Physical education (also known as PE) is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing primary, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United States it is informally called gym class or gym. Physical education generally focuses on developing physical fitness, motor skills, health awareness, and social interaction through activities such as sports, exercise, and movement education. While curricula vary by country, PE generally aims to promote lifelong physical activity and well-being. Unlike other academic subjects, physical education is distinctive because it engages students across the psychomotor, cognitive, affective, social, and cultural domains of learning. Physical education content differs internationally, as physical activities often reflect the geographic, cultural, and environmental features of each region. While the purpose of physical education is debated, one of its central goals is generally regarded as socialising and empowering young people to value and participate in diverse movement and physical activity cultures.

Historically, the field of physical education has focused on three learning domains: affective, cognitive, and psychomotor. More recently, however, scholarship in physical education has recently acknowledged two additional, social and cultural domains of learning. Recently, physical education researchers from Australia, Sweden and the United Kingdom have re-formulated the Domains of Learning to be understood as Five Learning Bodies in physical education: Moving Body, Thinking Body, Emotional Body, Social Body, and Cultural Body. This re-formulation was done using the academic literature in physical education and education more broadly.

By integrating these five learning bodies, teachers can offer a comprehensive approach to PE that transcends the traditional focus on physical activity alone. This framework encourages educators to consider the multifaceted nature of student development, promoting inclusive and meaningful learning experiences in physical education.

Like education more broadly, there are different curriculum approaches to physical education. Ennis has identified that there are three main approaches to curriculum in physical education: Factory, Garden and Journey.

These curricular approaches are never fully adopted by a school or teacher. Rather, it is likely that schools are using a combination of these approaches in order to address the learning needs of students. Further, each approach is necessary at a different time. That said, skill mastery is often located at the factory end of this continuum whereas critical thinking skills are often part of the journey end of the continuum.

One particular approach to physical education that is not captured in the above three models is a critical approach to curriculum. A critical approach is often linked to addressing the social and cultural dimensions of physical education. As such, part of this instruction includes teaching about the role of inequity in health, movement and the body.

The main goals in teaching modern physical education are:

It is critical for physical educators to foster and strengthen developing motor skills and to provide children and teens with a basic skill set that builds their movement repertoire, which allows students to engage in various forms of games, sports, and other physical activities throughout their lifetime.