Physical Education Overview

ysical education is the study, practice, andoffered a strong background in the sciences that
appreciation of the art and science of humanincluded courses in anatomy and physiology, with
movement" (Harrison, Blakemore, and Buck, p. 15).many of the early professors holding medical
While movement is both innate and essential to andegrees.
individual's growth and development, it is the roleIn 1893 Thomas Wood stated that "the great
of physical education to provide instructionalthought of physical education is not the education
activities that not only promote skill developmentof the physical nature, but the relation of physical
and proficiency, but also enhance an individual'straining to complete education, and then the
overall health. Physical education not only fulfills aeffort to make the physical contribute its full
unique role in education, but is also an integral partshare to the life of the individual" (
of the schooling process.National Education Association, p. 621). During the
Historical Perspectivesearly twentieth century, several educational
From the late 1700s to the mid-1800s, threepsychologists, including Dewey, Stanley G. Hall, and
nations—Germany, Sweden, andEdward Thorndike, supported the important role
England—influenced the early developmentof children's play in a child's ability to learn. In line
of physical education in the United States. Germanwith the work of Wood in physical education, and
immigrants introduced the Turner Societies, whichthe theoretical work of prominent educational
advocated a system of gymnastics training thatpsychologists, The New Physical Education was
utilized heavy apparatus (e.g., side horse, parallelpublished in 1927 by Wood and Rosalind Cassidy,
and horizontal bars) in the pursuit of fitness. Inwho advocated education through the physical.
contrast, the Swedish system of exerciseThis position supported the thesis that physical
promoted health through the performance of aeducation contributed to the physical well-being of
series of prescribed movement patterns with lightchildren, as well as to their social, emotional, and
apparatus (e.g., wands, climbing ropes). The Englishintellectual development. However, Charles McCloy
brought sports and games to America with aargued against this expanded role of physical
system that stressed moral development througheducation, arguing that education of the physical,
participation in physical activities. The influence ofwhich emphasized the development of skills and
these three nations laid the foundation for sportthe maintenance of the body, was the primary
and physical education in America.objective of physical education. The testing of
The 1800s were an important time for themotor skills was a part of McCloy's contribution to
inclusion of physical education in schools acrossphysical education, and his philosophy of testing
America. The Round Hill School, a private schoolparalleled the scientific movement in education.
established in 1823 in Northampton,The evolution of physical education, along with
Massachusetts, was the first to include physicalother educational professions, reflected
education as an integral part of the curriculum. Incontemporary changes in society. Throughout the
1824 Catherine Beecher, founder of the Hartfordearly twentieth century, into the 1950s, there
Female Seminary, included calisthenics in herwas a steady growth of physical education in the
school's curriculum and "was the first American topublic schools. During the early 1920s many states
design a program of exercise for Americanpassed legislation requiring physical education.
children" (Lumpkin, p. 202). She also advocated theHowever, shifts in curricular emphasis were
inclusion of daily physical education in public schools.evident when wars occurred and when the results
However, physical education was not offered inof national reports were published. For example,
the public schools until 1855, when Cincinnati, Ohio,as a result of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and
became the first city school system to offer thisthe United States' entrance into World War II, the
type of program to children.emphasis in physical education shifted from games
In 1866 California became the first state to passand sport to physical conditioning. Similar curricular
a law requiring twice-per-day exercise periods inshifts were noted in 1953 when the Kraus-Weber
public schools. Beecher's influence started thestudy found that American children were far less
American system of exercise, and, along with herfit than their European counterparts. As a result
contemporaries Dio Lewis, Edward Hitchcock, andof this report, the President's Council on Physical
Dudley Allen Sargent, she was an early leader inFitness was established to help combat the falling
physical education. In the profession's early years,fitness levels of America's youth.
between 1855 and 1900, there were severalDuring the 1950s and the 1960s, physical
debates, referred to as the Battle of theeducation at the elementary level experienced
Systems, regarding which system (American,tremendous growth. Today, many physical
Swedish, German, or English) could best provide aeducation programs emphasize overall fitness,
national physical education program for America.referred to as wellness, as well as skill
During the 1890s traditional education wasdevelopment. However, since the 1970s the
challenged by John Dewey and his colleagues,number of schools offering daily physical education
whose educational reforms led to the expansionhas drastically decreased—1995 statistics
of the "three R's" to include physical education. Itfrom the Centers for Disease Control and
was also during this time that several normalPrevention (CDC) show a drop from 43 percent
schools (training schools for physical educationin 1991 to 25 percent in 1995.
teachers) were established. All of these schools