The History Of Physical Education In Canada

Educating the Body presents a history of physical education in Canada, shedding light on its major advocates, innovators, and institutions. The book traces the major developments in physical education from the early nineteenth century to the present day – both within and beyond schools – and concludes with a vision for the future. It examines the realities of Canada’s classed, gendered, and racialized society and reveals the rich history of Indigenous teachings and practices that were marginalized and erased by the residential school system. Today, with the worrying decline in physical activity levels across the population, Educating the Body is indispensable to understanding our policy options moving ahead.

This text provides an introduction to the various subfields of physical education, recreation and sports studies in Canada, including anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, sociology, psychology and history. An updated chapter on the present and future includes relevant issues such as drug abuse.

This book traces the development of higher education in Canada, through a detailed description and analysis of what was being taught and of the research opportunities available to professors in the years from 1860 to 1960. Background is provided in the opening chapters of Part I, which outline the origins of post-secondary education in both French and English Canada from 1635 to 1860, and in the parallel chapters of Parts II to V which describe the establishment of new and the growth of existing institutions during the period 1861-90, 1891-1920, 1921-40, and 1941-60. The remaining chapters of each of the book's main divisions present an examination of the curricula in arts and science, professional education, and graduate studies in 1860, 1890, 1920, 1940, and 1960, as well as the conditions pertaining to scholarship and research in these years. The concluding chapter identifies the characteristics which differentiate Canadian higher education from that of other countries. The book includes a full bibliography, an extensive index, and statistical appendices providing data on enrolment and degrees granted. A History of Higher Education in Canada 1663-1960 will be the definitive work in its field, valuable both for the wealth of information and the historical insights it contains.