Physical Education and Wellbeing

Timothy Lynch is employed as the Western Co-Head of ECE (Early Childhood Education) and Primary at Yew Chung International School of Chongqing, China. This book, now in its second edition, explores how physical education (PE) and learning through movement can be best enacted in schools in order to optimise children's wellbeing and subsequent academic learning. Drawing together extensive data from school communities around the globe, the author examines multiple dimensions of child health in practice. Ultimately, the findings suggest that PE is imperative within the wider landscape of children’s holistic learning, offering a powerful platform for meaningful connections across learning areas. While quantitative research has long evidenced the benefits of physical activity, this book contributes to the complex and global issue of what effective health and wellbeing approaches look like in practice, offering clear strategies for optimising children’s academic learning. It is natural for children to enjoy movement for the purposes of play, exploration, learning and development; this book is essential reading for scholars (professors, researchers and students), school leaders and educators looking to enhance children’s wellbeing, general health and academic learning. “The author is a passionate educator and provocateur. This book is a significant and timely contribution to contemporary research that probes what it means to be ‘physically educated’. The ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘status’ boundaries are provoked. Local and global discourses, models and influences are explored and the challenge is set to take up a holistic approach to quality physical education that explicitly integrates wellbeing and health intentions in policy and more importantly, in practice.” (Professor Maree Dinan-Thompson, Deputy Vice Chancellor Education, James Cook University and Health and Physical Education Curriculum Advisor, Australia)