PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
PE-BC is a Provincial Specialists Association of the BCTF
Report from the World Health Organization on the Impact of Health and Health Behaviours
Friday, September 23, 2011
While the importance of education is widely appreciated as a public policy priority in industrialized countries and cross-country comparative rankings of educational performance typically provoke major national debates, comparably little attention, outside of health, is paid to the impact of child and adolescent health on education. Part of the reason could be the perception that child health is but a by-product of education rather than a factor that could determine educational outcomes. This report casts doubt on this perception by critically examining the evidence on the effect of health on education in industrialized countries.
Based on seemingly under recognized evidence, our overall finding is that there is reason to believe health does have an impact on education. This finding should serve as a basis for raising the profile of child health in the public policy debate, and by illustrating the potential for mutual gains; it should help stimulate cross-sectoral collaboration between the health and education sectors.
Education and health are known to be highly correlated – that is, more education indicates better health and vice versa – but the actual mechanisms driving this correlation are unknown. The effect of health on education has been well researched in developing countries, as has the effect of education on health in both developing and industrialized countries. Such imbalance could signal lack of attention not only in research but also in the public policy debate.
While children in developing countries face more serious health challenges than those in industrialized ones, the potentially relevant effect of health on their educations (and perhaps on labour force participation) cannot be ruled out.
