The value of Physical Education for Citizenship

One of the most impactful moments in my Health and Physical Education course was
watching the UNESCO video on Benefits of Quality Physical Education. This video opened my
eyes to the importance of Physical Education beyond its health and mental benefits, as being
crucial for citizenship education. Lack of exercise in youth has caused them to become passive
and have apathy towards global issues (UNESCO, 2016), and in my opinion this requires
immediate attention. The video further emphasizes that quality physical education can support
students’ communication skills leading to better conflict resolution, ability to concentrate to
achieve their goals, and self confidence to actively participate in society. I grew up in a family
and culture where math and sciences were the focus, as these defined my success. If I was
struggling in science, it would be acceptable to “skip” gym class to get caught up in science. My
physical education classes did not seem purposeful, and since I played sports outside of school, I
was already getting in my active time to remain healthy. Furthermore, physical education class
was very individualistic and competitive, spotlighting the one student with the best beep test
score or the one surviving student in an elimination game of tag.
I had to unlearn many things as I learned a health and physical education (HPE)
pedagogy which emphasized teaching life skills. I especially enjoyed learning about Hellison’s
Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility model, which highlights key aspects of citizenship
education such as self-control and motivation, cooperation, respect, and contributing to the
community (Temertzoglou, 2019). As a new physical education teacher, I want to take a
cosmopolitanism approach to teaching citizenship in gym class, bringing together a class of
diverse students and teaching them to interact as an active community (Starkey, 2015). I also
found comfort in the teaching resources provided by Ophea, with thousands of quality physical
education lesson plans to plan an entire year of HPE classes (Ophea, 2016). In addition to these
lesson plans (Ophea, n.d.), I want o to create an inclusive and flexible classroom where students
are motivated and happy citizens. Ophea’s (2016) article New to H&PE? We’ve got you covered!
reminded me of the anxiety students can feel being in a wide-open gym with nowhere to hide.
Following the article’s advice to create a safe gym space, I want to set ground rules of
cooperation and community, remove the need of unsafe spaces such as changerooms, and to
decorate the gym like a classroom with posters, markers, and assessment charts that help students
navigate the activities. I also want to set clear learning goals for each class, and provide
descriptive feedback to help students improve, while allowing them multiple opportunities to
show their growth and skill in HPE. Due to a wide range of student skills, I want to differentiate
instruction and adapt activities so that each student can engage at their comfort level in which
they can best grow, as recommended by Ophea (2016). Lastly, I recommend that HPE teachers
print out and post the Ophea Physical and Emotional Safety poster, while encouraging students
to speak up if any values mentioned in the poster are not being met, such that the environment
can be adapted to make it safe and inclusive for all.
 References
Ophea. (n.d.). H&PE Elementary Resources | Ophea Teaching Tools. Retrieved November 12,
2021, from https://teachingtools.ophea.net/lesson-plans/hpe-new?redirected=1&url=lesson-
plans/hpe-new
Ophea. (2016). New to H&PE? We’ve got you covered! | Ophea.net.
https://www.ophea.net/article/new-hpe-we’ve-got-you-covered#.X1j6_JNKit8
Starkey, H. (2012) Human rights, cosmopolitanism and utopias: implications for citizenship
education, Cambridge Journal of Education, 42(1), 21-35.
Temertzoglou, C. (2019). How To: Teaching Life Skills Through Physical Education. Teaching
Physical Education Today : Canadian Perspectives, 326. https://blog.gophersport.com/how-
to-teaching-life-skills-through-physical-education/
UNESCO. (2016). Benefits of Quality Physical Education (QPE) | UNESCO Inclusive Policy
Lab. https://en.unesco.org/inclusivepolicylab/files/benefits-quality-physical-education-qpe