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Oct 18 - PE conference explores what healthy, active schools will look like in future
Clichéd portrayals of gym teachers as tyrants with whistles may still exist in Hollywood scripts, but today's physical educators are as likely to be concerned about the broader societal implications of healthy lifestyles as they are about a student's ability to climb a rope.
At the 25th annual Quality Daily Physical Education (QDPE) Conference, taking place at Douglas College this Thursday, Friday and Saturday, more than 300 physical education teachers and researchers from across B.C. will gather to discuss how schools can do a better job of ensuring students stay active and healthy - which ultimately helps them learn better, too.
"Physical education is no longer at the periphery of the curriculum," says Brian Storey, a conference organizer and chair of the Sport Science Department at Douglas. "It's a recognizable contributor to both academic and health-related outcomes. Health professionals, education professionals and the general public now agree that schools need to be healthy, active communities."
The QDPE Conference will look at major shifts in PE over the last quarter century and where things need to go next. Thursday's opening panel will explore how trends in physical education, physical activity, and school movement cultures might unfold in response to broader movement trends in society and what active, healthy schools will look like in the future.
"PE curricula and pedagogy are but one part of this overall culture," says Storey. "Is the role of PE curricula shifting with the times? What broader trends may impact the roles of physical education and health teachers? This raises some interesting questions about where PE has been and where it's going."
Storey says that after years of reduced prominence in schools, physical education started to make a big comeback in the early 2000s, and it's those successes that conference organizers see building on for the future.
"Twenty-five years ago, the school system had significantly more PE specialists at the elementary level and many school-wide activities run by teachers with training in physical education. But as technology became a primary focus of society throughout the '80s and '90s, the school system shifted resources away from physical education and into technology and other priorities."
Spurred by a rise in obesity and broad public support for more movement and healthy eating policies in schools, the provincial government introduced a plan in 2004 to make B.C. students the healthiest and most physically active in Canada. The government then introduced guidelines for physical activity and for food and beverage sales in B.C. schools, as well as gave increased support to organizations such as Action Schools BC!, a non-profit that promotes health and physical activity.
Storey says thanks to such initiatives and the hard work of teachers and administrators to turn policy into action, some B.C. schools now boast excellent integrated physical education curricula, which he hopes will continue to grow and expand.
Schools that represent what Physical and Health Education Canada has labelled "Health Promoting Schools" start with quality physical education, but go far beyond to promote daily physical activity programs, school-wide movement celebrations such as Terry Fox runs and bike rodeos, and working with community partners to lead activities or introduce alternative movement options, such as creating and caring for a school garden.
"Coquitlam's Ranch Park Elementary School is lucky to have Don Hutchinson, B.C.'s representative to Physical and Health Education Canada, as its principal," says Storey. "Ranch Park has a variety of clubs for students to join, such as the running, bike or speed stacking club. It has traditional team sports structures and it hosts annual school-wide events like the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Jump Rope for Heart."
The Quality Daily Physical Education Conference takes place Thursday, Friday and Saturday (Oct. 20-22) at Douglas College's New Westminster Campus, 700 Royal Ave. Registration is open to the public. Get the details at douglascollege.ca/qdpe.
