International Experience and Inspiration of Online Physical Education in America Under the Crisis of Public Health Emergencies

In recent decades, the frequent occurrence of public health crises has brought great challenges to teaching school physical education (PE). This study aims to improve the quality of PE online courses in China and provide effective support for PE teachers to carry out online teaching by learning from the experiences of how to effectively conduct online physical education in America when schools are closed. This study reviewed the relevant policy documents and literature of online physical education courses in America, including theoretical and practical studies. Furthermore, available data stemming from semi-structured interviews and focus groups with eleven PE teachers were presented. Teachers discussed the difficulties faced by Chinese PE teachers in online physical education. Strategies to promote online physical education in the United States include: macro-level: establishing a comprehensive theoretical and practical database for teachers; medium-level: providing online HPE course teaching cases and guidance; and micro-level: Providing a teaching resource package that can be used directly by teachers. Features of the American approach to promote online physical education include: providing systematic online physical education curriculum theory and practical foundation; providing continuous resources and technical support; and establishing an extensive cooperation network; Providing specific guidance for PE teachers. The focus of this research was to provide solutions to the problems encountered by Chinese PE teachers in teaching online physical education. However, there were two limitations. First, we provided a limited literature review on online physical education in the United States. The second limitation is that this study did not fully show the difficulties faced by PE teachers in carrying out online physical education in China, which needs a further investigation. PE teachers pointed out that they received little support for teaching online physical education courses, neither in theory nor in practices. In the future, it is suggested that China need to establish a systematic online physical education guidance system. In the process of online physical education, we should pay more attention to the cultivation of students' health literacy, accelerate the transformation of physical education concept of physical and mental health in China, and strengthen the ability of PE teachers to design the online teaching content.