Feature
No.40
January 2004
 
    

How will Sport Science and Physical Education Continue to Evolve over the Next Decade?
Dr. Michael G. Davis, CEO of AAHPERD
Dr. Keith Henschen, Past President of AAHPERD



This is a very intriguing question and we wish we had a definitive answer but our crystal ball is based only on our ability to read the trends that seem to be indicating the future. Furthermore, to even begin to discuss the future of anything is rather a daunting, if not arrogant task. Yet, we would hasten to state that without trying to do this we lost control of our destiny.
We believe that there are actually two directions that Physical Education and the Sport Sciences can take during the next decade; (1) perpetuation of those programs that have no justification for existence and the continual fragmentation of our professions, or (2) an exciting and innovative rejuvenation which will meet the needs of civilization in general.
We do not expect the stagnation and fragmentation to continue but it is a possibility if members of our profession continue to ignore the fact that they we are in this malaise. We do not wish to be negative; but unless Physical Education and the Sport Sciences recognize that their very existence is in question and subsequently take action to rectify the situation, then we will be courting big trouble. In other words, we cannot continue to „do business as usual“; rather we must employ a different strategic plan in order to evolve in a positive direction.

The Positive Vision for Physical Education and the Sport Sciences
We actually are quite optimistic concerning how the Sport Sciences and Physical Education will evolve during the next decade. We envisiage a dynamic rebirth of the discipline of Physical Education that will eventually look and act quite differently than how it is now functioning. Physical Education will evolve into a discipline that the general public will embrace because it will be scientifically sound (based on the Sport Sciences) and marketed so that all individuals will want it as part of their living behavior. It will become health and wellness grounded instead of being athletically based. It will have fewer competitive activities, but many more cooperative activities designed to be pleasurable learning experiences and to enhance socially acceptable behaviors.
Due to a lack of attention to the need to market the importance of what we do by Physical Education and the Sport Science professional, todays’ children have become disproportionately unfit and unhealthy. A recent book, Food Fight by Kelly Brownell from Yale University who is an expert on nutrition and obesity, emphasizes the fact that our children today might be the first generation in recent history that are apt to live shorter lives than their parents due to their poor diets.
Also, because of the emphasis on athletic competition, too many of our children have adopted behaviors that indicate they no longer know how or desire to play productively with each other. Ask any elementary teacher and they will tell you that children do not interact well with each other. Sportsmanship and cooperation are concepts, which they no longer manifest. The reason for these behaviors is simple. These types of negative characteristics correspond directly with the elimination of elementary Physical Education from the public school curriculum (especially in North America). Contemporary children do not receive exposure to Physical Education until they reach junior high school or high school. Of course, by the time they are actually exposed to Physical Education it is often too late to change the detrimental habits and behaviors many have acquired. During these early developmental years, children are being bombarded with athletic competition outside of the school curriculum. As now constituted, Physical Education is frequently not attractive enough to successfully compete with athletics. The stark reality is that every person needs quality physical education, but only a few physically gifted young people need to pursue athletics.
Not only do we envision a return to mandatory elementary physical education grounded on the sound principles of the Sport Sciences, but we also anticipate a complete separation of Physical Education from athletics. Physical Education and the Sport Sciences will eventually form a more perfect union with the common mission of enhancing the physical, emotional, and cognitive well being of all peoples of the world. The highly competitive athletic world has a completely different agenda which is opposite of Physical Education’s mission. Athletics is for entertainment and is only for the highly proficient. Along with the previously mentioned separation will come the eventuality of Physical Education professionals refusing to coach athletic teams. The goals of these two occupations are so diverse that soon physical educators will teach coaches the Sport Sciences but not actually coach themselves.
We understand that what we are proposing is somewhat revolutionary, but the situation needs to change or Physical Education will likely evolve into extinction. This would be a sad circumstance because Physical Education is the source of the wealth of scientifically sound information contained in the Sport Sciences. When physical educators are no longer available, who will disseminate the sport science knowledge that is so vital to all of us? Sport Science practitioners are very limited to their specialties and not eclectic enough to provide the information in a practical manner. Physical educators must learn to meet society where it is and then take it where it must go. Physical educators must learn to be proactive and take a greater role in their destiny. Furthermore, the contributions from Physical Education and Sport Sciences are needed now more than ever due to the increase in disease and death due to lifestyle choices (e.g., obesity, smoking, and lack of physical activity).

Other Necessary Changes
We have already discussed a few changes that are in the future of Physical Education and the Sport Sciences:
  1. Focusing on a quality elementary physical education.

  2. Separating physical education from athletics other than having the physical
  3. educators teaching coaches the sport sciences.
  4. Using sport science research for the benefit of all mankind.
We have a number of other ideas/suggestions, which will become reality in the near future.
  1. Using the technology of the Sport Sciences for the betterment of all of society. Technology appears to be a double-edged sword because as technology continues to improve, there also seems to be some hidden consequences that are the results of these technological advances. There is little question that technology contributes to a greater level of affluence and comfort for most of us. We are required to do less and less physical labor and one consequence of this is that we have engineered physical activity out of our lives. In fact, we are now enjoying the greatest comfort level ever to be found on earth! This is good – right? The answer to this query is both yes and no! Unquestionable, we have an easier lifestyle but at a significant cost to our health. It is definitely positive that technology has increased progress to the point where it is making life less strenuous in many areas; but it is equally negative in that the human animal has yet to figure out how to best utilize the technology for the betterment of all mankind. We seem to use all technology for entertainment, pleasure, or war. This situation has contributed greatly to our species virtual survival. We now reside in a world where we are able to communicate, travel, and produce products with exceptional speed and precision, but conversely we are much more stressed and unhealthy than ever before. The leading causes of death are cancer, heart failure, and casualties due to faulty technology. These causes of death are directly associated with drastic changes in our lifestyles and environment. Subsequently, we currently are part of the most obese (and unhealthy) civilization to ever populate this planet. The state of the world is technologically advanced, but physically retarded. As society degenerates from a wellness and fitness perspective, the answers/solutions to these problems have already been discovered in the Sport Sciences and being disseminated by Physical Education, but few are listening. This situation leads to the second necessary change we envision occurring in the decade to come.
  2. Increasing the sophistication of the messages of both Physical Education and the Sport Sciences through advocacy. Physical Education and the Sport Sciences need to forge a solid alliance that embraces a common purpose/mission. In this particular situation our colleges and universities might have confused the general public with so many name changes that seem to be unrelated to the core purposes of Physical Education.
    Yet public schools still require Physical Education not kinesiology, exercise and sport science, human movement, etc. The credibility of our profession has not been enhanced by all of these name changes and fragmentation of our curricular offerings. At many colleges and universities many professors are so specialized that they no longer appear to want to be associated with the physical education profession. Research in the sport sciences should focus on sport research instead of attempting to parallel medical school research.
  3. Present (advocate) a unified interdisciplinary approach. Yes, the sport sciences (kinesiology, biomechanics, motor learning, sport psychology, sport nutrition, and exercise physiology) should all be important components of a strong physical education curriculum. The problem is that all of the above have become so specialized that it is difficult, if not impossible, to see how they related to one another. We are producing specialists instead of generalists and the specialists are so narrow they have very little interest or knowledge for the overall profession.
  4. We need to demand an increased commitment to excellence. Not a specialized excellence (i.e. the oxidization capabilities of an adult rat muscle), but a more general excellence that is meaningful to all humans. We envision greater attention to standards and assessment that are individualized and meaningful. We need to cease relying on how fast a 10-12 year old can run a mile as an indication of fitness. This is more like punishment than a meaningful and uplifting experience to motivate someone to be active. We need to ensure that all of our students have comprehensive understanding of what it takes to have a healthy lifestyle and develop a commitment to an active lifestyle.
  5. Develop a closer alignment with healthcare issues. Where Physical Education and Health Science have tended to be separated from one another, we think in the future they will once again reunite in a meaningful relationship. Both professions have common goals/issues such as the pursuit of wellness, the cost of healthcare, and obesity concerns. Isn’t Health Science an integral component of sport science? Historically, Health Science separated from Physical Education and the Sport Sciences because Physical Education was too dominating and unwilling to address some of society’s health issues; but that is no longer the case. Health Science and the other Sport Sciences will in the near future collaborate on many issues instead of acting like two ships passing in the night. Could it also be that Sport and Exercise Physiology and the pursuit of wellness have some interests in common?
  6. In today’s world, it is the profession (and individuals) who manifests an entrepreneurial attitude and a commitment to innovation that will be successful. We in Physical Education and the Sport Sciences have kind of stayed in the background and naively reassured ourselves that we had the answers and that what we were doing was right. Well, guess what? We only have a few of the answers and because of how we are doing things, the world is rapidly passing us by. Research is essential to advance any profession. However, there must be a consciencous leap from the esoteric to the practical. We envision a future where research and practice come together to improve our professions and better our society.
In summary, Physical Education ad the Sport Sciences are in the right place at the right time, but we are struggling because we have given society a mixed message (or no message), we have fractionalized ourselves in ways that lessen our effectiveness to the greater whole, and we have been less than sophisticated in marketing the many contributions we are making and can make to the future of society.
Society is begging for what we have to offer. We believe that the innovators of our profession will shed the cloak of tradition and present new ways to influence society with our current and future knowledge. The key may be to go back to the beginning and start with the youth. Teaching elementary physical education with a foundation of „sport“ (instead of athletics), emphasis on developing the knowledge and skills needed to live a healthy, active lifestyle with an eye towards healthcare issues through entrepreneurial techniques is our vision. Technology, advocacy, and better marketing techniques will be the tools of our evolution.


Dr. Keith Hensdhen
Email: khensche@msn.com




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