Physical activity represented in physical education textbooks for elementary education

Abstract

This study looks into the representation of physical activity in Physical Education textbooks for Elementary Education and its relationship with the various content blocks in the area. The sample consisted of 3,836 images published in 34 textbooks by six Spanish publishers between 2006 and 2013. The research technique was content analysis using the SAIMEF tool. The SPSS 22.0 software was used for statistical analysis. The results show a clear predominance of the content block ‘games and sports’. This imbalance in representation of the blocks does not respond to the minimum teachings established by Royal Decree 1513/2006 in the Elementary Education curriculum for the Spanish context. Therefore, it is necessary to reflect on the traditional vision of physical activity in this curricular material.