PHYSICAL EDUCATION: SCIENCE, ETHICS, POLITICS, AND PEDAGOGY. A HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE IDENTITY OF THE FIELD

Abstract

This article seeks to conceptualize physical education and provide some references regarding its origins. I argue that conceptions of the body, moral values, political mandates, and scientific arguments have shaped dominant ideas about what is considered appropriate, suitable, and possible in educational practices related to the body. However, these conceptions are not the only possible ones; rather, they change according to different strategic alternatives at various historical moments.