Notions of 'educated body' in Physical Education Teaching. The case of Universidad Autónoma de Chile

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the biomedical discourses and practices that influence the notion of the "educated body" in the original plan of the Physical Education Pedagogy course at the Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Temuco. The term "educated body" is associated with the elaboration of discourses that institute rules and meanings in training, playing a significant role in the configuration of professional identity (Ron, 2018). A mixed research approach combining exploratory and explanatory methods (Howe, 1988), together with grounded theory triangulation (Páramo, 2015) and an interpretative and complex logic (Maturana Romesín & Pörksen, 2004; Morin, 1990) was used. The analysis focused on the discourses present in the original 2002 curriculum plan, using hypothetico-deductive, inductive, and abductive approaches (Sayago, 2014). Recurrent discursive patterns were identified in the curriculum that were based on biomedical approaches and traditional conceptions of the body as a structure (Moreno-Doña & Gamboa Jiménez, 2014). These results highlighted the presence of a biomedical language and a commercial perspective that emphasised the relevance of physical activity in the teaching profession. © 2024 Federacion Espanola de Docentes de Educacion Fisica. All rights reserved.