The present study aims at discussing some of the matters involved in the relationship between Physical Education at school and Sports as educational elements in the context of elementary level state school curricula, mainly from the 5th through the 8th grade. The crisis in Physical Education is considered through its identification within a larger context, the crisis in society and its different systems, including the school system and Physical Education. The main line of discussion covered the possibilities of Education, highlighting the school as the central formal institution where instruction takes place, but keeping in mind that is not the only source of education. Sports is an emphasized element outside the educational system, where some limitations such as the social segregation in sports clubs and the excessive informality of public sports programs, which focus on the ludic aspect. We search for subsidies to arouse a discussion on the relationship between Physical Education and Sports. From some historical facts, we point out the diverse ways in which Sports and Physical Education were incorporated in the school system programs, although they came to be taken as synonyms. That is due to the predominance of Sports in the Physical Education contents. Besides that, we consider opposite “pedagogical” forms of development carried out by the teacher, for instance, the standardization of movements or the permission for the students to “play” what they “know” and “want”. The current trends in Physical Education are also analyzed, once they are regarded as the frame of reference for the pedagogical practice. Our analysis presents the various performances of Sports, as identified in the school programs. The state school is shown as the democratic space for sports practice, either in the form of Physical Education sessions or specific sports training. Therefore, the teacher must assume a different attitude towards Sports, i. e. move away form an exclusively goal-oriented approach that favours only a few. We are not neglecting Sports, but rather trying to emphasize the need and importance of giving it a wide, significant, democratic and enjoyable status in the school. To that effect, Sports is seen as having educational objectives which can contribute to the development of the individual as a whole. |
