Canadian Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance 403-2197 Riverside Drive Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1H 7X3 Tel. (613) 523-1348 or (800) 663-8708 (in Canada) Fax. (613) 523-1206

Children and Physical Activity – Why P.E. in the Schools?

Children and Physical Activity – Why P.E. in the Schools? “By improving school physical education classes and making them part of every student’s schedule, we can help our kids be more active, establish healthy habits for life, lower their risk of obesity, heart disease, and other chronic diseases, and give them a healthier future.” (Magri, 2003).

Children and Physical Activity – Why P.E. in the Schools? School physical education is the only major institution that can address the health-related physical activity needs of virtually all children.” (Sallis & McKenzie, 1991)

Children and Physical Activity – Why P.E. in the Schools? “Quality physical education is the most effective means of providing all children, regardless of ability, age, socioeconomic status, gender, culture, or religious background with the skills, knowledge and understanding that is essential for lifelong participation in physical activity and sport”. (Higgs, 1999)

Children and Physical Activity – Why P.E. in the Schools? “A sports oriented physical education program may not influence adult activity levels, yet a health-oriented physical education program that teaches carry over activities would be more effective in preparing children for lifetime physical activity.” (Sallis & McKenzie, 1991)

Academic Performance & P.E.

Academic Performance & P.E. “Increased school time to health-related physical education does not have detrimental effects on students academic achievement.” (Sallis et al., 1999) “Physical education classes do not harm academic performance.” www.thecommunityguide.org, 2003.

Academic Performance & P.E. “Available data suggest that the rate of academic learning per unit of class time is enhanced in physically active students and lack of curricular time is not a valid reason for avoiding daily physical education.” (Shephard, date) Students who had physical education five times per week outperformed the control group in academic coursework. (Sherman – Trudeau XXXX)

Academic Performance & P.E. “At the high school level, athletic participation in the educational setting enhances academic participation.” (Kidd, 1999) “Schools devoting one hour or more to quality physical education on a daily basis report that students play better with one another, show less aggression, and experience fewer discipline problems.” (CFLRI, 1993 in Grantham, 1998)

P.E. in Canada – Current Status

P.E. in Canada – Current Status The majority of Canadians do not accumulate the one-hour of daily physical activity required by Canada's Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Living. (CFLRI, 2004) Only 57% of the Canadian schools identified meet provincial requirements for allotted time devoted to physical education (Hardman & Marshall, 2000) Once physical education becomes an optional subject, enrolment in physical education tends to decrease significantly with the decrease more noticeable for adolescent females than males (Craig & Cameron, 2004; Deacon, 2001; Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, 1996; Spence, Mandigo, Poon, & Mummary, 2001).

P.E. in Canada – Current Status Only 39% of Canadian schools reported that those most often responsible for teaching physical education classes are specialists. Secondary schools are more likely to report exclusive use of physical education specialists than elementary schools (53% and 31% respectively) (Cameron, Craig, Coles, & Cragg, 2003). In Canada, many elementary generalists who teach physical education receive minimal training during their teacher preparation programs. (Mandigo, 2004). Schools have been identified as the most important venue to provide children with attitudes, skills, and knowledge to lead active healthy lifestyles. (Alberta Learning, 2000)

P.E. in Canada – Current Status Half of Canada’s children aged 6–17 years reportedly take physical education classes three or more days a week at school. Only 17% reported receiving daily physical education. (CFLRI 2002 Physical Activity Monitor) The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that every child is entitled to receive primary and secondary school instruction. (Department of Justice, 1982) Despite the wide range of support from various sectors and the research evidence behind the importance of quality physical education programs, Canada is not meeting the fundamental rights of children and youth in our schools. (Mandigo, Presenting the Evidence, 2004)

P.E. in Canada – Current Status Children have a fundamental right to access quality physical education programs taught by trained teachers. (International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE), 2001) In an international review of physical education programs, Hardman and Marshall (2000) reported that 92% of countries and states legally require schools to implement physical education however, in most of these countries, actual implementation did not meet with statutory expectations. (Mandigo, Presenting the Evidence, 2004)

Importance of P.E. Specialists

Importance of P.E. Specialists “Principals may be more inclined to devote more time in their schools to physical education if it is taught by a specialist.” (Mandigo, 2003) “The nature and quality of delivery of the physical education curriculum are fundamental to the future of the subject.” (Hardman & Marshall, 2000) “Quality physical education also requires qualified teachers…potential safety issues.” (Principal magazine, 2003)

Importance of P.E. Specialists “Physical education specialists taught longer lessons than did generalists . . .students in specialists lessons spent significantly more time being very active . . . and engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Additionally, they spent more time receiving general knowledge and engaging in skill drills.” (McKenzie, Feldman, Woods, Romeroka, Dahlstrom, Stone, Strikmiller, Willison & Harsha, 1995).

Importance of P.E. Specialists “Classroom teachers do not have the pedagogical content, knowledge and experiences to match those that physical education specialists receive during four years of training, and these cannot be gained in a few months.” (McKenzie, et al. 1993)

Importance of P.E. Specialists “UNESCO Charter for Physical Education & Sport, Article 4, advocates that personnel professionally responsible for physical education and sport should be appropriately qualified, having ‘adequate levels of specialization.’” (Hardman & Marshall, 2000)

Health and Well Being

Health and Well Being In 2001, WHO reported that 1.9 million global deaths were attributed directly to physical inactivity. Physical inactivity caused 15% of some cancers, diabetes and heart disease”. (Mandigo, Presenting the Evidence, 2004). The United States Surgeon General’s Report concluded that regular physical activity reduces the risk of premature mortality in general, and of coronary heart disease, hypertension, colon cancer, and diabetes mellitus in particular [and] … also improves mental health and is important for the health of muscles, bones, and joints. (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 1996).

Health and Well Being Obesity rates among children and adults have increased substantially during the past 25 years, according to new results from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), which directly measured the height and weight of respondents. (Canadian Community Health Survey, 2004) In the past 25 years, obesity rates among adolescents aged 12 to 17 tripled from 3% to 9%. (Canadian Community Health Survey, 2004) 56% of Canadian youth aged 12-19 were physically inactive in 2000-2001. However, as many as 82% may not have been active enough to meet international guidelines for optimal growth and development. (Canadian Community Health Survey, 2000/01)

Health and Well Being More than half of Canadian teenagers are sedentary, and accumulate the equivalent of less than one hour of walking a day. (CFLRI 2002 Physical Activity Monitor) In 2000, 57% of Canadian children and youth aged five to seventeen years were not sufficiently active to meet international guidelines for optimal growth and development. (Craig, Cameron, Storm, Russell, & Beaulieu, 2001) In 2000, only 30% of girls and 40% of boys were considered active enough (Craig et al., 2001). By 2002, this number had decreased to a distressing rate of 12% for girls and 24% for boys (Craig & Cameron, 2004).

Economic Costs of Inactivity

Economic Costs of Inactivity In 2001, the economic burden of illnesses or injuries associated with physical inactivity was $5.3 billion ($1.6 billion in direct costs, $3.7 billion in indirect costs). This represented 2.6% of all health care costs in Canada that year. (Katzmarzyk & Janssen, 2004) In 2000, 57% of Canadian children and youth aged five to seventeen years were not sufficiently active to meet international guidelines for optimal growth and development (Craig, Cameron, Storm, Russell, & Beaulieu, 2001). For adolescents, this number increased from 64% in 2000 (Craig et al., 2001) to 82% in 2002 (Craig & Cameron, 2004).

Economic Costs of Inactivity “[It is estimated that there would be] a savings of $150 million annually if the prevalence of physical inactivity were reduced by 10% - the national target for 2003.” (CLFRI – Economic Costs of Physical Inactivity www.clfri.ca/pdf/e/ref0103.pdf) “If all Canadians were sufficiently physically active, the savings to the health care system for heart disease alone would be $776 million a year.” (CLFRI – Being Active Saves Heart Disease Costs) “The likelihood of obesity among individuals who were physically active in leisure time (greater than or equal to 5 bouts of physical activity per week) was approximately 50% lower than among those who were physically active.” (King xxxx, pp)