HPE Case Study

In the HPE learning areas students will develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours to enable them to enhance and maintain their physical, mental, social and emotional health. Great importance is placed on having a healthy lifestyle and engaging in physical activity not only in the lives of individuals but also their wider community. The curriculum supports students to make decisions and take actions that promote their health, safety and physical activity participation. HPE also focuses on the attainment of movement skills, concepts and strategies that enable students to participate confidently, competently and creatively in a range of physical activities (ACARA, 2014). Five key propositions shape the HPE curriculum today. HPE curriculum

It is oblivious the aim of the curriculum is to enhance young Australians health, the method in which educators choose to achieve this impacts students' lives (Wright, 2014). Moving away from a deficit-based model of health, the strengths-based approach focuses on situation/issues that are relevant in students' lives where actions can occur, that will improve their lives by building on their strengths. It, supports students in developing "knowledge, understanding and skills they require to make healthy, safe and active choices that will enhance their own and others' health and wellbeing" (ACARA, 2014b para. 3). It's important to note when taking this approach students will be in control and the educator is there for support not as the expert, as a result the community becomes a vital source of information. (Wright, 2014). We can clearly see this approach within the curriculum as well. Throughout the curriculum, students must be able to build their knowledge based on their prior knowledge to increasing their understandings. For example, key words are used to throughout the content descriptors; including, investigate, evaluate and analysis (Wright, 2014

To cater for this shift, the HPE curriculum includes a critical inquiry approach that promotes researching, analysing, applying and appraising knowledge in the health and movement fields. Students have opportunity to develop skills, self-efficacy and dispositions to advocate for, and positively influence, their own and others' health and wellbeing (ACARA, 2014). Rather than accept facts students construct knowledge through inquiry using sources that are not from a textbook (e.g. community) (Wright, 2014). Again, we see this in the terminology used in the content descriptors: 'analyse; 'investigate' and 'examine'. Students will also understand the influences that affect decision making, behaviours and actions, and explore inclusiveness, power inequalities, taken-for-granted assumptions, diversity and social justice (ACARA,