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Way To Health And Fitness: The nationwide study of health instruction, and the resultant kindergarten through grade 12 curriculum development project of the School Health Education Study, has been recognized as an outstanding curriculum project.
The United States has led the way to health and fitness in establishing health education as a profession in its own right. Other countries have tended to follow the traditional pattern, stressing physical fitness and personal hygiene rather than a broad approach to the health of the individual and the environment. Nevertheless, health education has made major contributions to public health—as in Canada, where most elementary and secondary schools include health as part of the curriculum.
World War II brought a renewed focus on the role of the school in promoting good health. The traditional equating of health with physical fitness, and health education with physical education, was further perpetuated during this period. During the 1960's this concept was replaced by the identification of health education as a discipline separate from physical education. The School Health Education Study, initiated with private funds in 1961, had the most significant impact in establishing health education as a separate discipline.
During the 19th century, physical education developed in schools and colleges and in organizations such as the YMCA. Stress on physical fitness served to establish further the need for health education. See also GYMNASIUM; PHYSICAL EDUCATION.
In the early 20th century, voluntary health agencies impressed upon parents and educators the importance of health for the school child. A study in 1918 on the reorganization of the secondary school curriculum incorporated "health" as one of the goals of high school education. |
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