ABSTRACT
The role of physical education (PE) in health has long been recognised in many countries and, arguably, this is increasingly the case on account of growing concerns over the health and well-being of children and young people. However, whilst schools have been recognised for the role that they might play in promoting health to children and young people, concerns have been expressed with regard to the status and position of health in PE and the approaches and practices used to support health-related learning. In addition, concerns have been raised in relation to the knowledge, understandings and conceptions of health promoted by and through PE, with a growing body of research suggesting that children and young people's health-related knowledge and understandings are worrying and problematic. This chapter explores health-related learning within the PE curriculum in England, outlining how the status and position of health has changed in recent decades. It considers the various challenges reportedly faced in relation to health-related teaching within PE, which have given rise to calls for an increased emphasis on the pedagogies of health-related learning. Subsequently, the evidence pertaining to children and young people's health-related knowledge and understandings – over time and across different contexts – is explored. Following this, new evidence is presented on young people's conceptions of health in the context of healthy, active lifestyles within PE in England, providing a current ‘picture of health’.
