Holistic Physical Education and Health Education for Kinesiology

The purpose of the paper is to propose a new framework for physical education (PE) in the United States. This framework advocates for a holistic approach to PE, integrating PE and health education and implementing social and emotional learning. A holistic approach emphasizes educating the whole child through the physical, cognitive, emotional, mental, and social domains. To support a holistic approach to education in the United States, I present three international examples: (a) Hāuora (Māori, the Aotearoa [New Zealand] PE and health education curriculum), (b) Bildung (the student-centered approach to education, Germany), and (c) Humanities (the holistic approach to PE and life, South Korea). By addressing the full spectrum of human and cultural development (eg, Hāuora, Bildung, and Humanitas), a holistic approach equips students with the knowledge, skills, disposition, and health behaviors that they need to not only survive but thrive in this complex, interconnected, ever-challenging world.