Beyond “Fun”: The Real Need in Physical Education

Authors

  • Rick C. Ferkel
  • Selen Razon
  • Lawrence W. Judge Ball State University
  • Larissa True

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18666/TPE-2017-V74-I2-7426

Keywords:

engagement, physical activity

Abstract

As obesity rates and physical inactivity levels continue to rise among American youth, the need for quality physical education programs is more important than ever. However, to many observers, physical education is a hindrance to academic time and a subject that does not bring value to the educational system. It is imperative for physical educators to advocate for and substantiate the true importance of the discipline. Children of today’s generation have limited experiences being in a physically demanding environment, but have many opportunities, especially through technology, to be in a “fun” environment; thus, there is a push for physical education and physical activity overall to be fun. However, children who are not physically challenged do not develop the mental fortitude to persevere and succeed in physically demanding activities and many other aspects of life in general. The physical education classroom is an ideal setting to foster a challenging and engaging environment that can help develop the skills, knowledge, fitness, mental resiliency, and self-confidence to succeed and continue in physical activity and fitness enhancement. Maintaining a sole focus of fun in physical education will not bring on the behavioral change desired for lifetime activity and fitness, because the skills needed for such endeavors will not be thoroughly established. The purpose of this article is to jump-start a crucial conversation among academicians about the importance of presenting challenging and engaging educational environments that align with the educational groundwork that has shaped the physical education field. Through a demanding and rigorous physical education curriculum, students will better develop the required skills and confidence to continue in lifetime activity and fitness, and fun will be a lasting by-product. 

Subscribe to TPE

Author Biography

Lawrence W. Judge, Ball State University

Professor

School of Kinesiology

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2017-03-23

Issue

Vol. 74 No. 2 (2017)

Section

Articles

License

Sagamore Publishing LLC (hereinafter the “Copyright Owner”)

Journal Publishing Copyright Agreement for Authors

PLEASE REVIEW OUR POLICIES AND THE PUBLISHING AGREEMENT, AND INDICATE YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS BY CHECKING THE ‘AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS COPYRIGHT NOTICE’ CHECKBOX BELOW.

I understand that by submitting an article to The Physical Educator, I am granting the copyright to the article submitted for consideration for publication in The Physical Educator to the Copyright Owner. If after consideration of the Editor of the The Physical Educator, the article is not accepted for publication, all copyright covered under this agreement will be automatically returned to the Author(s).

THE PUBLISHING AGREEMENT

Assignment of Copyright

I hereby assign to the Copyright Owner the copyright in the manuscript I am submitting in this online procedure and any tables, illustrations or other material submitted for publication as part of the manuscript in all forms and media (whether now known or later developed), throughout the world, in all languages, for the full term of copyright, effective when the article is accepted for publication.

Reversion of Rights

Articles may sometimes be accepted for publication but later be rejected in the publication process, even in some cases after public posting in “Articles in Press” form, in which case all rights will revert to the Author.

Retention of Rights for Scholarly Purposes

I understand that I retain or am hereby granted the Retained Rights. The Retained Rights include the right to use the Preprint, Accepted Manuscript, and the Published Journal Article for Personal Use and Internal Institutional Use.

All journal material is under a 12 month embargo. Authors who would like to have their articles available as open access should contact Sagamore-Venture for further information.

In the case of the Accepted Manuscript and the Published Journal Article, the Retained Rights exclude Commercial Use, other than use by the author in a subsequent compilation of the author’s works or to extend the Article to book length form or re-use by the author of portions or excerpts in other works.

Published Journal Article: the author may share a link to the formal publication through the relevant DOI.

Author Representations

  • The Article I have submitted to the journal for review is original, has been written by the stated author(s) and has not been published elsewhere.
  • The Article was not submitted for review to another journal while under review by this journal and will not be submitted to any other journal.
  • The Article contains no libelous or other unlawful statements and does not contain any materials that violate any personal or proprietary rights of any other person or entity.
  • I have obtained written permission from copyright owners for any excerpts from copyrighted works that are included and have credited the sources in the Article.
  • If the Article was prepared jointly with other authors, I have informed the co-author(s) of the terms of this Journal Publishing Agreement and that I am signing on their behalf as their agent, and I am authorized to do so.