Physical education is a part of the school instructional program that focuses on development through participation in various forms of bodily activity. Physical education programs encourage students to develop skills and enjoyment of exercise that will help them remain active throughout their lives. Courses in physical education are offered in all grades, from preschool through college. Students participate in a wide variety of activities, including basic movement, dance, fitness, games, recreational activities, and sports.
Teachers help students learn to enjoy physical activity by creating a noncompetitive environment that encourages individual development. Within such a supportive environment, students improve their fitness and basic motor skills, such as running and jumping. They also take part in a variety of games and sports. As students participate, they develop skills and strategies and increase their enjoyment of exercise.
Elementary school programs
Physical education programs in preschool through grade 2 focus on basic motor skills. Educators call this approach movement education. Teachers also encourage individual development and help students extend their basic skills with the problem-solving method. In this method, students work out their own solutions to a problem, such as how to balance on a narrow beam.
Programs in grades 1 and 2 also include elementary games, which stress participation by all students and cooperation rather than competition. Through participation in these games, children learn how to behave in play situations and how to get along with others in a group. Dance activities and exercises done to music are also included in these programs.
Programs in grades 3 and 4 help youngsters begin to develop the skills needed for many popular activities and sports. Children play simplified forms of such games as basketball, soccer, and volleyball. They also take part in gymnastics and track-and-field events.
In grades 5 and 6, students learn more advanced skills and strategies in team sports, such as softball and soccer. They also begin to learn individual sports, such as archery and golf. If facilities are available, they begin swimming and other water activities.
In grades 7 and 8, students learn more about fitness and strength development. Instructors may also introduce cooperative adventure games that require group problem solving. These games develop decision making, leadership, and cooperation skills.
Secondary school programs
Physical education programs in junior and senior high school continue instruction in many activities offered in elementary school programs. The teachers provide more advanced instruction, however, and the activities are more organized and demanding. The programs also add new sports, such as field hockey and badminton.
High school programs consist chiefly of sports that are popular lifetime recreational activities. Examples include bowling, bicycling, handball, skating, and tennis. Instructors regularly evaluate student performance and knowledge in fitness and sports.
Some high schools allow juniors and seniors to choose part of their physical education program from a number of nonrequired activities called electives. Students also may participate for credit in independent study projects or in a sports program outside school.
A growing number of high schools offer special courses in physical fitness. These courses combine classroom studies, laboratory tests to measure fitness, and individually designed exercise programs.
Many junior and senior high schools offer interscholastic sports, in which schools compete against each other, as an extension of their physical education programs. Popular interscholastic sports include basketball, football, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, and tennis. Many schools also offer intramural programs, which involve students from the same school. Intramural programs enable students to participate in sports tournaments and recreational activities after school.
University and college programs
Most colleges and universities offer physical education programs. Students at some schools must take one or two years of physical education. At other schools, these courses are optional. College-level students may continue a sport they played in high school or learn a new one. Large universities offer many activities not available at smaller schools, such as sailing and skiing.
Many colleges and universities offer bachelor’s degrees in physical education. These degrees require the study of such subjects as anatomy, sports techniques, and teaching methods. Some institutions also offer master’s or doctor’s degrees in physical education.
History of physical education
Early history.
Many experts trace the origins of modern physical education to the ancient Greeks, who had developed organized physical education programs by the 700’s B.C. Greek boys attended educational facilities called gymnasiums, where they received physical and military training. Some gymnasiums also provided instruction in philosophy and other subjects. At the gymnasiums, boys took part in jumping, running, and wrestling. They also practiced throwing a platter-shaped object called the discus and a spear called the javelin.
In ancient Rome, physical education served chiefly as preparation for battle. Soldiers practiced swimming, running, jumping, and throwing to increase their fitness.
The Middle Ages, which began in about the A.D. 400’s and lasted through the 1400’s, were marked by a decline in all types of formal schooling, including physical education. People of this time considered many sports and other physical activities sinful.
During the Renaissance, a period lasting from about 1300 to about 1600, many Greek and Roman educational ideas were revived. Students again took part in boxing, swimming, and other body-building activities.
During the 1800’s,
physical education programs were introduced into schools in Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. German and Swedish programs featured gymnastics and exercise routines. British schools emphasized team sports. Physical education spread to the United States during the mid-1800’s under such names as physical culture and physical training. The U.S. programs borrowed activities and teaching methods from the European programs.
Intercollegiate competition in baseball, football, and other sports began during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. These sports grew rapidly in popularity and led to increased interest in physical education.
During the 1900’s,
physical education began to include groups that formerly were denied chances to participate. For example, few female students took physical education until the late 1800’s, and even then most classes were segregated by sex. By the late 1900’s, most physical education classes included both sexes. Males and females competed separately in only a few sports, and many more sports became available to females. In addition, federal laws passed in 1969 and 1970 required schools receiving federal funds to provide physical education programs for students with disabilities at all educational levels.
During the 1990’s, physical education gained new emphasis because of scientific studies showing that exercise improves health. In 1996, the surgeon general of the United States released a report on physical activity and health. This report said that regular, moderate exercise can significantly reduce the risk of dying from heart disease, high blood pressure, colon cancer, and diabetes. The report noted, however, that almost half of American youths from 12 to 21 years old are not regularly active. Several other studies in the 1990’s showed that children had less strength and endurance, and more weight problems than earlier generations of children had. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began a major effort to help states, national organizations, and professional groups promote physical activity.
Physical education today
stresses helping children develop good exercise habits and a healthy lifestyle, rather than win competitions. As a result, schools put new emphasis on preparing students for lifelong fitness based on regular physical activity.
Careers in physical education
Most careers in physical education involve teaching. Physical education teachers in public schools must have a bachelor’s degree and a teaching certificate, a license to teach awarded by each state. Many physical education teachers also coach interscholastic sports.
Physical education instructors in colleges and universities teach classes and direct intramural sports. They also give teacher-training classes for future physical education teachers. In addition, some physical education teachers coach intercollegiate sports. Many instructors at the college level have a master’s or doctor’s degree.
Other individuals with degrees in physical education direct recreation programs at day-care centers, parks, or prisons. Some careers in physical education—for example, athletic trainer or sports administrator—require both training in physical education and additional study in a related field.
