Physical education status in European school’s curriculum, extension of educational offer and planning

Abstract

The new Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030 of the WHO promotes sporting and physical activity as a leading factor for mental health, quality of life and wellness. The document highlights the beneficial effects of regular physical activity and the need to achieve a paradigm shift in supporting and evaluating people regularly, according to the ability and across the life course. A recent systematic review confirms that school health programs promoting active lifestyles among children and adolescents may contribute to the improvement of health-related quality of life. The educational environment plays a key role: physical education is part of all central curriculum frameworks in the EU, and is compulsory in primary and secondary education. The time allocated to physical education in some member states of the EU is insufficient to cover the recommendations of the WHO, so as to assume a marginal role in School Curriculum. This study aims to outline the current state of physical education in European school systems by drawing a comparative framework on topics related to the issue: national and European strategies, large-scale projects, teacher education, status of physical education in national curricula and in extracurricular activity, pupils evaluation and ongoing reform projects. We performed a meta-analysis study analysing national documents of the various member states, international reports of European organization and some international reviews. The results of the study underline strengths and weaknesses of the various national situations to identify the main critical problems and to highlight the potential of sustainable initiatives already validated.