The concept of well-being has received considerable attention in the philosophical literature in recent years (e.g., Griffin, 1996; Gasper, 2004), and this has been reflected in writing in the philosophy of education, primarily through the work of John White (1986; 2007). Many physical education researchers talk about the subject’s contribution to students’ well-being, largely without reference to the philosophical literature (Bailey, Bloodworth and McNamee, 2007). The relationship is often misconceived, however, by problems relating to the understanding of well-being itself. Subjective theories of well-being have dominated accounts of the value of physical activities to young people, despite strong criticisms that can be imported from the philosophical literature. This paper consists of a critical evaluation of the main arguments presented in favour of a positive relationship between physical education and well-being.

This paper's method is philosophical analysis, in which concepts are examined in terms of their coherence and adequacy. The two dominant theories of subjective well-being are critiqued, and compared with an objective account.

Articulating the value of certain aspects of physical education has often focused on demonstrating the pleasure, fun, or enjoyment with which they are associated (Wright, 2004). These factors are not insignificant, but do not exhaust the ways in which sport and physical education may enhance well-being. Accounts of well-being comprised entirely of subjective assessment also fail to recognise that all agents may be mistaken as to what best enhances their well-being. Moreover, pupils are representative of persons who are sometimes incapable of being ‘fully informed’, and this recognition seems central to education itself. By contrast, objective theories of well-being propose that certain values are essential for human beings to flourish. Constituents of some objective theories, such as Nussbaum’s (2000) include both health and play. It is precisely within such an objective framework that the value of Physical Educaion to pupil’s well-being is best understood.