Mental Health and Physical Education

The role of physical education (PE) and schools as sites of public health
promotion has been a longstanding feature of much academic, professional, and
policy discussion. However, this has typically focused on the alleged role that PE
plays in relation to the promotion of active lifestyles and lifelong participation in
sport and physical activity, compared to its potential mental health benefits.
However, the mental health of school-aged young people has become an
increasingly prominent public health and education policy concern in many
countries. Schools, and individual subjects including PE, are perceived as
playing an important role in promoting good mental health, optimising
wellbeing, and preventing or mitigating the effects of mental illness. In
particular, school-based physical activity and mental health interventions have
been promoted, but there is limited evidence to suggest that mental health will be
improved significantly through engaging in PE. This is perhaps unsurprising
given the deep-seated, persistent and (currently widening) social and health
inequalities in young people’s lives which, together with the many challenges
involved in sustainable behavioural change, make it very difficult for schools –
via engagement in subjects like PE – to make a substantial impact on mental
health. It is suggested that further research is needed on whether PE-for-health
pedagogies, and whole-school approaches to mental health which include PE, can
contribute to improved mental health outcomes among young people. More work
is also needed on which types of whole-school approaches most reliably and
effectively mitigate the effects of inequality on young people’s mental health and
experiences of PE. Sustained systems-level change across multiple sectors,
including education, and a consistent focus on the various inequalities,
inequities, and social determinants of young people’s mental health experiences
is also warranted.