Health in physical education (PE) has in recent decades received growing public and political attention. PE is recognized as playing an important role in promoting health and well-being among children and adolescents. Critical PE scholars contest the prevalent biomedical perspective on health for its narrow conceptualization of health and its exclusive focus on physical activity and disease prevention. Instead, alternative (critical and/or salutogenic) perspectives that emphasize the holistic nature of health are advocated. Previous research has identified a lack of empirical research on the topic. The purpose of this scoping review was to contribute to knowledge about what characterizes empirical research literature with holistic perspectives on health and discuss the implications for teaching PE. Four databases (SportDiscus, ERIC, Web of Science, and Scopus) were searched for peer-reviewed literature in academic journals between 2002 and 2021. Only 12 out of 3263 identified articles included empirical research with holistic perspectives on health. Using thematic analysis, two distinct themes were identified: (i) “teachers’ philosophies and didactic considerations,” exploring teachers’ understanding and beliefs and implications for PE practice and (ii) “alternative ways to teach,” where teachers engage in co-creating, enacting, and evaluating holistic health-related curricula. The findings indicate that although PE teachers may hold a narrow understanding of health, they are receptive to alternative perspectives and capable of critical reflections and renegotiations, if given appropriate support and opportunities for professional development. Challenging PE teachers’ philosophies and empowering them in the co-creation and implementation of holistic, student-centered curricula can create sustainable opportunities to enhance students’ well-being.

School physical education and health (PEH) may not only be an important cornerstone to the holistic development of students but may also contribute to the sustainable development (SD) agenda. Although PEH may have unique characteristics that can contribute to the SD agenda, most research to date has been theoretical. The overall aim of this study was to explore the sustainable development competencies among physical education and health (PEH) teachers in Sweden. An online questionnaire was used to collect data about background and SD competencies. SD competencies was collected through the use of the Physical Education Scale for Sustainable Development in Future Teachers (PESD-FT). Of the 1153 participants, 31% reported being males, and 48% of the participants reported teaching PEH when completing the questionnaire. The median SD competencies score for all the participants was 105 (range: 18–144) out of 144. Virtually no differences were observed across the groups of participants. A stronger correlation was observed between SD competencies vs. long-time interests in health and health issues (r_s = 0.343) than for long experience of participating in organized sports (r_s = 0.173). In the total sample, 26% reported having taught about SD in PEH, such as using outdoor education, interdisciplinary projects, picking, and sorting waste, as well as paying attention to material issues. Among those who reported teaching PEH when completing the questionnaire, 70% perceived that they are in great need of professional development education in the area of SD. In conclusion, SD competencies were higher for the PESD-FT items that concerned the social dimension of SD compared to the economic and environmental dimensions. Relatively few teachers had taught about SD in PEH, and the majority perceive that they are in great need of professional development education in the area of SD. Future studies are required to understand more of what types of competencies practicing PEH teachers, and PEH teacher education programs, are lacking to fulfil the call for a contribution to the SD agenda.

In this paper, we add to the literature by exploring how sustainable development (SD) and sustainability-oriented learning, are reflected in the Swedish compulsory school and upper secondary school physical education and health (PEH) syllabi. The source of data was the PEH syllabi and the commentary material, as produced by the Swedish National Agency of Education. These were qualitatively analysed through document and thematic analysis using two educational guideline resources as guiding frameworks. We found no explicit statements related to SD in the PEH syllabi for the compulsory school and upper secondary school. In the commentary materials, however, there were explicit statements made in relation to outdoor life and nature and ergonomics. We also found links possible between the PEH syllabi and totally five SDGs as the syllabi stands today. Our analysis signals a lack of conceptualisation of SD, but also openings for working with these perspectives, and to address these in the Swedish PEH syllabi.

Purpose: Literature suggest that physical education and health (PEH) may contribute to the sustainable development (SD) agenda, yet little is known how PEH teachers relate SD to their teaching practices. This paper explores Swedish upper secondary PEH teachers’ experiences and perceived competence regarding teaching SD as part of PEH. Method: An online questionnaire was used to examine SD competence. Data from 702 PEH teachers were analyzed descriptively and inferentially. Results: PEH teachers perceive higher competence regarding the social dimension of SD compared to the economic and environmental dimensions. Female teachers and those with more than 15 years teaching experiences reported the highest perceived competence. Seventy percent of the respondents perceived that they lacked competence to teach SD. Discussion/Conclusion: PEH teachers struggle to relate SD to PEH practice and call for support to increase their competence in terms of how to conceptualize and transform SD into PEH teaching practice.

It is emphasized that education has the potential to contribute to the sustainability challenges that humanity faces by cultivating and empowering people with sustainability-related competences to ...