National Standards for Physical Education

1. MOVING INTO THE FUTURE
(National Standards for Physical Education)
by
N.A.S.P.E.
Dr. Devinder K. Kansal, Ph.D.
Head,
Deptt. of Physical Education & Sports Sciences (D.U.)
and
Principal,
Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education
& Sports Sciences

2. Current Public Health Concerns
Among children and teens aged 6 to 19 years,
15 percent (almost 9 million) are over-weight,
according to the 1999-2000 data from the U.S.
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), or triple what the proportion was in
1980. The CDC estimates sick care costs
associated with obesity, such as diabetes and
heart diseases, at $100 billion a year, about 8
percent of the national health care budget.

3. Current Public Health Concerns (Contd.)
The lack of physical activity among Americans of all ages is
so critical that it is considered a major health risk factor.
Physical inactivity is associated with many diseases,
including stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure,
osteoporosis, various cancers, diabetes, depression, and
obesity. Inactivity and poor diet cause at least 300,000
deaths a year in the United States – more than the number
of deaths caused by infectious diseases, firearms, motor
vehicle crashes, and illicit drug use combined. Physical
Activity and Health : A Report of the Surgeon General (U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, 1996) reports
that Americans become increasingly less active with each
year of age. Research links inactivity among children to
sedentary living among adults. Thus, it is critically
important that children and teens become more active.

4. Vision for Physically Educated Persons
All children and youth will display the skills
and practices of a physically active lifestyle,
knowing the benefits of their choice to be
involved in physical activity. They will be
physically fit and have a mindset that values
physical activity and its benefits in sustaining
healthy lifestyles.

5. Beliefs
• Providing children and youth with physical
activity opportunities both in and out of school is
critical.
• Helping them develop the knowledge and skills to
select and participate in physical activity safely,
competently, and with personal satisfaction is a
responsibility of physical education.
• Physical education should also be a place where
students learn to value physical activity
(Siedentop, 1996).

6. Beliefs (Contd.)
• One of NASPE’s key beliefs is that every student in our
nation’s schools, from kindergarten through grade 12,
should have the opportunity to participate in quality
physical education.
• It is the unique role of quality physical education programs
to help all students develop health-related fitness, physical
competence, cognitive understanding, and positive attitude
about physical activity so that they can adopt healthy and
physically active lifestyles. Quality physical education
programs are also important because they provide learning
experiences that meet youngsters’ developmental needs,
which in turn helps to improve their mental alertness,
academic performance, and readiness and enthusiasm for
learning.
• Accordingly to NASPE guidelines, a high-quality physical
education program includes the following components:
opportunity to learn, meaningful content, and appropriate
instruction.

7. Opportunity to Learn
• Instructional periods totaling a minimum of 150 minutes
per week (elementary) and 225 minutes per week (middle
and secondary school).
• Qualified physical education specialists providing a
developmentally appropriate program.
• Related NASPE document that lists qualifications for
teachers in physical education : National Standards for
Beginning Physical Education Teachers, 1995.
• Adequate equipment and facilities.
• Related NASPE document that ensure students the
“opportunity to learn” in physical education : Opportunity
to Learn Standards for Elementary Physical Education,
2000; Physical Education Program Improvement and Self-
Study Guide for Middle School, 1998; and Physical
Education Program Improvement and Self-Study Guide for
High School, 1998.

8. Meaningful Content
• Instruction in a variety of motor skills that are designed to enhance the
physical, mental, and social/emotional development of every child.
• Fitness education and assessment to help children understand,
improve, and/or maintain their physical well-being.
• Development of cognitive concepts about motor skill and fitness.
• Opportunities to improve their emerging social and cooperative skills
and gain a multicultural perspective.
• Promotion of regular amounts of appropriate physical activity now and
throughout life.
• Related NASPE documents that specify what students “should know
and be able to do” relative to physical activity and exercise : Moving
into the Future : National Standards for Physical Education, 2nd edition,
2004; Concepts & Principles of Physical Education : What Every Student
Needs to Know, 2003; Active Start : A Statement of Physical Activity
Guidelines for Children Birth to Five Year, 2002; and Physical Activity for
Children : A Statement of Guidelines for Children Ages 5-12, 2004.

9. Appropriate Instruction
• Full inclusion of all students.
• Maximum practice opportunities for class activities.
• Well-designed lessons that facilitate student learning.
• Out-of-school assignments that support learning, practice,
and establishing life-long habits.
• No use of physical activity as punishment.
• Use of regular assessment to monitor, reinforce, and plan
for student learning.
• Related NASPE documents that offer appropriate
instructional practice at elementary, middle, and high
school levels : Appropriate Practices for Elementary School
Physical Education, 2000; Appropriate Practices for Middle
School Physical Education, 2001; and Appropriate Practices
for High School Physical Education, 2004.

10. Taken together, the documents included in
this list describe standards for quality physical
education at elementary, middle, and high
school levels, in addition to standards for
those training to teach physical education in
our nation’s schools.

11. Physical education is an integral part of the total
education of every child from kindergarten through
grade 12. Quality physical education programs are
needed to increase the physical competence, health-
related fitness, self-responsibility, and enjoyment of
physical activity for all students so that they can be
physically active for a life-time. Physical education
programs can provide these benefits only if they are
well-planned and well-implemented so that they
include the following :-
• Skill development : Physical Education develops motor
skills that allow for safe, successful, and satisfying
participation in physical activities.

12. • Regular, healthful physical activity : Physical education
provides a wide range of developmentally appropriate
activities for all children and youth. It encourages
young people to choose to be physically active and
aware of the benefits of such a choice.
• Improved physical fitness : Quality physical education
improves cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength,
flexibility, muscular endurance, and body composition.
• Support for other subject areas : Physical education
reinforces knowledge learned across the curriculum
and serves as a laboratory for application of content in
science, math, and social studies.

13. • Self-discipline : Physical education facilitate
development of responsibility for personal
health, safety, and fitness.
• Improved judgment : Quality physical education
influences moral development. Students learn to
assume leadership, cooperate with others, and
accept responsibility for their own behavior.
• Stress reduction : Physical activity becomes an
outlet for releasing tension and anxiety and
facilitates emotional stability and resilience.

14. • Strengthened peer relations : Physical education is a
major force in helping children and youth socialize with
others successfully and provides opportunities to learn
positive social skills. Especially during late childhood
and adolescence, being able to participate in dances,
games, and sports is an important part of youth and
peer cultures.
• Improved self-confidence and self-esteem : Physical
education instills a stronger sense of self-worth in
young people based on their mastery of skills and
concepts in physical activity. They become more
confident, assertive, independent, and self-controlled.
• Experiencing goal setting : Physical education gives
children and youth the opportunity to set and strive for
personal, achievable goals.

15. New Research to Support Physical Activity
The landmark Physical Activity and Health : A Report of
the Surgeon General (U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, 1996) identified the substantial health
benefits of regular participation in physical activity;
they include reduced risks of dying prematurely from
heart disease and of developing diabetes, high blood
pressure, and colon cancer. According to the Surgeon
General, the health benefits of physical activity are not
limited to adults. Regular participation in physical
activity during childhood and adolescence helps build
and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints;
controls weights; builds lean muscle; and reduces
feelings of depression and anxiety.

16. In 1998, NASPE introduced the first-ever physical
activity guidelines for children 5 to 12 years of
age, calling for a minimum of 30 minutes of
physical activity per day. That recommendation
was recently revised to include a minimum of 60
minutes and up to several hours of physical
activity per day (National Association for Sport
and Physical Education, 2004). These
recommendations are not surprising given that
inactivity has contributed to the recent epidemic
of obesity in the United States and that sedentary
living is a known threat to health.

17. In 2002, NASPE completed its lifespan physical
activity recommendations by releasing physical
activity guidelines for babies, infants, and
toddlers (National Association for Sports and
Physical Education, 2002). Adopting a physically
active lifestyle early in life increases the likelihood
that infants and young children will learn to move
skillfully. Promoting and fostering enjoyment of
movement and motor skill confidence and
competence at an early age helps to ensure
healthy development and later participation in
physical activity.

18. It is hard to change sedentary habits that have
been formed. Experts agree that childhood is
the time to begin development of active
lifestyles, and adolescence is an important
time to prevent the decline that traditionally is
observed in physical activity levels. Therefore,
it is important to equip our young people with
the fitness levels, knowledge, motor skills, and
personal/social skills they need to be active
now and in the future.

19. There is a relationship between habits in early life and
physical activity in adults. In a recent study, Taylor,
Blair, Cummings, Wun, and Malina (1999) analyzed
various components of activity during childhood and
adolescence and compared them to activity habits in
adults. A positive relationship was found between teen
skill level and adult activity levels, as well as between
participation in team sports as preteens and adult
activity levels. Providing young people with quality
physical education to improve their skills and
confidence appears to have positive consequences for
later activity.

20. THANK
YOU
FOR YOUR PATIENT HEARING