School Sports as a Didactic Strategy for Meaningful Physical Education in Holistic Student Development.

Authors

  • EUDES QUIROZ Corporación Universitaria Lationamericana

Keywords:

Deporte escolar, educación física significativa , desarrollo integral , pedagogía del deporte , desigualdad educativa

Abstract

This study examined the potential of school sports as a didactic strategy to promote meaningful physical education and holistic student development in elementary and secondary education, while addressing the gap between theoretical frameworks and real-world implementation in Latin American contexts. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design (Creswell & Creswell, 2018) was employed, including: 1) Systematic review of 45 studies (2014-2024) from Scopus, SciELO, and Redalyc databases; 2) Stratified sampling survey of 150 physical education teachers in Cali (Colombia); and 3 Semi-structured interviews with 15 educators. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS v.28 (χ² tests), while qualitative data underwent thematic coding in NVivo 12. Only 34% of teachers reported specialized training in sports pedagogy, with significant disparities (p < 0.01) between urban (40%) and rural (20%) areas. Resource limitations were identified by 62% of respondents, exacerbated in rural settings (75%). However, 93% of interviewees observed improvements in socio-emotional and cognitive skills when implementing pedagogically-driven programs. School sports demonstrate transformative potential, though impact is limited by structural inequalities and insufficient teacher preparation. The study recommends place-based public policies and teacher training programs grounded in models like TGfU (Bunker & Thorpe, 1982/2020).

Published

2025-04-20

How to Cite

QUIROZ, E. (2025). School Sports as a Didactic Strategy for Meaningful Physical Education in Holistic Student Development. Movimiento Y Desarrollo De La Pedagogía Y Educación Física, 2(1). Retrieved from https://revistas.ul.edu.co/index.php/MODEF/article/view/37