A Critical Look at Physical Education and What Must Be Done to Address Obesity Issues

Abstract

P hysical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE) are no strangers to change over the past 100 years, growing and morphing in order to meet changing societal interests and demands. From its beginnings in the late 19th century as a vehicle for health promotion (under the direction of physicians), to the immediacy of military preparedness , then for recreation and leisure pursuits (1950s-present), PE has reinvented itself over and over again (Corbin, 1993). Curiously, due to national crises such as obesity and other lifestyle issues, PE finds itself having come full circle-to once again fill a role as a health promotion tool. Park, as early as 1989, labeled PE as the renaissance field of the 21st century, but many others in the field hesitate to make changes that would lead to such a rebirth or even resist such changes. The target has moved, and some find it extremely unsettling. Johnson (2002) described dealing with moving targets in a delightful allegory involving four mice that are forced to deal with change when someone moves their cheese. Well, someone has moved our collective cheese, and we now have to deal with it! This article takes a frank look at the need for educational reform in physical education. It discusses the past and present failings and the implications of those failures. It presents only six PE teachers' opinions, but it is an informed opinion, based on a combined 123 years in the business both as PE teachers and as PETE and wellness professors. This article is not exhaustive in scope, but a beginning that is intended to promote dialogue and action aimed at making PE not only a player in this national debate but the go-to player.Our examination is guided by Collins's (2001) "good-to-great" framework, which identifies the characteristics of companies that made a remarkable transformation from being average to becoming great by outperforming comparison companies and the market as a whole. To make the leap from good to great, each company had to develop one essential aspect: an unflinching willingness to face the most brutal facts of one's situation. We propose that PE must examine, with unflinching honesty, its past failings and current realities in order to move forward-to move from good to great. While we remain optimistic about the value of and future for PE in public schools, the problems that PE faces have convinced us that it must make its own dramatic transformation.This transformation, however, must not be haphazard nor piecemeal. Cautioning against maintaining the status quo or attempting insufficient change, Lawrence

Health-Related Fitness Models in Physical Education

“…If secondary physical education is to survive, it may need to change its fundamental focus, as well as its delivery (Prusak et al, 2011). In his 2012 article, Sallis and others recommended that the term "health-related physical education," which was introduced in 1991 by the same author, be replaced with "health-optimizing physical education" or HOPE.…”

“…Maria Corte at Mesa High School in Mesa, AZ already provides such a curriculum, and it has been coined the health club or health promotion model (Bycura & Darst, 2001;Darst et al, 2012;Prusak et al, 2011). By encompassing aspects of both CPE Downloaded by [University of Texas Libraries] at 15:03 04 December 2014 and HOPE, the students who enroll in a physical education class that implements a health-fitness club approach may have the opportunity to improve their personal fitness and health while they learn the joys and benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle.…”

Overcoming Marginalization of Physical Education in America's Schools with Professional Learning Communities

“…Consequently, he pointed out the gross injustice of teacher accountability based on learning outcomes that are out of the control of the teachers. Prusak et al (2011) pointed to additional sources of resistance resulting from teacher-coach role conflicts, misaligned job expectations with shifting job descriptions (i.e., today's physical education is not what they signed up for), or, for some, an extinguished personal or professional will. Others, maybe not a few, are suspicious of the "next educational buzzword" that they have seen come and go without making things better for physical education.…”

“…While, admittedly, there are shortcomings within the physical education ranks (e.g., indifference, resistance to change, lack of personal responsibility for professional growth; Prusak et al, 2011), most of these barriers are imposed on practitioners from without. Ironically, physical education is being overlooked at a time when the nation cannot afford to do so.…”

National Board Certification for Physical Education Teachers

“…It is unfortunate that the field of physical education as a whole has not been focused on accountability or student learning outcomes simply because it has not been required (Prusak et al, 2011). Effective physical education can provide children with the tools for participating in safe and healthy activities throughout their lives.…”