Promoting Active Lifestyles in Schools

Promoting Active Lifestyles in Schools is ideal for those who want to promote healthy, active lifestyles in schools—not just during physical education classes, but throughout the school day. This book presents a holistic perspective on physical activity, exposing teachers to a broad spectrum of curricular and noncurricular opportunities to enhance their pupils’ engagement with physical activity, as well as the tools and resources to do it.

Promoting Active Lifestyles in Schools offers research-informed, evidence-based practices (built on health-related studies from around the world) that will help teachers broaden their physical activity promotion in school-based environments. Through this text, teachers will receive the following:

• Tried-and-true practical learning activities that help pupils of all ages lead healthy, active lifestyles

• Clear explanations of the current thinking and evidence underpinning the practical ideas and activities, helping teachers fully grasp the content and depth of the material

• Developmentally appropriate procedures to monitor children’s health, activity and fitness in school, both as individuals and within a cohort (thus helping teachers quantify progress made)

• Best practices, illustrated through a diverse range of case studies, to help teachers connect with the information and help their pupils apply it in real life

Web Resource to Aid Learning and Implementation

Promoting Active Lifestyles in Schools comes with web resource materials, including quizzes, worksheets, case studies and assessment measures for monitoring children and school-based initiatives on individual, cohort and schoolwide levels. These tools, which are printable and can be used as is or adapted, will help teachers gain a broader understanding of their pupils’ levels of health and physical activity—from both short-term and long-term perspectives—and assist them in implementing activity-promoting practices.

Activity Throughout the Curriculum

The text intentionally addresses curriculum requirements—not just in physical education classes, but in other subjects as well—and presents whole-school and cross-curricular recommendations and expectations. It also explores extracurricular opportunities and offers ideas for connecting with parents, caregivers and community physical activity providers.

Activities in School and Beyond

Keeping with its holistic approach, Promoting Active Lifestyles in Schools supplies a diverse range of activities that can be undertaken both within and beyond school buildings. These community-based activities will be of particular interest to schools that would like to take advantage of resources in their surrounding environment. The book presents activities and school models that suit a range of contexts, and the case studies help teachers conceptualize how they can implement the activities.

Promoting and Monitoring Activity

Promoting Active Lifestyles in Schools is presented in three parts. Part I explains why the promotion of healthy, active lifestyles is important in schools and clarifies the role that educators in general, and in physical education in particular, have here. Part II focuses on how children’s health, activity and fitness can be monitored in schools and how this can help pupils learn the importance of being healthy, active and fit in their everyday lives. Part III addresses how all children can have healthy, active lifestyles, including pupils with varying abilities and those with health conditions such as asthma, diabetes and obesity. This part of the book presents a range of health-related learning activities for pupils of different ages that are developmentally appropriate, inclusive and progressive.

Making a Positive Difference

The practical ideas and activities in Promoting Active Lifestyles in Schools will help teachers make a positive difference in the health, well-being and quality of life of their pupils by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, competence and confidence to engage in physically active lifestyles. Schools can use the book to incorporate this important element into the curriculum in a planned and progressive manner that is accessible to all pupils.