'More Physical Education': Critical Analysis of the Predominant Biomedical Discourse in Press Reports
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v54.103578Keywords:
education, curriculum, health, youth, mediaAbstract
Why are more hours of physical education (PE) per week needed? This historical demand of PE teachers has not gone unnoticed by the media, but what message is being conveyed? To answer this question, two study goals were set: (1) to systematically examine the content of press reports in the main Spanish media regarding the increase in PE hours, and (2) to critically analyse the arguments and underlying discourse in favour of increasing PE hours in the educational system. A total of 24 press reports met the inclusion criteria for subsequent in-depth analysis. The results revealed that the main content was centred on physical activity and health as the main reasons justifying the increase in PE hours. These findings highlight the existence of a predominant underlying biomedical discourse (extrinsic value), displacing the evidence supporting the contribution of PE to the development of social, affective, emotional and personal components (intrinsic value). It is suggested that a more comprehensive and deeper view of the importance of PE should be communicated to society, with a public message that incorporates more of the available evidence from an educational, psychosocial and personal growth perspective. This could help to re-situate the true status and importance of PE in children and adolescents’ lives, as well as its positive consequences in later adulthood, beyond the popular prevalence more focused on the physiological perspective of human movement.
Keywords: education, curriculum, health, youth, media.
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