Vol. 1, Issue 1, December 1999

The New Physical Education
Do you remember push-ups, trying to keep up with your school's track star while running laps, straining to pull your chin up over a bar that was three feet over your head? If you do, you remember the regimen that was, and for many students still is, Physical Education.

However, there's a movement afoot toward a kinder, although not necessarily gentler, physical education. The "new" physical education is not a specific curriculum or program; it is, instead, a new paradigm, a new philosophy. Different teachers might emphasize different aspects of the new physical education, but they share the same fundamental vision of what physical education should be all about: Helping young people enjoy physical activity now and for the rest of their lives. 

The new physical education:

• emphasizes knowledge and skills for a lifetime of physical activity; 
• is based on national standards that define what students should know and be able to do;
• keeps students active for most of class time;
• provides many different physical activity choices;
• meets needs of all students, especially those who are not athletically gifted;
• features cooperative, as well as competitive, games;
• develops student self-confidence and eliminates practices that humiliate students (e.g., having team captains choose sides, dodgeball, and other games of elimination);
• assesses students on their progress in reaching goals, not on whether they achieve an absolute standard;
• promotes physical activity outside of school;
• teaches self-management skills, such as goal-setting and self-monitoring;
• focuses, at the high school level, on helping adolescents make the transition to a physically active adult lifestyle;
• actively teaches cooperation, fair play, and responsible participation in physical activity, and
• is an enjoyable experience for students.

The need to get young people moving is undeniable. Less than half (49%) of high school students (grades 9–12) in the U.S. are enrolled in physical education classes, and only 27% take physical education daily. While physical activity among children is waning, overweight is increasing at alarming rates: From 1963 to 1994, overweight in children aged six–17 years more than doubled from approximately 4% to approximately 11%. 

One of the most important aspects of the new physical education is—it's FUN! A recent report on a national survey of children and their parents found that children who enjoy physical education class are more likely to have physically active lives (Sallis, J.F., et al. Correlates of physical activity in a national sample of girls and boys in grades 4 through 12. Health Psychology 1999;18(4):410–415). The report indicates that enjoying physical education class was one of only three factors that were associated with increasing students' overall levels of physical activity; the other two factors were 1) spending afternoon free time outdoors or playing sports and 2) family encouragement of physical activity.

The new physical education has a way to go before becoming the norm rather than the exception. In many school districts, budget cuts and full schedules have drastically reduced or eliminated physical education altogether. But, in other districts, new activities—from inline skating to power walking, country line dancing to ultimate frisbee— and a new approach to instruction and class management are changing the shape of physical education.

As the popularity of the new physical education increases among students, parents, educators, and administrators, it has caught the eye of the national media, making recent headlines in the Washington Post, Kansas City Star, Chicago Tribune, and the Wall Street Journal. The Star asked its readers, "Does P.E. stand for ‘Pretty Exciting'?" and answered, "It does...in many schools that are emphasizing more fun, flexibility."

At Cabell-Midland High School in Ona, WV, students are donning wet suits, skis, and bicycle helmets and taking their activities to the great outdoors. One of the school's physical education courses introduces students to outdoor activities such as mountain biking, whitewater rafting, and cross country and downhill skiing. Students are taught to develop the skills and endurance needed for safe participation in each of the activities. Students develop portfolios that include reading, writing, Internet, and mathematical assignments related to the physical activity they are studying. For example, their portfolio might include maps of rivers where whitewater rafting or trails for mountain biking are available in West Virginia.

Bane McCracken, Cabell-Midland's director of physical education, says his approach to physical education emphasizes fitness and lifetime activity, and provides an outlet for students who might not be into traditional, competitive sports. "If we're only teaching sports skills, we're not doing our job," McCracken said. By rewarding students for effort, McCracken de-emphasizes the pressures of competition that are a major turnoff to physical activity for many students. "When we play sports, we keep pulse, not score," he said. That's just one of the new ideas that are making the new physical education one of the most rewarding periods in the school day. 

We know that children and adolescents need to engage in more physical activity and that both school and community programs play a part in the overall well-being of our youth. But how do you begin to implement new programs within your community, and what kinds of programs have track records that will encourage local school boards and community groups to invest the time and resources for such programs?

Active Youth: Ideas for Implementing CDC Physical Activity Promotion Guidelines, published in 1998, illustrates 20 examples of effective programs that address CDC's guidelines on physical activity for youth. The book highlights programs that can be implemented in a wide variety of settings, from schools to hospitals to YMCAs.

Programs described in the book are being conducted in a variety of locations, East Coast to West, inner-city to rural areas. Their common bond is success. Active Youth is available from Human Kinetics ($14). 

Rigorous evaluation studies have documented the effectiveness of two elementary school physical education curricula: CATCH (Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health) PE, for grades 3–5, and SPARK (Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids), for grades K–6.

Both curricula emphasize increasing the amount of time students engage in physical activity during physical education class, and both feature fun, kid-tested and approved activities. For example, in SPARK, first graders play games like T-Rex Tag, an updated version of capture the flag, while sixth graders participate in "Heart Alert," which keeps them moving while learning about the risk factors for heart attack. CATCH PE includes step aerobics and a variety of activities that can be conducted in limited space. Both curricula stress teaching students self-management skills, such as goal-setting and self-monitoring.

CATCH PE was tested in schools in California, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas. Students in schools that used CATCH PE had significantly more daily vigorous physical activity than did students in control schools, and these differences remained when the children were followed up in eighth grade. The CATCH PE curriculum is currently being disseminated by the University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health under a new name: Coordinated Approach To Child Health. Learn more about CATCH PE.

Evaluations have found that students in SPARK PE classes spent significantly more time engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity during class compared with students in non-SPARK physical education classes. Learn more about SPARK. 

Physical Dimensions

In Kansas, the Physical Dimensions program is changing the face of high school physical education by reinforcing skills that will keep students active throughout their lives. "The program de-emphasizes team sports and focuses on keeping everybody moving," said Bobbie Harris, Program Director for Physical Dimensions.

The program began in 1992 when the Kansas Health Foundation (KHF) proposed a challenge to the state's Department of Education: Develop and implement a curriculum that provides youth with the knowledge and skills to enjoy a physically healthy lifestyle. The KHF provided start-up funds for the project with a $350,000 grant.

Harris said that since its inception as a pilot in five Kansas high schools, the curriculum has been implemented in more than 150 high schools across the state, which is more than 40% of all public high schools in Kansas. Due to the success of Physical Dimensions, KHF provided additional funding: earlier this year, a middle school curriculum, Physical Focus, was introduced as a pilot program in seven middle schools. Harris said that students in Physical Focus classes spend considerably more class time either being physically active or engaged in active learning, such as a problem-solving or cooperative activities compared with students in other physical education classes.  

The Physical Dimensions course is designed to provide young adults with the knowledge and skills needed to develop a physically active, healthy lifestyle. The curriculum consists of four, three-week segments for each of three areas: Health-Related Fitness, Lifetime Physical Activity, and Health/Wellness Concepts and Skills.

Before the program is implemented in a school or district, there are 2½-day training sessions to train faculty. Harris said development of the Physical Dimensions program has been a real team effort. "The key," stated Harris, "is to involve people from every level—grassroots to state government—to get everybody buying into it. Most importantly, you have to involve the teachers in the development of the program. This greatly improves the quality of the program, as well as its chances for being widely implemented."

Before introducing the curriculum to schools statewide, it was tested in a variety of settings—large and small communities, rural and suburban areas, and in areas with diverse populations. Harris monitors school progress by visiting participating schools whenever possible. The program also provides information to participating teachers through a Web site, which includes an online discussion group that allows teachers in participating schools to communicate successes and discuss concerns with one another.

How can your state or school start a program like Physical Dimensions? Harris said you must first get people to recognize that they need a change. Once that happens, bring representatives of relevant groups together to create a plan. In Kansas, a number of teachers and administrators gathered for a two-day retreat. Harris said the group looked at two primary topics: What were the characteristics of an ideal program and which programs were needed most. Getting teachers to participate in training sessions was critical to the success of her initiative, Harris explained. "The key decision we made was to provide the curriculum only to teachers who attend the training."

For more information on the program, contact Bobbie Harris, Project Director, at Wichita State University, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260-0016; phone: 316-978-5957; fax: 316-978-5451; E-mail: pebobbie@aol.com.

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The publication of this newsletter is made possible by contract number 200-96-0517 from CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Adolescent and School Health. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC.