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Department Kinesiology - Mission Statement |
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The Department of Kinesiology
at San Francisco State University has as its mission to enhance theory and practice,
scholarship and service, about, in, and through human movement. The study of volitional
human movement provides one window for understanding ourselves as human: the tasks
we accept or devise for ourselves; our creative approaches to their solutions;
the interactions among mover, task, physical environment, and culture. Movement
forms are basic to communication and expression, to play games, sport and art,
to accomplish the tasks of daily life, and to establish one's sense of self and
of community. Movement activities are vital to healthful development and physiological
functioning across the life span and across the entire range of human circumstances.
Students and faculty in the Department of Kinesiology are engaged in
discovering and understanding those factors which interact to influence development,
acquisition and performance of motor skills: the functioning of the neuromuscular
system as its supports effective movement; physiological adaptations to exercise;
rehabilitation or reacquisition of skill and physiological sufficiency subsequent
to trauma; socio-cultural, psychological, biomechanical, and physiological factors
which serve to constrain or define motor behavior. We take as a given that moving
is a critical avenue to understanding movement, that reflective examination of
one’s experiences as a mover is a necessary and valid means to creation of knowledge
about movement.
The Kinesiology Faculty believes that scholarship is
enriched through the multiple ways of knowing and by multiple approaches to solving
problems. Interaction with colleagues in related areas is crucial for cross-disciplinary
and interdisciplinary examination of factors influencing movement and skill. Similarly,
students must understand the connectedness of various subdisciplines, which form
the study of human movement, within and beyond their own discipline. Faculty are
committed to working closely with students to foster critical thinking skills,
develop scholarly independence, and nurture multi-faceted and cooperative approaches
to problem solving through curricular, co-curricular, and community experiences.
Faculty guide students as they identify problems of practical significance and
apply multiple perspectives to their solutions.
The Department seeks
to sustain excellent interactions with the diverse communities in which it resides
and which it can serve, and to foster service and scholarship partnerships, which
are mutually beneficial. One fundamental means to this end is preparation of scholar
– practitioners in human movement: professionals who can assist others to move
with greater freedom and greater success, and who can help others learn about,
through and in human movement.
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