CONT596: Honour Specialist Health and Physical Education

Course Schedule

Course Description

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.

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

Application Requirements

1) OCT MEMBERSHIP We will use the OCT number you provide during online registration to confirm that your Certificate of Qualifications shows certification in at least two teaching divisions (Primary, Junior, Intermediate, Senior).

2) YOUR ORIGINAL UNDERGRADUATE/GRADUATE UNIVERSITY TRANSCRIPT(S)*

Your transcript(s) must show:

- The equivalent of 9.0 full year undergraduate/graduate courses in this teaching subject with a minimum 'B' average in these courses (Must be a combination of Health AND Phys-ed courses)

- A Bachelor's degree at an accredited university with the equivalent of 20.0 full year courses

3) CONFIRMATION OF TEACHING EXPERIENCE FORM

Signed by a Supervisory Official* from your School Board confirming that you have two years (388 days) of teaching experience since becoming a certified teacher, one year (194 days) of which is in the subject area of this course.

*The Ontario College of Teachers defines "Supervisory Official" as the Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent of the school board for a teacher employed by a Board of Education. A principal or headmaster is not recognized in this capacity. For a teacher employed by a private school, the "supervisory official" is the Ministry of Education official (Education Officer) appointed to your school. For overseas experience the appropriate Supervisory Official is the person your Principal reports to.

Please note that a new form is always required for a Specialist course as experience is course/subject specific.

*If you completed a Queen's undergrad (at any time), or a B.Ed., Honour Specialist, or an Intermediate or Senior ABQ course with us within the last 4 years you are not required to resend your transcripts.

**If you completed a medial degree and do not have a major you may be eligible for a Combined Honour Specialist. Please see our FAQ's or contact us for more information.

Course Materials

Accommodations

Applicants who require accommodations for a specific learning need (e.g., learning disability) within their AQ/ABQ course, should click here for further information and support.

Have a question? Contact us!

Refund Schedule

If you drop a course:

1. by the midpoint of the course, you will receive 100% of your course fee.
2. after the midpoint, before the end of the course, you will receive 50% of your course fee.

For more about our refund policies, visit our Fees & Refunds page.