CURRICULAR INNOVATION: A CASE STUDY OF DEVELOPING HEALTH ENHANCING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MODULES IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION

This presentation will focus on the first phase of an ongoing project whose overarching objective is to develop Health Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA) Modules in Physical Education in Higher Education. Eurobarometer (2014) revealed that 39% of Europeans are not active in exercise or play sports; while 52% are not engaged in informal and non-competitive physical activities. The main goal of the Sport Physical Education and Coaching in Health (SPEACH) Project is to increase awareness and behavioural change in sport professionals and European citizens towards an active and healthy lifestyle. To achieve this, the project will develop HEPA related educational modules, which will be included into existing educational structures in physical education (PE) higher and vocational education, in order to stimulate pupils, young athletes and adults towards an active and healthy lifestyle. An innovative aspect of the project is the diversity of partners involved. The consortium consists of ten organizations and actors from seven EU countries in the field of sport, PE and health. The partners involved are national and international sports committees, sport federations and higher educational institutes in the field of sport, PE teacher education and health.
The presentation will focus on the aim, methodology, preliminary findings and limitations of the needs analysis phase of the SPEACH project, which is the initial of 7 phases of the 3 year project. The objective of the needs analysis is to explore the specific needs of stakeholder feedback towards the development of the HEPA modules for Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE). The methodology involved conducting on online survey with undergraduate and postgraduate students in 7 countries in Europe, and 21 universities (approximately 3000). The preliminary findings indicate that 44% of students feel that HEPA should be part of their education while a similar amount of respondents stated that elements of HEPA are part of their education. In conclusion, the ongoing challenges of developing and recognising HEPA modules in PE in higher education will be identified.