Chapter 7 defines the Epipaleolithic and Neolithic periods using the archeological record to explain how humans eventually organized themselves into larger sedentary groupings, developing symbolic communication networking as a convenient tool for controlling growing population densities.

Chapter 11 examines human migrations through time – past, present and future. It explains how what we learn from human prehistory is useful for dealing with the problems of racism and nationalism plaguing humanity in today’s world.

Chapter 4 is dedicated to a full description of ancient stone tool technologies, explaining how they evolved into human culture. It discusses how these early technologies evolved, eventually carving out the first notions of identity and belonging to a specific territorial range. Lower Paleolithic cultural complexes of the Oldowan and the Acheulian are presented using examples from some of the most pertinent discoveries made so far in Africa and Eurasia.

Assessment is one of the processes of planning outlined in Chapter 9 and is an important imperative of teaching and learning. According to Black and Wiliam (2005) the term ‘assessment’ refers to all activities educators use to help students learn and to gauge student progress. One main purpose of administering assessment and having students complete assessment requirements is to collect evidence of student learning. Educators use the evidence in student work or student responses to draw inferences about student progress towards attaining identified learning objectives or learning outcomes. The fundamental purpose of assessment and reporting is to use the evidence and the inferences made from the evidence to improve student learning. As an adjunct, gathering evidence of student learning through assessment responses guides future planning and pedagogies to ensure student achievement of learning objectives or outcomes.

This chapter focuses on the dynamic Personal, Social and Community Health strand of the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education and on health education and health promotion more generically. The chapter provides scaffolding for educators at all levels of education to provide health and wellbeing learning from a range of theoretical perspectives to individual and group (for instance, institutional and community) audiences. Health education is framed through a ‘social view of health’ lens while acknowledging personal and social responsibilities. A personalised inquiry approach focused on developing critical health literacies relevant to the students’ everyday lives and environments is recommended. Elements of teaching health education and promoting health, such as the educative purpose in constructing socially relevant health education programs that encompass student developmental needs and their interests, are discussed in depth.

This chapter presents ways to approach the many decisions around ‘how’ to teach health and physical education. Pedagogy is a term that encompasses both the science and art of teaching. In many ways, it is under-defined and often reduced to teaching styles and forms of management that assume homogenous student populations. However, the concept of ‘pedagogy’ moves us beyond the technical logic of transmission toward more holistic notions of teaching ‘practices’ that include various sets of ‘sayings’, ‘doings’ and ‘relatings’. When thought about in this way, teaching and learning in health and physical education become as much about knowledge produced in the processes of interaction as an end-point in the learning of particular knowledge and skills. Importantly, we must realise that the teacher is not neutral in these processes, nor is the learner an empty vessel. Rather, both bring multiple histories, experiences and backgrounds to the learning space, which significantly impact curriculum and subsequent learning. Accordingly, understanding pedagogy as sets of practices opens up possibilities for thinking about teaching and learning. It helps us to make sense of the complexity of teachers’ work and the multiple decisions made every moment of every day.

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a movement condition that affects three to five students in the average primary school classroom in Australia. If left untreated, it has long-term impacts on development: physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively. This chapter is concerned with preparing teachers working across a range of schooling levels and contexts to understand DCD, appreciate the impact it has on the development of children, and to provide assistance for gaining appropriate diagnosis and intervention. Information provided in this chapter will assist generalist teachers, generalists/specialists and physical education specialists in identifying children suspected of having movement difficulties. Strategies are provided for teachers, both in the classroom and during physical education,to modify teaching and learning environments and to respond to and support the needs of children with movement difficulties.

This chapter is held together by the themes of teachers, safety and the law, with special attention to those who may teach physical activities – especially outside the classroom. Some of the topics that weave their way through the various sections include legal issues, professional conduct and the legalities associated with teaching and supervision of sport, physical education and outdoor activities. The chapter takes a philosophical approach to these topics.

This chapter focuser on the general capabilities in the Australian Curriculum. It addresses the seven general capabilities as they relate to and enhance learning in the health and physical education key learning area. This chapter builds on the introduction of the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education as outlined in the previous chapter. It is worth referring here to the Review of the Australian Curriculum (due mid-2021) as this review is focused on the accessibility of teachers to effectively integrate the general capabilities and the cross curricula priorities. All seven general capabilities will be explored equally and the cross-curriculum priorities are detailed next.

This chapter explores the various aspects of planning for effective implementation and enactment of the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education . Most Australian, states and territories are now working with this curriculum or their own version of it.