In this collection of essays, theories are presented on the present and future status of physical education instruction. The essay in the first chapter explores the idea that, to function or survive in a complex society, individuals must work to unify the mind and body. The second chapter emphasizes that physical education provides people with basic but unique behavioral and developmental experiences and outlines how a humanistic physical education program addresses the need for self concept, self esteem, and self actualization. The third chapter focuses on the importance of play, through which students learn to adjust to others, compete, win, and handle failure. The fourth chapter provides information on motivating students to participate in motor activities and on the new emphasis in physical education on holistic physical fitness and cardiovascular conditioning. In the fifth chapter, curriculum design for all education levels, through which desirable behavior changes can be attained, are identified. The sixth chapter discusses critical variables that must be isolated and then integrated as a way of controlling the knowledge explosion in motor skill acquisition. A discussion is presented in the seventh chapter of research on the transcendental experience in sport. The eighth chapter explores the role differences between physical education students and athletes, and between physical education teachers and coaches that are destructive to the educational experience. How physical education can provide coping techniques for students with differing abilities is the topic of the ninth chapter. Chapter ten discusses sexism in sports. The final chapter looks at physical education from a historical perspective and as it should exist in the decade of the 1980s. (JD)