| Dictionary: physical education |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: physical education |
For more information on physical education, visit Britannica.com.
| Sports Science and Medicine: physical education |
1. Any planned programme of motor activities that helps individuals to develop and control their bodies. Physical education is a process through which favourable adaptation and learning (organic, neuromuscular, intellectual, social, cultural, emotional, and aesthetic) result from and proceed through, fairly vigorous activity.
2. A formal area of educational activity in which the main concern is with bodily movements and which takes place in an educational establishment. See also physical recreation, play, sport.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: physical education and training |
Interest in physical education as a part of the total individual's development was revived during the Renaissance. It was not until the 19th cent., however, that systems of gymnastics were developed in several European countries, notably Germany, Sweden, and England. In the same century gymnastics spread to the United States. Interest in the new system led to a movement to have compulsory physical training in American public schools and to establish physical education in colleges and universities. The first department of physical education at an American college was established at Amherst (1860).
Today, physical education is a required part of most school curricula, and a number of colleges and universities offer degrees in the field. Physical education classes generally include formal exercises, sports, and contests, although an increasing emphasis has been given to such Asian techniques as yoga, karate, and judo. The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (founded 1885) is concerned with improving its fields of education and with increasing the public's knowledge and appreciation of physical education.
Bibliography
See publications of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation; J. F. Williams, Principles of Physical Education (8th ed. 1964); D. Van Dalen, A World History of Physical Education (2d ed. 1971).
| Education Encyclopedia: Physical Education |
This entry consists of the following articles:
| BPE (abbreviation) | |
| phys ed | |
| PE (abbreviation) |
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![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Sports Science and Medicine. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. Copyright © Michael Kent 1998, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more | |
![]() | Education Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of Education. Copyright © 2002 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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