Physical Education within Italian Primary School: A survey in a Veneto Region’s school

Abstract

This study aims to know and understand the perception of primary school teachers with regard to physical education in Italy, exploring its purposes, content, methodologies, students’ evaluation system, and human, economic and sports infrastructural resources.
To achieve these aims, we have utilized a qualitative methodology based on the analysis of content emerging from a focus group made up of teachers from the province of Venice. The data has shown that the teachers who have taken part in the research tend to consider physical education as an indispensable
tool for the development of the whole person, and as a means capable to facilitate and foster the acquisition of motor and socio-relational skills. Moreover, the data has stressed several problems concerning the very few number of hours assigned to the discipline in the official ministry curriculum, and the absence of adequate sports facilities and equipment, along with a lack both of economic resources and teachers specifically trained for teaching PE in the primary school.
We are convinced that the results of this research can contribute to give a further boost to the actions provided in the 107/2015 school reform law whose aim is to undertake a concrete and long-lasting political action for the real enhancement and implementation of PE.