Conference Agenda

Decades of previous research has addressed the need for changes in physical education where embodied experiences and learning are emphasized (Wrench and Garrett 2015; Wright 2000). Accordingly, we align with the ongoing call for a ‘corporeal turn’ (Smith 2007, 66) in physical education, towards a more holistic understanding of learning and experience as embodied and emplaced (Pink 2011).

The concept of embodiment has roots in phenomenological philosophy. As such, understanding the body as the ground of subjective experiences (Standal 2020) deconstructs the notion of a mind/body divide. We come to know ‘in relation to the other elements of the environment’ (Pink 2011, 348, italics in orginal). Viewing learning as embodied and emplaced means that learning is a social activity, situated in the relationships between persons and with the environment around us, and that learning has tacit dimensions (Polanyi 1983) which cannot easily be put into words.

Physical education is a social arena where most experiences are characterized by the social aspect of collaboration and group activities. Relationships with peers form an integral part of pupils’ experiences in physical education (Wellard 2013). Previous research has shown the importance of friendship and social support in school physical activity, e.g., greater enjoyment when participating with friends (Owen et al. 2019), and feelings of a sense of belonging and a positive affective climate made pupils enjoy and value the physical activity more (Wright and Li 2009). In this study, I expand these existing contributions by exploring friendships in physical education by making use of data from a sensory ethnographic fieldwork. The research question for this presentation is “How do social relationships influence pupils’ embodied and emplaced experiences in physical education?”

Theories of embodied affect will be used to interpret the findings. Embodied affectivity can be described as the bodily resonance (sensations, postures, expressive movements, or movement tendencies) to affective qualities or affordances in the environment (Fuchs and Koch, 2014). Building on phenomenological theories of embodiment, emplacement and intersubjectivity, where the body is both subject and object at the same time (Merleau-Ponty 2010), and we constantly interact with our environment, we can talk about interaffectivity, where we continuously move and are being moved by others (Fuchs and Koch 2014). A greater focus on the affective perspectives in educational research have resulted in a call for an ‘affective turn’ when it comes to how we understand teaching and learning (Garrett 2022; Dernikos et al. 2020) and thus development of pedagogies of affect (e.g., (Kirk 2020; Ingulfsvann, Moe, and Engelsrud 2020).

The study carried out by WHO (2018) indicates that 23% of adults and 81% of teenagers do not follow the global recommendations in terms of physical activity (PA). It is recommended to engage in 150-300’ of moderate aerobic activity per week for all adults, and 60’ of moderate aerobic daily for teens and children. In this sense, we must value the importance of Physical Education (PE) when it comes to instilling healthy lifestyle habits, considering aspects as motivation and enjoyment to promote the development of physically active citizens (Trigueros-Ramos et al., 2019; De Vargas et al., 2020). In addition, it must be considered that there is a relationship between rewarding experiences in PE sessions and affinity towards them (Aibar et al., 2015). Likewise, part of the students who practice PA after school continuously have a greater interest and affinity for PE, yet it provides positive attitudes towards sports practice. This fact is highlighted by the differences between gender in the sport practice, where is needed to seek equity in practice to avoid stereotypes and sedentary lifestyles (Gutiérrez, 2017).

PE faces many challenges due to constant concern for the quality of education and the effectiveness of teaching and learning methods, pointing out that student achievement depends on the teachers’ techniques (Herrera and Almonacid, 2019). The methodology nowadays present 5 blocks of content that form the PE curriculum: I. Physical conditioning and health; II Games and Sports (collective, individual, and traditional sports); III Natural Environment; IV Body Expression and Comunication; V Transveral Elements. All these blocks possess great importance into the development of the PE curriculum, teacher training and everything related to the methodology used in the sessions. Thus, the attitudes, interests and motivations of the students must also be taken into account, in order to provide appropriate spaces and didactic materials. Therefore, one of the key links in this chain is the PE teacher, defining himself as an active, responsible person, with a high self-concept and intrinsic motivation, high initiative, and the ability to adapt, innovate, communicate, and make decisions (Benítez et al., 2017).

It should be noted that during the last two decades there has been a massive emergence of innovative proposals in the PE area, which, depending on their application will significantly affect the way of understanding education. These programmes might influence the approach of the E-A processes, the development of the practice, the typical structure of the sessions, the methodology, the evaluation, and attention to diversity, among others (Pastor and Fernández, 2010; Pastor et al., 2016). These can mean progress towards what we consider to be the key challenges in education, and should respond positively to the following questions:

Can our students transfer the learning they acquire at PE to their daily life, during and after school time? Are the learning and knowledge that we currently generate in PE authentic, and do they have a connection to real life? And does PE currently contribute to the social transformation the school? (Pastor et al., 2016, p. 185).

There are several studies that cover the quality of the PE teacher in their classes, specifically, is analysed the opinion of the secondary school students (García et al., 2015). However, no scientific evidence was found over students’ perception once that period was finished and the role that PE and their teacher had in their adherence to sports practice.

The aim of the study was to analyse the perception of first-year university students over their PE teachers from Secondary School, as well as its influence on adherence to sports practice of the student, according to the gender.

In recent years, education is no longer understood as a simple transmission of knowledge. Nor is it identified exclusively with learning certain essential skills such as communication, writing, etc. There is a global academic consensus where education is understood from a holistic perspective that encompasses all dimensions of the human person. Following a neo-Aristotelian perspective, education must reach the essence of the acting person on being, and not exclusively on knowing or doing. If not, otherwise it would be a superfluous or incomplete education. Let us give an example for your better understanding. In the case of educating in justice, education would not consist of knowing what justice is, nor knowing how to carry out acts of justice, but would consist of being fair (Aristotle, 2003). Knowing and doing can only be understood as previous steps of the ladder.

James Arthur defines character as a set of abilities that guides a person’s usual way of behaving (2019), that’s to say, his way of being. The way someone behaves is how he is, and it is reflection of his character. For example, one person is considered cheerful when he usually smiles, and as a consequence, he’s said to have a cheerful character. Therefore, it can be deduced that educating character makes impact in what me mean as real educaction, the way of being, and and hence the importance of character education in order to achieve a comprehensive holistic education.

Character is a set of virtues that a person acquires, which enables him to do good and be good (Kristjanson, 2019), and, character education is the process in which young people know and do the good (Jubilee Centre for the Character and Virtues, 2017).

Sport is widely considered as an ideal practice for the person’s character development (Rudd, 2005). There are numerous colloquial expressions that we can find in which sport is positively related to the character and virtudes development: “sport forges character”, “sport is a virtues’ school”, etc. However, how much of the previously said is based on scientific evidence? Is sport really a medium to achieve character education?

In fact the discussion about the influence of the sport practice on the person’s character is completely open (Giroux 2020; Kirk, 2018). Although it seems true that physical education correlates especially with the development of the performative virtues (Likona, 2009; Shields, 2011), the knowledge is more diffuse in the rest of the character’s dimensions: intellectual, moral and civic (Baehr, 2013; Lickona, 2009).

From a theoretical point of view, sport gathers the necessary characteristics to think that educational sport and physical education can positively impact on the character development (Brunsdon & Walker, 2021; Weiss & Bredemeier, 1990), but it’s actually that way in the practical standpoint?

In the present project we will do a systematic review of the experimental programmes about character education taught in the subject of physical education in order to shedd more light about the relationship between physical education and character education. We will stand out the different proposals, methodologies, programmes implemented in schools, as well as the main investigated virtues in the physical education area.