SPEAK Out! Day is an annual event in which SHAPE America members converge in Washington, D.C. to meet with representatives and senators to discuss issues related to quality health and physical education. The purpose of this article is to describe SPEAK Out! Day and address a few of its practices and outcomes, as well as the enjoyment and benefits…

In response to the global pressure that has led to an increased emphasis on international comparisons of student achievement since the 1980s, multiple federal reforms aimed at producing greater consistency in curricula have been initiated in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of a national curriculum and…

Although advocacy can also take place at the state and national levels, the foundation of advocacy is high-quality teaching and local initiatives. The purpose of this article is to review four steps that can be taken by PE teachers who are interested in engaging in local advocacy efforts.

The implementation of value-added models of teacher evaluation continue to expand in public education, but the effects of using student test scores to evaluate K-12 physical educators necessitates further discussion. Using the five National Standards for K-12 Physical Education from the Society of Health and Physical Educators America (SHAPE),…

The educational reform movement in the United States has resulted in a variety of states moving toward a system of value-added modeling (VAM) to measure a teacher's contribution to student achievement. Recently, many states have begun using VAM scores as part of a larger system to evaluate teacher performance. In the past decade, only "core…

The mission of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has three parts: (1) to establish high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do; (2) to develop and operate a national, voluntary system to assess and certify teachers who meet these standards; and (3) to advance related…

The process of effective teaching--teaching that directly leads to student learning of standards-based content--is tenuous at best and easily disrupted by contextual and behavioral factors. In this commentary, I discuss the role of student support and mediation in teacher effectiveness and curricular reform. The most vocal students in physical…

Great anticipation surrounded the release of the first ever Surgeon General's report on physical activity and health in 1996. The report stated that physical activity can contribute significantly to overall levels of health and the quality of life for all Americans. However, since the report's release, little has improved in the health status of…

Although implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) has been strongly advocated by federal legislation as well as school districts in recent years, the concept has not been well accepted in adapted physical education (APE), perhaps due to a lack of understanding of the central notion of EBP. The purpose of this article is to discuss how APE…

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a nutrition education program designed to teach elementary school students and their parents, and to distinguish between more healthful and less healthful choices in diverse food categories. Methods: Three schools were assigned to receive the Nutrition Detectives[TM] program and…

The current study described physical education teacher education (PETE) programs at institutions located within the Central District of the United States (CDAAAHPERD). Of the 72 institutions invited to participate, 44 institutions completed the survey (58% response rate). The purpose of this study was to describe the general profile/practices of…

A debate over the quality of teacher education programs has been ongoing for nearly 100 years. The most current round in this debate started with "A Nation at Risk" (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) and has escalated in recent years to involve an increasing number of participant-constituents, each of whom has voiced…

The purpose of this study was to explore pre-service physical education teacher perceptions of teaching students with disabilities and professional preparation in a self-contained environment during a student teaching practicum. Data collection included formal interviews, informal interviews, direct observation with field notes, and critical…

There are numerous components of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) and the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (2004) that could directly affect the responsibilities of general physical educators (GPE). The purpose of this article is to address each of the components related to (1) the application of the response-to-intervention (RTI)…

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) is an advocate for having highly qualified physical education teachers deliver developmentally appropriate, standards-based instruction in schools. However, a comprehensive definition of what constitutes a highly qualified physical education teacher did not exist until recently.…