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The Importance of Physical Education

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Infographic on the importance of physical education
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Of the many subjects children study in school, there may be none more important than physical education. However it must be of high quality and aligned with state/national standards and guidelines. A high quality physical education program offers children opportunities to develop the skills, concepts, and dispositions needed to be physically active for life. Sufficient, regular physical activity not only helps prevent major diseases but it also promotes learning; reduces stress, anxiety, and depression; and improves overall student wellness. It doesn’t matter if the child excels in every other subject in school and grows up to become a successful doctor/lawyer/engineer/etc., with poor health any professional achievement becomes secondary.

​There are many factors that contribute to the ease of implementing and sustaining a quality program, including the involvement of the administration, parents, and community. However it ultimately comes down to the willingness of the physical education teacher(s) to do their best no matter the situation.

​That being said, REAL teachers still need our support and appreciation. This can be in the form of equipment (every jump-rope, pedometer, heart-rate monitor, and home-made scoop catcher counts), classroom assistance, time and funding for professional development, and by advocating for quality physical education at the local, state, and national level.
 

Videos on the Benefits of Physical Education

Our Documentary - No Excuses!
What is Physical Literacy and Why is it Important?
Research indicates that one of the leading factors for participating in physical activity is one's confidence and self-efficacy in that activity (Study 1; Study 2; Study 3). This finding supports the need for attaining physical literacy in order to have the best chance at leading a physically active lifestyle. With each skill mastered, new opportunities for physical activity are opened.
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​The table below lists some of the most utilized skill themes and what percentage of popular physical activities require them (table is based on Children Moving: A Reflective Approach to Teaching Physical Education, 2007). Canadian Sport for Life and Human Kinetics have similar graphics as well.
Skills Needed in Various Physical Activities
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Additional Resources on Physical Literacy

​National Guidelines and Recommendations for Physical Education
According to the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act, physical education is recognized as part of a "well-rounded education." ​​
​"SHAPE America recommends that schools provide 150 minutes of instructional physical education for elementary school children, and 225 minutes for middle and high school students per week for the entire school year. A quality physical education program provides learning opportunities, appropriate instruction, meaningful and challenging content and student and program assessment" (Physical Education Position Statements).
Position STATEMENTS on PHYSICAL EDUCATION
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  1. Active Living Research - School Policies on Physical Education and Physical Activity
  2. American Academy of Pediatrics - Physical Fitness and Activity in Schools
  3. American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, and American Heart Association - Learning for Life: Physical Education in Public Schools
  4. American Heart Association and American Stroke Association - Physical Education in Schools: Both Quality and Quantity are Important
  5. ​Aspen Institute - Project Play
  6. ​​Association for Physical Education - Health Position Paper
  7. Center for Disease Control and Prevention - Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs: A Guide for Schools
  8. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies - Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
  9. International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education - Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
  10. National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments - School-Based Physical Fitness & the Link to Student Academic Outcomes & Improved School Climate​
  11. PHIT America - Physical Education in Schools (no longer available)
  12. ​​Physical and Health Education Canada - Why Do Our Children Need Quality Daily Physical Education?
  13. ​SHAPE America - 2016 SHAPE of the Nation Report
  14. SHAPE America - Physical Education is Essential for All Students: No Substitutions, Waivers or Exemptions for Physical Education
  15. The Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation - Position Paper
  16. ​United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization - Quality Physical Education: Guidelines for Policy Makers
  17. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Strategies to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth
DATA ON HEALTH and Health Policies
WHAT ABOUT COURSE SUBSTITUTIONS/waivers?​
the benefits of physical education - Research Articles
  1. A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Physical Activity and Happiness
  2. A Physical Education Trial Improves Adolescents' Cognitive Performance and Academic Achievement: The EDUFIT Study
  3. ​Active Education: Physical Education, Physical Activity and Academic Performance
  4. Adolescents’ Physical Activity Levels on Physical Education and Non-Physical Education Days According to Gender, Age, and Weight Status
  5. ​An Evaluation of the Relationship between Academic Performance and Physical Fitness Measures in California Schools
  6. ​Daily Physical Education Improves Motor Skills and School Performance A Nine-Year Prospective Intervention Study
  7. ​Do the Duration and Frequency of Physical Education Predict Academic Achievement, Self-Concept, Social skills, Food consumption, and Body Mass Index?
  8. Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
  9. Enrollment in Physical Education is Associated with Health-Related Behavior Among High School
  10. ​​Is There a Long-Term Health Legacy of Required Physical Education?
  11. ​Modeling The Economic And Health Impact Of Increasing Children’s Physical Activity In The United States
  12. Not Academic Enough? Enjoyment of Physical Education and the Arts and School Engagement in Early and Middle Adolescence
  13. ​Physical Activity Opportunities Associated With Fitness and Weight Status Among Adolescents in Low-Income Communities
  14. Physical Education and Academic Achievement in Elementary School: Data From the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study
  15. ​Physical Education and Academic Performance in Urban African American Girls
  16. Physical Education and Leisure-Time Physical Activity in Youth Are Both Important for Adulthood Activity, Physical Performance, and Health
  17. ​Physical Education and Sport in Schools: A Review of Benefits and Outcomes
  18. Physical Education in Kindergarten Promotes Fundamental Motor Skill Development
  19. ​Physical Education, Obesity, and Academic Achievement: A 2-Year Longitudinal Investigation of Australian Elementary School Children
  20. ​Physical Fitness in Children with High Motor Competence is Different from that in Children with Low Motor Competence
  21. ​Positive Effects on Bone Mineralisation and Muscular Fitness after 10 Months of Intense School-Based Physical Training for Children Aged 8-10 Years
  22. ​​​Sixty Minutes of What? A Developing Brain Perspective for Activating Children with an Integrative Exercise Approach
  23. The Association Between School-Based Physical Activity, Including Physical Education, and Academic Performance
  24. ​The Educational Benefits Claimed for Physical Education and School Sport: An Academic Review
  25. The Impact of Physical Education on Obesity among Elementary School Children
  26. ​The Relationship Between School Performance and the Number of Physical Education Classes Attended by Korean Adolescent Students 
THE BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION - Editorials
Top 10 Reasons for Quality Physical Education
"This article presents the reasons that account for the need for quality physical education given the current trends of obesity and physical inactivity among youths and adults. The reasons presented are intended for physical educators to use when communicating the profession's scientific base to the general public."
​
1. Regular Physical Activity Helps Prevent Disease
2. Regular Physical Activity Promotes Lifetime Wellness
3. Quality Physical Education Can Help Fight Obesity
4. Quality Physical Education Can Help Promote Lifelong Physical Fitness
5. Quality Physical Education Provides Unique Opportunities for Activity
6. Quality Physical Education Teaches Self-Management and Motor Skills
7. Physical Activity and Physical Education Promote Learning
8. Regular Physical Activity Participation Makes Economic Sense
9. Physical Education Is Widely Endorsed
10. Quality Physical Education Helps to Educate the Total Child
The Relationship Between Physical Activity & Academic Performance - Multimedia
Click on Photos to Enlarge and on the Links for Original Source​
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY & ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE - SPARK by Dr. John Ratey
​SPARK: "A groundbreaking exploration of the connection between exercise and the brain’s performance that shows how even moderate exercise will supercharge mental circuits to beat stress, sharpen thinking, enhance memory, and much more."
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY & ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE - ​RESEARCH ARTICLES
  1. A Longitudinal Examination of the Link Between Youth Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement
  2. A Review of Acute Physical Activity Effects on Brain and Cognition in Children
  3. Active Education: Growing Evidence on Physical Activity and Academic Performance
  4. Associations of Physical Fitness and Academic Performance Among Schoolchildren
  5. ​​Before-School Running/Walking club: Effects on Student On-Task Behavior
  6. Beneficial Effects of Acute Exercise on Executive Function in Adolescents
  7. Boost your Brain, While Having a Break! The Effects of Long-Term Cognitively Engaging Physical Activity Breaks on Children’s Executive Functions...
  8. Brief Aerobic Exercise Immediately Enhances Visual Attentional Control and Perceptual Speed
  9. ​​Effect of Classroom-Based Physical Activity Interventions on Academic and Physical Activity Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  10. Health and Academic Achievement
  11. Healthy and Ready to Learn
  12. ​Health-Related Behaviors and Academic Achievement Among High School Students — United States, 2015 (CDC)
  13. ​High-Intensity Training Enhances Executive Function in Children in a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial
  14. Independent and Combined Influence of the Components of Physical Fitness on Academic Performance in Youth
  15. Insights on the Effects of Exercise on Cognitive Performance
  16. ​Is There a Relationship Between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement? Positive Results from Public School Children in the Northeastern United States
  17. ​Justifying Physical Education Based on Neuroscience Evidence
  18. Muscular and Aerobic Fitness, Working Memory, and Academic Achievement in Children
  19. Physically Active Lessons in School and their Impact on Physical Activity, Educational, Health and Cognitive Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  20. Physical Activity and Performance at School: A Systematic Review of the Literature Including a Methodological Quality Assessment
  21. ​​Physical Activity, Fitness, Cognitive Function, and Academic Achievement in Children: A Systematic Review
  22. Physical Activity, Health-Related Fitness, and Classroom Behavior in Children: A Discriminant Function Analysis
  23. ​Physical Activity Promotes Academic Achievement and a Healthy Lifestyle when Incorporated into Early Childhood Education
  24. ​Physical Education, School Physical Activity, School Sports and Academic Performance
  25. ​Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement in Third- and Fifth-Grade Students
  26. ​Relationships of Physical Activity to Brain Health and the Academic Performance of Schoolchildren
  27. ​The Association Between Aerobic fitness and Language Processing in Children: Implications for Academic Achievement
  28. ​​The Effect of Physical Activity on Sleep Quality, Well-Being, and Affect in Academic Stress Periods.
  29. ​The Effect of Physical Activity Interventions on Children's Cognition and Metacognition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  30. The Influence of Daily Structured Physical Activity on Academic Progress of Elementary Students with Intellectual Disabilities
  31. White Matter Microstructure Mediates the Association Between Physical Fitness and Cognition in Healthy, Young Adults
  32. ​​Whole Brain Volumetric Approach in Overweight/Obese Children: Examining the Association with Different Physical Fitness Components and Academic Performance
Additional Benefits of Physical Activity - Research Articles
  1. ​Association between Increased BMI and Severe School Absenteeism Among US Children and Adolescents
  2. ​​Individual-Level Fitness and Absenteeism in New York City Middle School Youths, 2006–2013
  3. ​The Association of Obesity and School Absenteeism Attributed to Illness or Injury Among Adolescents in the United States
  1. Associations Between Health-Related Physical Fitness, Academic Achievement and Selected Academic Behaviors of Elementary and Middle School Students in the State of Mississppi
  2. Association Between Objectively-Measured Physical Activity and Sleep
  3. Brain Connectivity Fluctuates Based on Exercise Intensity (cognitive control, attention, and emotional processing)
  4. Systematic Review of the Health Benefits of Physical Activity and Fitness in School-Aged Children and Youth
  1. ​A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Children's Physical Activity and Mental Health
  2. Association Between Physical Exercise and Mental Health in 1.2 Million Individuals in the USA Between 2011 and 2015: A Cross-Sectional Study
  3. Depressive Symptoms and Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour throughout Adolescence: A Prospective Cohort Study
  4. Exercise as a Potential Treatment for Drug Abuse: Evidence from Preclinical Studies
  5. Exercise Therapy Improves both Mental and Physical Health in Patients with Major Depression
  6. Physical Activity, Physical Fitness, and Health-Related Quality of Life in School-Aged Children
  7. ​Physical Activity and Incident Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies
  8. Physical Activity and Mental Health: Evidence is Growing
  9. Physical Activity and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents: An Updated Review of Reviews and an Analysis of Causality
  10. Physical Activity Improves Mental Health Through Resilience in Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents
  11. Physical activity in European Adolescents and Associations with Anxiety, Depression and Well-Being
  12. Physical Activity Interventions and Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  13. Physical Activity May Protect Against New Episodes of Depression
  14. The Relation of Physical Activity and Exercise to Mental Health
  15. The Role of Exercise in Preventing and Treating Depression
  16. Volume and Social Context of Physical Activity in Association with Mental Health, Anxiety and Depression Among Youth
Additional Documentaries promoting physical activity
​Promoting Quality Physical Education through Advocacy and Free Access to Information and Resources