The purpose of this anthology is a better understanding of the many different developments of physical education and school sport after almost two decades of the 21st century and a comparison of the current status of physical education and school sport (PESS) across countries in Europe. For better comparisons of the different unique developments between the European countries a basic set of eight criteria (A-H) have been identified for each chapter of a country review. This set of criteria includes: A. Important items of the current national school system (briefly on primary, secondary schools), B. Historical background and development of compulsory PESS (at least after World War II), C. Aims and objectives of current PESS curricula and teaching concepts of PESS, D. Promotion of active learning with physical activities at school, E. Extracurricular settings at school and current developments of physical activities of stakeholders outside schools in collaboration with schools and active communities, F. Purpose, structure, aims and objectives of PESS teacher training, G. Current research/evaluation items, findings and results of PESS studies in the country, H. Needs and items of new cross-border and EU-based PESS research studies. The book is divided into three parts. Part One includes general items of the development of PESS in Europe. The second part comprises about 20 different country reviews all written by national experts. Part Three documents a comparative analysis of the country reviews about health development and motor competences, psycho-social benefits of PE with support of cognitive growth and other common items of development, e.g. community-based networks of PESS and new challenges for PE teacher training.

Roland Naul helds office as a Senior Professor for European Studies in Physical Education and Youth Sport at the Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Münster, Germany. For more than 30 years he worked as a Professor for Sport Science and Sport Pedagogy at the University of Essen, Germany. His main research area is physical education including Olympic education and youth sport development. He is Deputy President of the Willibald Gebhardt Research Institute (NGO) and General Secretary of CEREPS (Conseil Européen de la Recherche en Éducation Physique et Sportive). Claude Scheuer works at the University of Luxembourg for the research unit ECCS (Education, Culture, Cognition and Society) at the Institute of Applied Educational Sciences (AES. He teaches in the primary school teacher education program (BScE: Bachelor of Educational Sciences) after having worked before as a PE teacher in primary and secondary school for 13 years. His research is focused on basic motor competences of children and adolescents and on active school settings. Claude Scheuer is member of the board of the Luxembourgish teacher association (APEP) and since 2011 he has been the president of EUPEA (European Physical Education Association), which is the umbrella organization for more than 30 European PE teacher associations. In addition to this, he is the Vice Delegate for Luxembourg for FIEP Europe (Fédération Internationale de l'Education Physique) and since 2013 Executive Board Member in ICSSPE (International Council of School Sports and Physical Education). In 2015 Claude Scheuer co-founded CEREPS (Conseil Européen de la Recherche en Éducation Physique et Sportive) together with Professor Roland Naul.