Physical education


Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing primary, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United States it is informally called gym class or gym. Physical education generally focuses on developing physical fitness, motor skills, health awareness, and social interaction through activities such as sports, exercise, and movement education. While curricula vary by country, PE generally aims to promote lifelong physical activity and well-being. Unlike other academic subjects, physical education is distinctive because it engages students across the psychomotor, cognitive, affective, social, and cultural domains of learning. Physical education content differs internationally, as physical activities often reflect the geographic, cultural, and environmental features of each region. While the purpose of physical education is debated, one of its central goals is generally regarded as socialising and empowering young people to value and participate in diverse movement and physical activity cultures.

Five Learning Bodies in PE (Core Learning Domains)

Historically, the field of physical education has focused on three learning domains: affective, cognitive, and psychomotor. More recently, however, scholarship in physical education has recently acknowledged two additional, social and cultural domains of learning. Recently, physical education researchers from Australia, Sweden and the United Kingdom have re-formulated the Domains of Learning to be understood as Five Learning Bodies in physical education: Moving Body, Thinking Body, Emotional Body, Social Body, and Cultural Body. This re-formulation was done using the academic literature in physical education and education more broadly.
  • Moving Body: This dimension emphasizes the development of physical competencies and motor skills. It encompasses students' abilities to perform various movements with control, coordination, and efficiency, forming the foundation of traditional PE activities.
  • Thinking Body: Beyond physical movement, this aspect focuses on cognitive engagement. It involves understanding rules, strategies, and concepts related to physical activities, fostering critical thinking, decision-making, and reflective practices among students.
  • Social Body: This facet highlights the importance of social interactions and relationships in PE settings. It considers how students collaborate, communicate, and build relationships through physical activities, promoting teamwork, empathy, and a sense of community.
  • Emotional Body: Recognizing the emotional experiences associated with physical activity, this dimension addresses feelings such as joy, frustration, confidence, and anxiety. It underscores the role of emotions in motivation, engagement, and overall well-being in PE.
  • Cultural Body: This component acknowledges the cultural contexts and identities that students bring into PE. It involves understanding how cultural backgrounds, values, and societal norms influence students' participation and experiences in physical activities.
By integrating these five learning bodies, teachers can offer a comprehensive approach to PE that transcends the traditional focus on physical activity alone. This framework encourages educators to consider the multifaceted nature of student development, promoting inclusive and meaningful learning experiences in physical education.

Curriculum approaches to physical education

Like education more broadly, there are different curriculum approaches to physical education. Ennis has identified that there are three main approaches to curriculum in physical education: Factory, Garden and Journey.
  • Factory Model: The Factory model treats education like an assembly line, where students are expected to master specific skills through standardised instruction and assessment. In physical education, this might look like a unit on basketball where all students learn the same set of drills and are assessed with performance rubrics or timed tasks. The teacher leads the class with a focus on efficiency, discipline, and outcome-based results. While this ensures consistency, it can ignore diverse learning needs or interests.
  • * Example: A teacher sets up skill stations and times students on lay-up drills, awarding scores based on accuracy and speed.
  • Garden Model: The Garden model sees students as individuals with unique potential that needs nurturing. Physical education under this model emphasises emotional wellbeing, inclusivity, and student choice. A teacher may design activities that allow for various levels of participation and success, such as yoga, dance, or cooperative games, ensuring every student feels safe and supported. The emphasis is on enjoyment, personal growth, and developing a positive relationship with movement.
  • * Example: During a fitness unit, students set their own personal health goals and reflect weekly on their progress with teacher feedback.
  • Journey Model: The Journey model frames PE as a process of exploration, where learning unfolds over time and is guided by curiosity and reflection. The teacher and students co-create experiences that are meaningful and relevant. In this model, a teacher might facilitate a project where students design their own games, explore cultural sports, or investigate how physical activity affects mental health. The emphasis is on personal meaning, collaboration, and making connections beyond the classroom.
  • * Example: Students work in groups to research traditional Indigenous games, learn the rules, and then teach them to their peers while discussing the cultural significance of each activity.
These curricular approaches are never fully adopted by a school or teacher. Rather, it is likely that schools are using a combination of these approaches in order to address the learning needs of students. Further, each approach is necessary at a different time. That said, skill mastery is often located at the factory end of this continuum whereas critical thinking skills are often part of the journey end of the continuum.
One particular approach to physical education that is not captured in the above three models is a critical approach to curriculum. A critical approach is often linked to addressing the social and cultural dimensions of physical education. As such, part of this instruction includes teaching about the role of inequity in health, movement and the body.
  • Critical Approach: Critical curriculum approaches in physical education aims to transform the subject from a site of physical performance and reproduction of norms into a space for critical thinking and social change. Rather than simply delivering content or developing physical skills, a critical curriculum invites students and teachers to question whose bodies, knowledges and experiences are valued in PE, and to work toward creating more empowering learning environments.
  • * Example: The students might reflect on gameplay and discuss how current rules of a game limit participation, teamwork and fairness. They would then revise the rules collaboratively to improve these elements for the next game.

    Pedagogy

The main goals in teaching modern physical education are:
  • To expose children and teens to a wide variety of exercise and healthy activities. Because physical education can be accessible to nearly all children, it is one of the only opportunities that can guarantee beneficial and healthy activity in children.
  • To teach skills to maintain a lifetime of fitness as well as health.
  • To encourage self-reporting and monitoring of exercise.
  • To individualize duration, intensity, and type of activity.
  • To focus feedback on the work, rather than the result.
  • To provide active role models.
It is critical for physical educators to foster and strengthen developing motor skills and to provide children and teens with a basic skill set that builds their movement repertoire, which allows students to engage in various forms of games, sports, and other physical activities throughout their lifetime.
These goals can be achieved in a variety of ways. National, state, and local guidelines often dictate which standards must be taught in regards to physical education. These standards determine what content is covered, the qualifications educators must meet, and the textbooks and materials which must be used. These various standards include teaching sports education, or the use of sports as exercise; fitness education, relating to overall health and fitness; and movement education, which deals with movement in a non-sport context.
These approaches and curricula are based on pioneers in PE, namely, Francois Delsarte, Liselott Diem, and Rudolf von Laban, who, in the 1800s focused on using a child's ability to use their body for self-expression. This, in combination with approaches in the 1960s, gave birth to the modern teaching of physical education.
Recent research has also explored the role of physical education for moral development in support of social inclusion and social justice agendas, where it is under-researched, especially in the context of disability, and the social inclusion of disabled people.

Technology use in physical education

Many physical education classes utilize technology to assist their pupils in effective exercise. One of the most affordable and popular tools is a simple video recorder. With this, students record themselves, and, upon playback, can see mistakes they are making in activities like throwing or swinging. Studies show that students find this more effective than having someone try to explain what they are doing wrong, and then trying to correct it.
Educators may also use technology such as pedometers and heart rate monitors to make step and heart rate goals for students. Implementing pedometers in physical education can improve physical activity participation, motivation and enjoyment.
Other technologies that can be used in a physical education setting include video projectors and GPS systems. Gaming systems and their associated games, such as the Kinect, Wii, and Wii Fit can also be used. Projectors are used to show students proper form or how to play certain games. GPS systems can be used to get students active in an outdoor setting, and active exergames can be used by teachers to show students a good way to stay fit in and out of a classroom setting. Exergames, or digital games that require the use of physical movement to participate, can be used as a tool to encourage physical activity and health in young children.
Technology integration can increase student motivation and engagement in the Physical Education setting. However, the ability of educators to effectively use technology in the classroom is reliant on a teacher's perceived competence in their ability to integrate technology into the curriculum.
Beyond traditional tools, recent AI advancements are introducing new methods for personalizing physical education, especially for adolescents. AI applications like adaptive coaching are starting to show promise in enhancing student motivation and program effectiveness in physical education settings.