The physical education curriculum emphasizes active living through participation in a balanced variety of movement experiences. Physical education is a requirement for Grades 1-5, and schools are expected to allocate at least 150 minutes each week to the subject.
Movement and play are important in children's lives, critical to all aspects of their growth and development. A physical education program provides opportunities for all students to learn while being physically active regularly. Children learn to enjoy a variety of movement experiences in several activity areas.
The unique learning opportunities in physical education allow all students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enhance their quality of life through active living—a way of life that values physical activity as an essential component. Active living is characterized by the integration of physical activity into daily routines and leisure pursuits.
Physical education is an integral part of the education process. Researchers have shown that students who participate in regular physical education will enjoy enhanced memory and learning, better concentration and increased problem-solving abilities. Regular physical education encourages a positive attitude toward self and others, which is an important factor in creating a healthy learning environment.
Through physical education, students learn to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives and they come to understand that an active, healthy lifestyle fosters personal growth and enables them to meet the challenges of society.
Quality physical education programs are structured so that the duration, intensity and frequency of activities motivate students and meet their individual needs. When appropriate, students participate in the selection of activities from all activity areas. All students are given equal opportunity to participate in a balanced physical education program. A quality physical education program has the following characteristics:
Physical education and athletic programs have different purposes.
Athletic programs are essentially designed for youngsters who are eager to specialize in one or more sports and refine their talents in order to compete with others of similar interests and abilities. Developmentally appropriate physical education programs, in contrast, are designed for every child — from the physically gifted to the physically challenged. The intent is to provide children of all abilities and interests with a foundation of movement experiences that will eventually lead to active and healthy lifestyles —athletic competition may be one part of this lifestyle, but it is not the only part.Children are not miniature adults.
Children have different abilities, needs, and interests from those of adults. It is inadequate to simply "water down" adult sport and activity programs and assume that they will be beneficial. Children need, and learn from, programs that are designed specifically with their needs and differences in mind.
Children in school today will not be adults in today’s world.
More than ever before we are in a world of rapid change. Consequently, educators have the challenge of preparing children to live as adults in a world that has yet to be clearly defined and understood. The only certainty is that they will have opportunities and interests different from those that currently exist. Contemporary programs introduce children to the world of today, while preparing them to live in the uncertain world of tomorrow. In brief, these programs help children learn how to enjoy the process of discovering and exploring new and different challenges in the physical domain.
Tomorrow’s physical activities may look quite different from today’s. Present programs need to prepare children with Basic Movement Patterns and skills that can be used in any activity, whether it is popular today or is yet to be invented. Mastery of basic skills encourages the development and refinement of more complex skills, leading to the ultimate enjoyment of physical activity for its own sake.
Source: From Developmentally Appropriate Physical Education for Children: A Position Statement of the Council on Physical Education for Children (COPEC), Reston, VA., National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 1992. Reproduced with permission.
Physical education is an important part of the school program. The first priority of Saskatchewan educators is the well-being and healthy development of their students. Physical activity is vital to healthy growth and development; however, by its very nature, physical education has the potential for student injury. In physical education, as in every other aspect of life, it is not possible to eliminate all potential risks. The focus in physical education should be on ensuring that the benefits to students of a particular activity are greater than the potential for injury. Selection of appropriate activities, creating a safety mindset among students and staff, and safety conscious instruction and supervision will help reduce the potential for injury in physical activity.
School divisions and schools should have a policy regarding the safety of students participating in physical education programs. Teachers are encouraged to become familiar with their school division’s policy. For an example of safety guidelines for physical education, see the document Saskatchewan Physical Education: Safety Guidelines for Policy Development (1998)