Dance – often left to specialists outside the classroom – is a means by which children can explore the world through their whole bodies. For many learners who feel they lack the ability or the interest to pursue more academic subjects, this is where they need to be given opportunities to demonstrate their potential for success. This chapter focuses on forms and skills of dance and movement, methods for engaging children and the theoretical knowledge behind dance, as well as practical activities to use in the early childhood and primary classrooms. Linking to other Knowledge Learning Areas, as well as to wider school and curricular issues, this chapter aims to equip both the novice and the experienced educator in dance to confidently and knowledgably facilitate the learning and development of children. Personal and environmental health and safety issues will also be explored.

The purpose of this chapter is to connect human movement theory with practice. Thus, the chapter answers the questions: What does human movement theory look like in practice? How can it be optimised for all children? Why is it vital for the advancement of health and wellbeing in childhood? The physical dimension is significant within children’s learning because it offers powerful and meaningful connections across all learning and development areas (Lynch, 2019). The socio-cultural perspective suggests that the curriculum ought to be connected to the child’s world and everyday interests (Arthur et al., 2020). Since children have a natural play structure, learning through movement heightens their interest.

Assessment is one of the processes of planning outlined in Chapter 9 and is an important imperative of teaching and learning. According to Black and Wiliam (2005) the term ‘assessment’ refers to all activities educators use to help students learn and to gauge student progress. One main purpose of administering assessment and having students complete assessment requirements is to collect evidence of student learning. Educators use the evidence in student work or student responses to draw inferences about student progress towards attaining identified learning objectives or learning outcomes. The fundamental purpose of assessment and reporting is to use the evidence and the inferences made from the evidence to improve student learning. As an adjunct, gathering evidence of student learning through assessment responses guides future planning and pedagogies to ensure student achievement of learning objectives or outcomes.

This chapter focuses on the dynamic Personal, Social and Community Health strand of the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education and on health education and health promotion more generically. The chapter provides scaffolding for educators at all levels of education to provide health and wellbeing learning from a range of theoretical perspectives to individual and group (for instance, institutional and community) audiences. Health education is framed through a ‘social view of health’ lens while acknowledging personal and social responsibilities. A personalised inquiry approach focused on developing critical health literacies relevant to the students’ everyday lives and environments is recommended. Elements of teaching health education and promoting health, such as the educative purpose in constructing socially relevant health education programs that encompass student developmental needs and their interests, are discussed in depth.

This chapter presents ways to approach the many decisions around ‘how’ to teach health and physical education. Pedagogy is a term that encompasses both the science and art of teaching. In many ways, it is under-defined and often reduced to teaching styles and forms of management that assume homogenous student populations. However, the concept of ‘pedagogy’ moves us beyond the technical logic of transmission toward more holistic notions of teaching ‘practices’ that include various sets of ‘sayings’, ‘doings’ and ‘relatings’. When thought about in this way, teaching and learning in health and physical education become as much about knowledge produced in the processes of interaction as an end-point in the learning of particular knowledge and skills. Importantly, we must realise that the teacher is not neutral in these processes, nor is the learner an empty vessel. Rather, both bring multiple histories, experiences and backgrounds to the learning space, which significantly impact curriculum and subsequent learning. Accordingly, understanding pedagogy as sets of practices opens up possibilities for thinking about teaching and learning. It helps us to make sense of the complexity of teachers’ work and the multiple decisions made every moment of every day.

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a movement condition that affects three to five students in the average primary school classroom in Australia. If left untreated, it has long-term impacts on development: physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively. This chapter is concerned with preparing teachers working across a range of schooling levels and contexts to understand DCD, appreciate the impact it has on the development of children, and to provide assistance for gaining appropriate diagnosis and intervention. Information provided in this chapter will assist generalist teachers, generalists/specialists and physical education specialists in identifying children suspected of having movement difficulties. Strategies are provided for teachers, both in the classroom and during physical education,to modify teaching and learning environments and to respond to and support the needs of children with movement difficulties.

This chapter is held together by the themes of teachers, safety and the law, with special attention to those who may teach physical activities – especially outside the classroom. Some of the topics that weave their way through the various sections include legal issues, professional conduct and the legalities associated with teaching and supervision of sport, physical education and outdoor activities. The chapter takes a philosophical approach to these topics.

This chapter focuser on the general capabilities in the Australian Curriculum. It addresses the seven general capabilities as they relate to and enhance learning in the health and physical education key learning area. This chapter builds on the introduction of the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education as outlined in the previous chapter. It is worth referring here to the Review of the Australian Curriculum (due mid-2021) as this review is focused on the accessibility of teachers to effectively integrate the general capabilities and the cross curricula priorities. All seven general capabilities will be explored equally and the cross-curriculum priorities are detailed next.

This chapter explores the various aspects of planning for effective implementation and enactment of the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education . Most Australian, states and territories are now working with this curriculum or their own version of it.

In this chapter, the learning entitlement, defined as equitable access for all children to learn about health and physical education, is outlined in terms of the transition from the Australian Curriculum to state curricula. There have been developments to report since the third edition of this book was released. The Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education curriculum has moved through the stages of writing draft, consultation and was under review during 2021. An educative underpinning of physical education has been established. Viewing health from a strengths-based approach as a philosophy for working with individuals, families, groups, organisations and communities provides an ecological perspective. An ecological perspective incorporates the features of the strengths-based approach, which is based on the notion that most students are: healthy, safe, active and well.The approach to the key learning areas frames this strengths-based approach within the diverse features evident in most educational settings, with recognition of diverse factors such asculture; race; ethnicity; gender identity; and socio-economic status.

This chapter explores contemporary approaches to health education and health promotion, and investigates the research and theoretical underpinnings of these approaches. It aims to develop in the reader an understanding of the benefits of implementing a positive, strengths-based approach that builds on the competencies and resources of students and the community, to frame learning about personal, social and community health. The chapter reconnoitres the need for and recognises the value of embracing a holistic approach to health education and learning while acknowledging and appreciating the impact of social determinants of health on the capacity to implement behaviours conducive to health and wellbeing.

In contemporary times, the body of students in most schools reflects a diverse medley of race, class, gender, ethnicity, religion, ability, identity and sexual orientation. All these young people have a right to a quality schooling experience, as well as the knowledge, skills and understandings required for them to lead active and healthy lives. However, teachers are sometimes unprepared for managing this complexity let alone celebrate this diversity. Although the learning area has much to contribute to young people, physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively, research continues to show how teaching practices celebrate some students while marginalising and discriminating against others. So too, when health and physical education is influenced by the logic of neo-liberal individualism, students are made to feel responsible for their own health and are sometimes ‘blamed’ for their failure to perform particular skills or achieve particular kinds of bodies . However, with a focus on diversity, acceptance and inclusion, health and physical education can have an integral role in combating injustice and achieve the best outcomes for all students.

This chapter is focused on the continuum of motor development, from conception through to adolescence, and it describes the developmental pathway along which children travel on their way to achieving a range of movement skills. It outlines the links between the physical development of a child and psychological, emotional and later cognitive performance, and emphasises the importance of knowledge and an appreciation for developmental processes during the early years.

Chapter 4 describes the debates that took place in the press immediately after the Balkan Wars (1912–13), which drew attention to the relationship between new concepts of the able body and the militarization of discourses of productivity. In the first Balkan War, the Ottoman armies were soundly defeated, and the empire lost its last landholdings in the Balkans. The perceived infirmities of the “Ottoman body” became a common thread in social critiques calling for all-out mobilization. This chapter traces the relationship between conceptualizations of the healthy, productive, and able body and discourses on the formation of an ideal citizen, as articulated by moralists, journalists, public figures, and memoirists of the Balkan Wars. I expose how calls for a productive body militarized a social issue during a time when Ottomans faced imminent threats of invasion. The militarization that characterized the last decade of the Ottoman Empire and the first decades of the Turkish Republic cannot be understood without first considering the process by which the body of the citizen became a site of national anxiety.

What does it look like when schools prioritise intrapersonal thriving? Educators have it in their power to help children and young people spend more time in nature, to find moments of silence, and to take physical and mental health seriously. Some schools have turned to mindfulness and meditation. Others are working to rethink physical education, fitness, and joy in movement, making this a priority for all students, not just the 'sporty' few. Most strikingly, some schools build their approach around what it takes for young people to find a sense of meaning and purpose in their work. This can look very different for different people and places.