Why and what are the key competences in physical education for? Analysis of two opposing points of view

Abstract

Although the incorporation of competences in the Spanish education system is already a fact, since the implementation process began there was an important debate about its suitability and opportunity. Controversy over its contribution to Physical Education (PE) has endured to the present day. The objective of the present study is to compare two opposing postures under the judgment of two experts in the subject. Discourse analysis was used as a qualitative methodological technique. The experts answered four questions assigned to two different categories: a) implementation of competences and PE; and b) need for key competences and incorporation of motor skills. The results showed that the topic discrepancy is fundamentally due to the fact that the pedagogical approaches and theoretical frameworks are very distant from each other. One of the experts, located in the context of critical pedagogy, underlines the scarce contribution that competences make to the body and PE. It also questions the progress that they bring to the work of teachers. The other expert defends the positive aspects of its inclusion for educational improvement. For this, he proposes the use of deductive and interdisciplinary approaches in schools.