PE & Health: exploration of students and physical education teachers perceptions of a new curriculum in the French Community of Belgium

Purpose : French Community in Belgium reforms its education system by modifying its physical education (PE) curriculum, from traditional PE to PE and Health (PE&H). The new domains are: “Health and safety management”, “Motor skills and self-expression” and “Social-motor skills and citizenship”. This reform will take place in 2026 in secondary schools.
The aim of this study is to explore the perceptions of students about this upcoming curriculum change, particularly about the health-related matter.
Methods : The study was longitudinal. Third grade secondary school students (14-15 years old) received a presentation on the current PE system (2022) followed by a questionnaire. A second presentation was given about the PE&H, followed by a questionnaire with the same questions, but where students were asked to project themselves this future education program. Questionnaires were composed of themes related to the health matter (the place of PE in school, motivation, its importance, nutrition, self-confidence and self-esteem, safety and body awareness). Students were asked to give their opinion on a five-item Likert scale (1 = unfavorable to 5 = favorable). Conclusions : The students seem to be in favour of the reform of the PE curriculum. Motivation about PE and perceptions of its role in the school environment remain however a challenge for future PE teachers and are discussed in this presentation.