CONT596: Honour Specialist Health and Physical Education
Advance your leadership in Health and Physical Education (H&PE) with a focus on equity, inclusion, and student engagement. This Honour Specialist AQ course is designed for educators seeking to deepen their expertise in designing, delivering, and assessing H&PE programs that reflect the diverse needs of today’s learners.
Through a lens of culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy, you will explore strategies to create inclusive learning environments that foster a strong sense of belonging. The course emphasizes collaboration with students, families, and community partners to ensure H&PE programming is reflective of the lived experiences and identities of all learners.
You will engage with current policies, practices, and legislation—including the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Anti-Racism Act—and will conduct equity audits to identify and address systemic barriers. By the end of the course, you will be equipped to lead with confidence, advocate for inclusive practices, and support the development of H&PE programs that value and amplify every student’s voice.
Learning Outcomes
What You Will Learn and Do
In this course, you’ll have the opportunity to
- develop leadership skills to create inclusive H&PE programming by examining ways to explore, amplify and centre the voices of all learners to increase their sense of belonging and engagement
- facilitate collaboration with learners, families, caregivers, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, agencies and the school community to create meaningful inclusion of all
- analyze policies, processes and practices that foster openness to innovation, culturally inclusive pedagogies to develop culturally responsive and relevant practices that reflect understanding of learners’ diverse identities
- identify programs and learning opportunities for all pathways
- explore relevant legislation (for example, Ontario Human Rights Code, Anti-Racism Act, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities)
- integrate inclusive processes, such as interdisciplinary teams to support learning, development, advocacy, transitions, and implementation of IEPs
- perform an equity audit and produce an action plan
Assessments
Module 1
Inclusive Health and Physical Education
Module 2
Creating an Anti-Oppressive Health and Physical Education Program
Progress Update 1
Module 3
Culturally Relevant and Responsive Health and Physical Education
Module 4
Accessibility and Learning for All—Special Education
Progress Update 2
Module 5
Gender-Inclusive Health and Physical Education
Module 6
Inclusive Human Development and Sexual Health
Progress Update 3
Module 7
Health and Physical Education Equity Audit
Final Report