President's Address

A Aire, a dhaoine uaisle, a cháirde go léir, ba mhaith liom fearadh fáilte a chur roimh an Aire, Síle De Valera anocht. A Aire, táimid uile buíoch diot gur thoiligh tú ár gComhdháil Naisiunta a oscailt duinn anseo i mbliana in Inis, Co. an Chláir tar éis cuireadh mall a fháil. Nuair nach raibh an t-aire Mícheál Mac an Choille in ann bheith i lathair anocht bhi tú fhéin lán toilteanach glacadh leis an gcuireadh. Bhéadh sé ina chúis náire dúinn anocht muna mbéadh ball ón rialtas i láthair agus dá bhrí sin tá árdmholadh tuillte agat go ndearna tú iarracht chomh mórsan bheith anseo linn. Go raibh mile maith agat, a Aire agus cuirim fáilte Uí Cheallaigh rómhat.

Minister De Valera, Ladies and Gentlemen
At the outset I would like to warmly welcome Minister Síle De Valera and pay tribute to the Minister for agreeing to formally open our National Conference at such short notice. Minister Woods found himself unable to attend at the last moment. Minister De Valera readily agreed to step into the breach and solve for us what could have been an embarrassing situation ………Thank you Minister.

The theme of the Conference this year as last is based on advancing Physical Education as a key component of the Education system in Ireland. The speakers this weekend will consider aspects which, if and when they are put in place, will contribute to the development of Quality Physical Education Provision in Ireland.

They will address:

• The need for Appropriate and meaningful assessment procedures
  
• The need to put in place a framework for the continual professional development of the PE teacher
  
• The need to optimise and promote the potential of Physical Education to reduce the ncidence of hypokinetic diseases
  
• And the need to describe clearly the logical link or pathway which exists between PE and formal sport

Last year I finished my address with a statement to the effect that in spite of the existence of many worthwhile initiatives in the field of Physical Education and sport, School Physical Education in this Country is being marginalized by school Management. And this unacceptable situation has come about at a time when all research indicates that the lifestyle of our schoolchildren is becoming dangerously sedentary and at a time when we are beginning to experience obesity problems in our classes at a level previously well documented in American Society.
I asked the question as to what could be done about this and proceeded to answer it myself by stating that the only way forward has got to be through the enactment of National Government Policies in these areas.
I insisted that to achieve anything there must be put in place a National Policy for School Physical Education and a National Policy for school Sport.

But it's not enough to talk about it. What are we in the PEAI doing about it. We have a duty to ourselves and to the Irish Nation to directly address this problem. We are the professionals in the field. It is up to us to formulate the policies necessary to correct this serious development and to establish a situation where these policies when formulated are positioned to drive future Government Policies in these areas.

During the past year we in the Executive have gone a long way towards achieving this position but there is still a mountain of work to be done.
So far We have described what we believe the provision of Quality Physical Education to be and the benefits to be accrued from it's implementation and have prescribed it clearly for our School Curricula at all levels.
The provision of Quality Physical Education programmes in all Irish schools provides the bedrock for Irish citizens to make positive decisions regarding their lifestyle and participation in physical activity. During the last three decades significant investment has been made in the education system and this investment has played a key role in the development of the tiger economy. The PEAI believes AND are saying clearly to the Government that a similar investment in Physical Education will establish Ireland as a world recognised Nation of good practice for the promotion of a positive lifestyle and an effective primary /preventative health care system. With such an investment we can lead world Nations on positive health statistics.

The PEAI has outlined key strategic directions that if followed will result in Ireland being recognized within a 10 year time frame as:

• An international exemplar of good practice in the promotion of positive lifestyles,
  
• A country that has achieved a 30% increase in adolescent participation in Physical Activity with concomitant health enhancement
  
• A country where a working alliance has been established amongst all organizations who can benefit from the existence of a high quality Physical Education programme at all levels of the Educational system, primary, second level and tertiary and within the community.

Physical Education is the only educational experience where the focus is on the body, physical activity, physical development and……… physical well-being. The cost of maintaining the Nation's Health is accelerating. This fact was well emphasized and documented last week-end at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis.
However, if one accepts the argument that a person's lifelong health is largely within his/her personal domain, we can be encouraged by recent scientific and medical evidence that a physically active person profits from a wide array of physical and mental health benefits.

The government too could profit from the promotion of a more physically active Nation. In America, the National Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (CDC) recently quantified the cost benefit associated with physical activity.

For persons aged 15 and older the average annual direct medical cost was 30% lower for those who were regularly physically active.
Should inactive American adults become physically active the potential saving in Annual National Medical Costs for a Nation of 88m adults was projected to be $76.6 billion for the year 2000.

Given a similar projection for Ireland the potential savings must be close to £1 billion.

Other extant research undertaken at international levels indicate that $1 invested in physical activity leads to a saving of $3.2 in medical costs.

A logical argument, but how can this be achieved?

The government has made some progress in the promotion of physical activity as part of an overall health promotion strategy. Significant developments have also occurred and are planned for sport. The PEAI believe that these efforts and developments should be continued and extended. However, if we, as individuals, are to accept a greater responsibility for the maintenance of our health through physical activity then the behaviors that define our desire and ability to participate must be engrained from an early age,
i.e. we need to be better educated.

In Ireland, Physical Education is accepted in principle as an important part of our overall education but the time and resources afforded to it within the curriculum is amongst the lowest, if not the lowest, in relation to other European Countries.
Given the above mentioned ever increasing and burgeoning medical costs of this Nation's current state of ill-health the wise should look to profit from a substantial investment in Physical Education.
The benefit of such a strategy to a person's quality of life would be reward in itself…………. but the potential saving to this Nation's health costs could be huge.
[The following early 18th century maxim is surely worthy of early 21st century consideration. 'If some of the benefits accruing from regular exercise could be procured by any one Medicine, then nothing in the world would be held in more esteem than (that) Medicine ']

The PEAI believe that Immediate Government Investment in Physical Education is a best buy for a number of government Departments. If this best buy is to be achieved, the promotion of Quality Physical Education must be placed firmly on the National Development Plan (NDP).

The Departments that would benefit directly from significant Government are:

Undoubtedly The Department of Education and Science

Within the Education system :- Quality Physical Education……..

• Is the ONLY educational experience where the focus is on body, physical activity and physical development;
  
• Helps children to develop respect for the body - their own and others';
  
• Contributes to integrated development of mind and body ;
  
• Develops an understanding of the role of physical activity in promoting health
  
• Helps children to develop the patterns of and interest in physical activity, which are essential for healthy development and which lay the foundations for adult healthy lifestyles;
  
• Positively enhances self confidence, self esteem and reduces tendency to risk behaviours;
• Enhances social and cognitive development and academic achievement;
  
• Prepares children to cope with cooperation, competition, winning and losing;
  
• Makes distinctive contributions to developing social skills, moral and aesthetic development;
  
• Provides skills and knowledge for future life ; working in sport, physical activity, and leisure;
  
• Is inclusive regardless of ability, gender or culture;
  
• Reduces negative attitudes to school and dropout;
  
• Is the ONLY comprehensive way of providing ALL children and young people with skills & knowledge for life-long participation in physical activity & sport.

Department of Health and Children and Health Boards will undoubtedly benefit also.
Extant research undertaken at international levels indicates that £1 invested in physical activity leads to a saving of £3.20 in medical costs.
Investment in primary/preventative health care will ensure that individuals will remain out of hospital beds thus resolving the shortage problem.
However the question must be asked as to Whether we as individuals have been encouraged to accept greater responsibility for the maintainance of our own health over say the last 50 years ?
Have we been encouraged to accept the argument that a person's lifelong health is largely within his/her personal domain ?
I don't believe we have and I believe the reason for this is down to what some Sociologists describe as " the Medicalization of Life "

The Medicalization of Life

In an influential essay published in 1972, Irving Zola (1972: 487) argued that in modern industrial societies medicine is becoming a major institution of social control.
This process, he argued, was a largely insidious and often un-dramatic one which was associated with the 'medicalizing' of much of daily living, a process which involves 'making Medicine and the labels 'healthy' and 'ill' relevant to an ever-increasing part of human life '

The medicalisation process has involved an expansion of the number and range of human conditions which are held to constitute 'medical problems', a label which, once attached, is sufficient to justify medical intervention .
Zola cites four such problems: aging, drug addition, alcoholism and pregnancy ……………. the first and last of which were once regarded as normal processes and the middle two as human foibles and weaknesses.
This has now changed and medical specialties have now emerged to deal with these conditions, one consequence of which has been to expand very considerably the number of people deemed to be in need of Medical Service .

The development of preventive medicine, in particular, has justified increasing medical intervention in an attempt to change people's lifestyles , whether in the areas of diet, sleep, work, marital relationships , exercise, tobacco and alcohol consumption, or in the areas of safer driving or the fluoridation of water supplies.

The theme of the medicalization of life has subsequently been taken up by a number of other writers. Waitzkin and Waterman (1974: 86-9), for example, have attempted to analyze this process in terms of what they call 'medical imperialism '.

However, perhaps the most famous thesis of this kind is that associated with Ivan Illich. Illich argues that the medicalization of life involves a number of processes, including

• Growing dependence on professionally provided care
  
• Growing dependence on drugs,
  
• Medicalization of the life-span,
  
• Medicalization of prevention and
  
• Medicalization of the expectations of lay people.

One of the consequences of this has been the creation of 'patient majorities' for, argues Illich (1975: 56), People who are free of therapy-oriented labels have become the exception 'Large numbers of people are now regarded as requiring routine medical attention, not because they have any definable pathology, but for the simple fact that they are unborn, newborn, infants, in middle age or old.'
In other words, the expansion of that which is deemed to fall within the province of medicine has expanded to the point where "There remains only patients and those not yet patients."

The significance of these theses for the Department of Health and indeed for Physical Education teachers is that it has to be recognized and accepted that people have become over-dependent on the professionally provided care and less and less dependent on themselves. Re- education in this matter is a necessity if the mind-set is to be changed and this can only be achieved through Quality Physical Education Provision at an early age.

The Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation and the Irish Sports Council will also benefit from Quality Physical Education Provision.
Quality Physical Education provides the corner stone for future participation of the individual in sport.
The development of a positive disposition to physical activity and sport is an educational and lifelong process. The broader the participant base the greater the potential for future national and international sporting success.

One of the most important periods of motor development for children is between the ages of nine to twelve according to (Balyi and Hamilton, 1995; Rushall; 1998; Viru et al., 1998). During this time children are developmentally ready to acquire the fundamental movement skills that are the cornerstones of all athletic development. These fundamental skills include running, throwing, and jumping, hopping and bounding, the ABC's of athletics.
The introduction of the ABC's of athleticism (agility, balance, coordination, speed) during this period will lay the foundation of athletic excellence for later years. It will produce athletes who have a better trainability for long-term sport specific development.

Balyi maintains that If the fundamental motor skill training is not developed between the ages of nine to twelve, skills cannot be recaptured at a later time (although carefully planned and implemented remedial programs can contribute to limited success).

The ideal and probably only situation in which to develop these essential fundamental movement skills is through a Quality Physical Education Programme .

Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform: will also benefit.
Research indicates that Investment in Quality Physical Education programmes will result in a significant reduction in juvenile delinquency and violence, and social costs.
Clearly positive adolescent attitudes to society and the law should track into adulthood.

Ultimately it is the Department of Finance that will benefit overall.
It should not be necessary to repeat too often to Charlie McCreavy the benefit to his dept. of a £3.20 win on a £1 investment.

Conclusion

Therefore it is clear that the provision of Quality Physical Education in all our schools would have significant implications for the Nation as a whole. and The Key requirements necessary to achieve this are:

• A comprehensive and action driven Government Policy on Physical Education; this should be completed through a consultative process with interested parties.
  
• A comprehensive and action driven Government Policy on the role physical education and physical activity play in the preventative health care system.
  
• A comprehensive and action driven Government Policy on the provision of adequate physical education, leisure and recreation and sporting facilities.
  
• An Alliance amongst all organizations who can benefit from the existence of a high quality Physical Education

This is where I finished last year and where I started and finish this evening. We made significant progress during this past year in getting our policies heard in Government circles but there is still a long way to go if we are to achieve our goals and we would be even more grateful to the Minister if she were to lobby on our behalf with the relevant Ministries .

Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Michael A Glynn B.A., M.Sc.