Expanded Roles of Physical Education Teachers within a CSPAP and Implications for PETE

Overview & Synopsis

Since the early 1990s, notions about the purpose of physical education (PE) in the United States have increasingly aligned with a public health agenda driven by concerns that youth accrue too little physical activity (PA). In tandem with the shifting tides of thought about PE's purpose, authors have proposed numerous public health-aligned recommendations for physical educators in schools and teacher education. These ideologies and recommendations can be conceptually organized using the comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) model, which includes five components: (1) physical education, (2) PA during school, (3) PA before and after school, (4) staff involvement, and (5) family and community engagement. This article discusses the expanded professional roles of the PE teacher within each CSPAP component, identifies specific strategies for performing these roles, and suggests learning tasks that physical education teacher education faculty can incorporate into their programs to help teacher candidates adopt each strategy.