Body practices in photographs in physical education textbooks

Abstract

Body practices are modes of action through which motor skills are expressed. The adoption of the concept of body practices allows a break with the hegemonic preconceptions in the field of physical education and enables the investigation of all embodied practices, not only from an organic but also from a cultural perspective. This research aimed to unveil the predominant bodily practices in formal education. For this purpose, their representation in photographs in physical education textbooks was investigated. A total of 6773 photographs belonging to 39 textbooks were analysed through the content analysis technique. A category system developed for this purpose was used. The variables analysed were the type of practice, the scope and the publisher. Validity, reliability, objectivity, and practical usefulness were the scientific criteria that supported the analysis tool. The data showed the reproduction of a discourse in accordance with a mechanistic and instrumental rationality and neoliberal logic. In conclusion, the need to make visible and prioritize body practices distant from capitalist logics and related to other invisible embodiments, linked to the artistic, the hedonistic, the expressive, and the singular, is emphasized.