Health and Physical Education
What is health and physical education?
It’s well known that physical activity is vital to good health and wellbeing. Research has also found that getting children active, and educating them about the benefits this brings, increases their chances of remaining active - and healthy - for life. For many young people, school is a crucial environment where a life long interest in exercise, sport and physical activity can be developed
Teaching health and physical education (HPE) is a springboard for many careers - in a school setting and beyond, including sports coaching and health promotion.
What will I do and where will I work?
HPE graduates work predominantly in schools across all levels from primary to senior grades, as well as in special schools.
HPE teachers can perform a range of roles. Their main tasks are teaching health and physical education, conducting extra-curricular programs that often involve coaching school sport teams. HPE teachers conduct camps and excursions to achieve sport, health or personal development outcomes for students. Such activities are invariably physically challenging, particularly outdoor and adventure education camps and ski trips.
Their teaching role involves the development of curriculum materials for health and physical education programs and even whole school strategic planning of health promotion initiatives. They are also required to support and enhance student pastoral care, leadership programs and parent and community liaison. Graduates of UQ’s Human Moment Studies (Education) program are also qualified to teach science in the middle years, making them a versatile and therefore highly sought after member of the teaching profession.
Graduates must also become qualified coaches in one or two sports during their undergraduate training. They coach teams and individuals in schools, sometimes moving onto representative level management or coaching at state and national levels of a particular sport.
Most graduates choose to work in the secondary sector in government schools. Some graduates opt to work in the non-government and independent schools sector (including Catholic Education). They can also work in the education sectors of interstate and international contexts.
Graduates also work in non-school settings such as sports coaching, recreation, sports development roles, outdoor education, health promotion as well as in management positions within education and health organisations.
Who will I work with?
School health and physical education curricula focus on providing children and young people with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to engage in life long health promoting practices. In particular, health and physical education teachers develop their students’ understanding of the importance of physical activity to their own health and that of the community. HPE teachers have a direct responsibility for this within their school.
HPE teachers may also work with individual students who are having difficulties that impact upon their movement or health. In this situation they might work with the school nurse, a physiotherapist, or an occupational therapist to assist the student’s inclusion in activities, and to assist in programs of movement remediation.
Why is it a good career?
HPE teaching opens up a variety of career options - not only in school settings.
Early career benefits are the enormous pleasure that is gained in getting young people involved in healthy practices, physical activity and sport - often in ways that surprise the students themselves. In some cases HPE teachers are required to motivate and encourage young people who lack the confidence and competence to participate in physical activity, games and sports. Sometimes they inspire and coach students to excellent levels of physical and sport performance. Both situations can provide personal and professional rewards for HPE teachers and an experience of success.
HPE teachers are well paid, with a starting salary of $45,000 a year, plus allowances.
Using their management and communication skills, many graduates develop a career path that leads to senior school management, at the deputy principal, principal or education sector authority level. These positions are highly paid and carry a high level of executive responsibility.
Outside schools, graduates can enter careers where their focus is on exercise program planning and implementation. This may be with athletes, teams or community organisations involved in health promotion through physical activity. In particular, health and physical education graduates often play a key role in the planning and delivery of physical activity programs that are part of important policy mandates at the state and federal levels aimed at promoting and enhancing healthy lifestyles.
Within and beyond school communities, HPE graduates have an important role to play in educating children about the risks of chronic lifestyle diseases that are associated with sedentary behaviour, poor nutrition, which can contribute to excess weight and obesity. Additionally, graduates can provide HPE related programs to enhance all dimensions of an individual’s health (including the enhancement of mental and emotional health) and the personal and interpersonal skills of individuals, teams and organisations. Consequently, the efforts of these teachers can impact upon the lives of individuals and the overall health and wellbeing of specific communities and the population.
With much of Australia and some overseas countries facing teacher shortages, graduates are often highly sought after. Because of their highly developed management and communication skills, UQ graduates are also employed in the growing health promotion sector.
How do I become a HPE teacher?
You need a degree in human movement studies, or equivalent that meets the Queensland College of Teachers requirements for teacher preparation.
Personally, you need:
- exceptional communication skills
- creativity, energy and enthusiasm
- a deep understanding of young people and learning
- excellent observation skills
- the ability to analyse and evaluate the performance of others
- good problem solving skills
- excellent planning and organisation skills
- empathy and tolerance
- good analytical skills
To gain entry to UQ’s Bachelor of Human Movement Studies (Education) program, you need:
What’s different about studying at UQ?
What options are provided by further study?
Graduates of the HMS (Education) program can undertake further study to gain qualifications as an accredited exercise physiologist or a sports coach. Postgraduate study can also open doors to a range of other health careers. Programs to facilitate this are available within UQ’s School of HMS
