Physical Education

Physical education (PE) might be the best place in schools to promote social and emotional learning (SEL). Since PE is active, interactive and dynamic, it gives students opportunities to work on skills related to self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. Our team specializes in teaching approaches for developing these SEL competencies.

Through our curriculum, partnerships and extracurricular opportunities, we train PE teachers to promote SEL effectively. This involves working extensively with schools and districts in our region, including DeKalb, Aurora, Elgin and Chicago. We are also asked to present and consult on this topic across the country and around the world.

Curriculum and Methods

Our research-informed physical education degree program includes courses that directly address SEL development:

• KNPE 365 – Introduction to Adventure Education
• KNPE 368 - Sport Education
• KNPE 449 - Current Issues in Physical Education and Sport
• KNPE 466 – Field Experience at Outdoor Environments

Some of the methods we use to train future PE teachers to address students' social and emotional needs include:

• Building good relationships
• Structured recess
• Outdoor education
• Urban physical education

Partnerships

We partner with local PE programs and host their students on campus to develop leadership and other life skills. This also gives NIU students valuable real-world experience. Read about our recent leadership summit with West Aurora students.

Research

We have an extremely productive team of scholars involved in local, national and international research on SEL in PE. See selected publications.