Applied statics in Physical education and Sports

Today physical education must accept the challenge that children’s life styles are becoming less physically active. Balanced physical development, variety of motor experience, health promotion and sporting ability are, therefore, central concerns of the subject. Modern physical education is based upon bringing within reach of school boys and girls the full range of physical exercise, from simple activities to the complex world of sport. Health is important: physical education is not just an important contribution to the promotion of health generally, but the subject lends itself very well to contributing to the development of health promoting organisations in individual schools. Adequate resources, which are extensively given in Austria, are necessary. Further, schools must look beyond the world of education for partnerships with other organisations to realise the goal of daily exercise - particularly for children and young people between the ages of 6 and 14. In keeping with our efforts to cover the lifespan in this special section of the newsletter, we have invited contributions that focus on sport and physical activity in children, adolescents, and adults. The goal of this issue is to highlight the range of approaches to studying sport and exercise used across disciplines and cultural settings, including reports from Egypt, Europe, Canada, and the US. As noted in both commentaries by experts in sports and physical activity, the diversity of research in this area presents challenges when trying to advance theory about engagement in these contexts, but this set of papers offers some promising leads. What unites the papers is the careful attention to the importance of the sport or exercise context, but they each highlight distinct aspects, including sport as an empowerment opportunity and a physical activity as a motivational goal domain in adulthood, with particular implications for lifelong health.