Quality Physical Education: The Missing Ingredient for Success

Abstract

Time spent in physical education increases other subject achievement. Human beings benefit from movement. We think better. We are more creative. That is why corporations such as Google have learned that having happy employees equates to more and better output in less time. The trend in the workplace has been to add recreation areas and offer time for employees to use them. We can apply this same concept to children.

You teach physical education at Lakes Elementary School. Sam is a 3^rd grader who has not been to physical education (PE) for the past 2 weeks. The other children in the class tell you that she’s been at school. You know Sam struggles in PE so you ask Mrs. T, the classroom teacher, why Sam was not in PE. Mrs. T informs you that Sam had a lot of missing work that she needed to get caught up on, so she’s been holding her back in the classroom to complete the work. How should you handle the situation?

Physical educators report that this scenario happens daily. We would like to explore reasons why this should never happen in elementary schools and how you can reach out to administrators to stop these practices.

Time spent in PE increases other subject achievement. Human beings benefit from movement. We think better. We are more creative. That is why corporations such as Google have learned that having happy employees equates to more and better output in less time. The trend in the workplace has been to add recreation areas and offer time for employees to use them. We can apply this same concept to children. How much more can they learn if their physical needs are met during the school day? We also know that when physical needs are met we see reductions in stress, anxiety and depression, all of which are growing mental health concerns around the country.

Many organizations report that it is damaging to withhold physical activity from children for any reason. Study after study show that the PE teacher exploits the benefits of movement throughout the school day.

Álvarez-Bueno et al. (2017) conducted a meta-analysis of 26 studies involving 10,205 children aged 4 to 13 and found that physical activity (especially PE) improves classroom behaviors and benefits several aspects of academic achievement, especially mathematics-related skills, reading and composite scores.

In a 2014 study of approximately 2,000 12-year-olds carried out by scientists at the University of Gothenburg, researchers set out to test the often-controversial hypothesis that increased physical activity can stimulate learning and improve school performance (“More Physical Activity Improved School Performance in Swedish Study,” 2014). Neurologist Thomas Lindén noted that 2 h of extra physical education each week doubled the odds for students to achieve learning goals (Käll et al., 2014).

In an article published in the Washington Post it was reported that a study conducted in DC-area schools found an increase in standardized math scores when physical education and physical activity time increased (Stein, 2016).

And finally, research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) concluded that maintaining or increasing time dedicated to physical activity during the school day will at the very least not have a negative impact on academic performance and, in fact, may positively impact students’ academic performance.

Finland has been in the news quite a bit because of the approach they take to schooling and the success of their educational system. According to an official statistics of Finland 2012 report (Yli-Piipari, 2014), all Finnish elementary and middle school students are required to take PE (typically daily or at least 3 days per week).

Finland continues to be a world leader in education, health and wellness, not because they add more math or science to the school day but because they look at the whole child. The school day is structured so that for every 45 min of seat time children get a 15-min movement break; this is in addition to regular, structured PE lessons (Partanen, 2011; Yli-Piipari, 2014). We would argue that rethinking the school structure would improve student cognition and help eliminate situations where students are not able to complete schoolwork. Imagine a world where American children could thrive with daily PE and movement breaks in addition to other content learning areas.

According to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), there are no longer core subjects. In fact, ESSA stipulates that children be provided with a “well-rounded education” (Sec. 4107 et seq.), where school health and physical education are identified as critical components benefiting the whole child. SHAPE America – The Society of Health and Physical Educators (2016) offered the following statement of support:

Designation as part of a well-rounded education makes health and physical education allowable uses of federal education dollars and it shows that the federal government is strongly encouraging states to prioritize and include these subjects as part of a student’s overall curriculum. (p. 9)

Is your school utilizing ESSA funds to support the health and wellness of students? Visit the SHAPE America website (www.shapeamerica.org/advocacy) to find out how you can better use these funds in your school to support the health and well-being of your students.

As you read the scenario listed above, did you think about the message that is being sent to children about the importance of health and physical education? Is that math worksheet more important than 40 min of PE? We argue that it is not. They are equally important, and we would never pull a student out of a different classroom for things that happened during our PE time. We encourage you to share this information with your school administrators and show them how they can support whole-child learning by removing this practice from your schools. In its place we suggest that you offer daily PE taught by a certified PE teacher, incorporate movement breaks throughout the day, offer more recess time, and provide support and guidance to all teachers in your schools regarding the importance of health and physical education in a well-rounded education.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ingrid L. Johnson

Ingrid L. Johnson ([email protected]) is a professor and program coordinator for health and physical education teacher education in the Department of Movement Science at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI.

Mike Ginicola

Mike Ginicola is a K-6 physical education teacher at Nichols Elementary School in Stratford, CT.