsbery's (2013), and Ward's (2013) characterizations of effective teaching in physical education (PE), 2 themes emerged that permeate these diverse perspectives: policy and accountability. In our commentary, we focus our initial discussion on the implications that policy and accountability have…

Body image is an individual's emotional response to one's appearance including size and shape; this response may not be helpful in the pursuit of overall health and well-being. This policy analysis examines the treatment of body image in Canadian Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum policies using a body image analysis framework…

The 1991 paper, "Physical Education's Role in Public Health" described the importance of physical education in addressing public health problems. On its 20th anniversary, this article reviews accomplishments in improving the health impact of physical education and identifies areas lacking progress. Major accomplishments include development of…

Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAP) are designed to provide expanded opportunities for physical activity beyond regularly scheduled physical education time-including before, during, and after school, as well as at home and in the community. While CSPAPs are gaining support, currently there are no models for designing,…

Bloch (2009, 58), a previous advocate of Outcomes-based Education (OBE), states that "schooling in SA" is a national disaster. Quality holistic education that includes Physical Education (PE) and school sport should be the focal point of progress in developing countries. However, PE is worldwide in a political crisis and the situation is…