Definition

A physically educated person is one who:
  • Has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities.
  • Is physically fit.
  • Participates regularly in physical activity.
  • Knows the implications of and the benefits from involvement in physical activities.
  • Values physical activity and its contribution to a healthful lifestyle.

Purpose:

The purpose of physical education is to:
  • Involve the learner in a wide range of movement, knowledge, and skill-building experiences.
  • Contribute to the learner's growing value system and his/her development of responsible attitudes and behavior essential to a healthy lifestyle.
  • Promote understanding and appreciation for differences among people in physical activity settings.
  • Develop the habit of choosing to regularly participate in physical activity as part of a health-enhancing personal fitness plan.
  • Expand options for wise use of leisure time.

Characteristics:

Physical educators share beliefs about learners and the nature of learning that are evident in their development of instruction in physical education.

  • A physical education curriculum must be developmentally appropriate; that is, suitable for the developmental range of the learner in a group, but implemented with careful attention to the needs, interests, and developmental level of individual learners within the group.
  • Learners are unique, each developing skills and understanding of different rates and from different experiences.
  • Learners need to be responsible for decision making. Physical educators must be responsible for helping the individual learner develop the ability to make wise and appropriate choices about physical activity now and in the future.
  • The development of one's full potential will occur for students who have been instructed to become increasingly independent learners.
  • The social, emotional, and motor development of each learner can be improved by a trained and experienced teacher who chooses and develops learning experiences based on an understanding of each student and how s/he learns.
  • Each learner can grow in self-esteem, respect for, and an understanding of others.

The Physical Education Standards and the teaching and learning developed from them address six goals:

  1. Achieve his/her highest level of competency in movement skills.
  2. Understand and apply movement concepts and principles to the learning and development of movement skills.
  3. Understand the cost and benefits of participating regularly in health-enhancing physical activities.
  4. Demonstrate responsible personal and social behavior in physical activity settings.
  5. Understand and learn to respect differences among people in physical activity settings.
  6. Understand that physical activity provides an opportunity for enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and social interaction.

Upon graduation from high school, all students demonstrate these standards when defined by opportunities/activities that are designed to measure attainment of these physical education program standards. For students with unique needs, the means of attaining these standards may be different and alternative opportunities/activities designed to ensure students the opportunity to demonstrate these standards or an individualization of one or more standards.

The primary purpose of the K-5 physical education program is to enable younger students to begin developing competence in fundamental movement skills through the provision of a wide variety of movement experiences and practice opportunities which are developmentally appropriate. The program is divided into three content areas: educational games, gymnastics, and dance. Specific themes and learning objectives within each area provide a framework around which learning experiences are designed. Physical fitness concepts and activities are also fully integrated into the three areas.

During the middle school years, students have opportunities to apply the fundamental movement skills that were learned in elementary school. Increasingly complex and integrated movement patterns are presented that focus on individual and team sports skills, dance, and gymnastics. Emphasis is placed on providing students with an exploratory experience through a diverse curriculum which includes games and sports, gymnastics, dance, and fitness activities. The intent is to allow students to discover their strengths, needs, likes, and dislikes rather than concentrating on a few activities to develop a high level of specialized skill.

High school students are provided a common core of learning experiences in the freshman and sophomore years. These experiences include individual and team sports, dance, aquatics, gymnastics, and fitness activities designed to develop beginning and intermediate skills. In the junior/senior years, students select activities in which they desire to pursue an in-depth learning experience.

Throughout a student's K-12 physical education experience, opportunities exist to integrate Health Education, Environmental Education, and Education for Employment into the Physical Education curriculum.

The physical education program at each of the three instructional levels is viewed as an important part of a K-12 articulated sequence. Throughout this sequence, the six content standards and the performance standards' tasks persist as unifying themes that give purpose and direction to both students and teachers.

A significant benefit to physical education offered through the delineation of a comprehensive set of standards is the potential to change a perception that physical education is an "academically soft" area of study.