Human Performance and Health Education

Female students

Physical and Health Education Teacher Education: K-12 (PHETE)

This program is offered in-person.

Our nation and state’s growing focus on the broader notion of wellness has strengthened the preference for careers teaching physical and health education to students. The Michigan State Board of Education has approved new teacher preparation standards for physical and health education. Western Michigan University is the first institution in the state to offer this mandated combined endorsement with dual certification in physical education and health education to teach students in kindergarten through grade 12.

Why physical and health education at Western Michigan University?

Dual-major: This program prepares students as a pre-service teacher candidate to be certified in both physical education and health education, offered in a 4-year or 5-year degree plan. The overarching goal of this dual-major degree program is to assist you in acquiring the skills, knowledge and real-world experiences to become effective, competent and committed physically- and health-literate professionals in today’s society. 

Real-world experience: 100% of physical and health education students complete a full-time classroom internship, as well as various clinical experiences throughout coursework. 

Creating exceptional educators: Michigan school principals ranked 95% of new teachers prepared at WMU as “effective” or “highly effective” in 2021-22. 

Hitting the standard: The WMU teacher education unit is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).

Explore the lessons and gameplay in Dr. Mauro Andre's Skills and Instruction of Net/Wall Games class. 

Additional information

Graduates are qualified to work in schools (K-12) or other settings such as community, corporate or private organizations (e.g., YMCA, sport facilities) that require educating others, curriculum development and/or the administration of physical and health education programs.

  • Demonstrate the knowledge and skills of a physically-literate and health-literate educator.
  • Select developmentally-appropriate learning experiences, articulated with state and national standards.
  • Plan and implement those learning experiences through a series of lessons in K-12 settings.
  • Select, administer and interpret assessments of learning experiences to inform future instruction.
  • Demonstrate motor skill competence and health-related fitness.
  • Communicate and advocate for health and healthy school communities.
  • Experienced in public school teaching and higher education
  • Active in research and scholarly initiatives
  • Collaborative with school districts and international, national, state, local organizations
  • Innovative, friendly and approachable
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Study abroad

Students are encouraged to pursue additional educational opportunities through one of many study abroad options offered by the HPHE department or WMU in general.
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All WMU students have the option to stand out with an integrative learning project in one of several pathways including health and wellness, entrepreneurship, leadership and more!
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Visit campus

There's simply no substitute for seeing WMU for yourself and experiencing a little slice of what makes WMU so unique and beloved. In-person and virtual tours are available.
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Department of Human Performance and Health Education
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5426 USA
(269) 387-2710

Faculty

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Dr. Mauro Andre

Assistant Professor
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