Reconceptualizing Physical Education

Physical education curricula evolved to emphasize physical training, personal hygiene, character development, fitness development, sports competency, and health. These emphases led to different ways to conceptualize the curricula for primary and secondary schools. This book raises a need to re-conceptualize the physical education curriculum and proposes a life-scan perspective for physical education curriculum conceptualization. Reconceptualizing Physical Education proposes a conceptual framework to focus on the life journey of physical activity, which is guided by the monist perspective and a lifelong approach to physical literacy. Section I of the book lays out important theoretical articulation for a two-dimensional framework with the goal of educating the learner to take a lifelong perspective to personal health and physically active lifestyles. Section II presents curriculum frameworks designed for primary schools and secondary schools. In each framework chapter, the details of content and learning tasks are discussed in terms of the two-dimensional functions. Each framework may be used directly for curriculum development. The book is intended for curriculum scholars and researchers in physical education, graduate students in health and physical education curriculum studies, and teachers in physical education and health education. It may also be of interest of researchers and graduate students in kinesiology fields and public health.

Ang Chen is professor of kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, United States. His research focuses on children's and adolescents' learning, motivation, physical activity behavior in K-12 school physical education, and beyond. His expertise also includes physical literacy, physical skill assessment, program evaluation, and research methods.

Section I: Physical Education, Physical Literacy, and the Need for a Reconceptualization 1. Physical Education in Transition 2. Perspectives on the Physical Education Curriculum 3. Operationalizing Physical Literacy 4. Physical Literacy and the Marginalized Physical Education 5. Conceptualizing the Transformative Curriculum Section II: A Transformative Curriculum Framework 6. Starting the Physical Literacy Journey: The Elementary Curriculum (Part 1) 7. Accelerating the Physical Literacy Journey: The Elementary Curriculum (Part 2) 8. Sustaining the Physical Literacy Journey: The Secondary Curriculum (Part 1) 9: Autopiloting the Physical Literacy Journey: The Secondary Curriculum (Part 2) 10. Learning Assessment 11. Supporting Research Evidence 12. The Future is Now