The core curriculum of university training to teach physical education in Italy

Abstract

The effective practice of Physical Education (PE) at school is the result of various elements such as National aims and strategies, taught time for PE in compulsory education curricula,initial education and qualification of teachers, continuing professional development, etc. In Italy physical education has a consolidated tradition in ministerial documents concerning the school, from inclusion of physical education in the school programs as a compulsory discipline to current recommendations, projects and guidelines. However this tradition was not adequately reflected in the training courses for teachers. The present work therefore aims to identify some fundamental aspects of the University curricula of Sport and Exercise Sciences degrees with particular reference to part of curricula related to the training programs to teach physical education in school context, basing on a study of ministerial documents and normative devices which, from the early nineteenth-century formative experiences, led to current scientific-cultural and social configuration.