The Physical Education System as a Consequential Social Determinant

ABSTRACT

Employing the ideal type of “The Physical Education System,” in this analysis I explore the import of systems frameworks for new institutional designs which hold promise for better outcomes. The inherited idea of a system is restricted to the relationship between teacher education and school programs. It draws on the developmental trajectory of the specialized field of study which pre-dated Kinesiology, and it conforms to the industrial age school, particularly its assumptions regarding standardized curricula, teachers’ roles, student classification, and cultural assimilation. When this inherited framework reigns, other key systems components (e.g., public policy, influential peer/family/community ecologies) get short shrift, important “outcome chains” are not addressed, and both Kinesiology’s and Public Health’s contributions are constrained. Once the inherited physical education system is recognized as a consequential social determinant of pediatric health and well-being, needs and opportunities for redesign become apparent.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical education
• kinesiology
• public health
• systems frameworks
• social determinants
• design science

Acknowledgments

This analysis benefited from Samuel R. Hodge’s editorial guidance; Kevin A.R. Richards’ assistance; feedback from John Evans, Katharine H. Briar-Lawson, Doune Macdonald, and Michael A. Lawson; and social network interchanges with Phillip Ward, Murray F. Mitchell, Hans van der Mars, David Kirk, and Ann MacPhail.