An overview of the benefits, issues and challenges that generalist primary school teachers face when teaching physical education

In today's society, there is a genuine concern about childhood obesity. Physical education plays a significant role in facilitating healthy lifestyles, fostering social and emotional well-being and developing positive long-term experiences for children in school settings. This chapter begins by outlining some of the key concerns about physical activity and the status of physical inactivity amongst younger generations in Australia. Following this is a review of the current research that has investigated various aspects of physical education (PE) in primary school settings. The details of a recent case study that investigated the benefits, issues and challenges of teaching PE in Sydney primary schools is then provided. The final section highlights the key trends of the research and revisits the main concerns with the current status of PE teaching in primary schools.