Best Practice in P.E. for gender equity-A review

This review wants to provide a summary of selected literature from the past 10 years on gender equity in P.E. It aims at providing an overview of the current research, while suggesting viable solutions to encourage girls to take a more active role in sport and physical activity. To ensure the respect of gender identity in education, the quality of teaching is crucial. Therefore, we argue that there is greater need for research in the field of gender equity in PE. While much research focused on how gender reproduced though pedagogical practice in PE, this review aims at analyzing how to challenge it and identify good practices. The analysis of the didactic process pointed out five dimensions (design, methodological, reflexive, organizational, relational). For each dimension, the critical aspects for education to gender equity have been identified, together with the effective practice and strategy to promote gender equity and equal education in PE. Methods and techniques useful for PE teachers were highlighted to give teachers the right tools to orientate students to sports, limit early sport dropouts and valorise the practice of all sports equally, as disciplines for both men and women. Key words: gender, physical education, didactic, curriculum, reflexive thinking, equity, methodology

Didattica integrata quali-quantitativa, in educazione motoria-sportiva, e benessere in età evolutiva

Physical and Sport Education is becoming more and more characterizedfora qualitative didactics that respond to the needs of children, thanks to thecontributions of the pedagogical sciences.Starting from the school environment, the idea of an education through thebody and movement, with characteristics of pleasure, fun, cognitive andemotional involvement, is also affecting sports environments.The present contribution, according with the importance and necessity ofthis qualitative approach, of Physical and Sport Education, highlightstheproblem referred to the need to pay attention also to the quantitative approachin response to the health problems that the current childhood generationsare highlighting, in particular, in the aerobic function.After presenting a screening, on a sample of children aged elevenin the firstclass of secondary school, which confirm the health problems just mentioned,are defined some possible integrated strategies, qualitative andquantitative, able to respond to the emerging wellbeing issues referred tothe developmental age.L’educazione motoria-fisica-sportiva si sta caratterizzando sempre di più,grazie agli apporti delle scienze pedagogiche, per una didattica qualitativarispondente ai bisogni e alle necessità dei bambini. A partire dall’ambientescolastico, luogo elettivo di formazione dei futuri cittadini, l’idea di una educazione attraverso il corpo e movimento, con caratteristiche di piacere, divertimento, coinvolgimento cognitivo ed emotivo, sta influenzando anchegli ambienti sportivi.Il presente contributo, condividendo l’importanza e la necessità di questoapproccio qualitativo, dell’educazione motoria-fisica-sportiva, solleva ilproblema riferito alla necessità di porre attenzione anche all’approccioquantitativo in risposta alle carenze che le attuali generazioni infantili stannoevidenziando a livello psico-fisico e, in particolare, nella funzionalitàaerobica.Dopo aver presentato uno screening, su un campione di bambini/e diundici anni, in ingresso nella scuola secondaria di primo grado, a confermadelle carenze appena richiamate, si definiscono alcune possibili strategieintegrate, qualitative e quantitative, in grado di rispondere alle emergentiproblematichedi benessereche riguardano l’età evolutiva

From the Embodied Cognition to the Embodied Education in the Physical and Sports Sciences

The phenomenological pedagogy has always been focused its attention to the centrality of the subject, on his concrete experience and on the related embodied aspects referred to the consciousness and awareness of the body and action. According with the Embodied Cognition theory, phenomenology is outlining a pedagogical framework defined as Embodied Education. Within this pedagogical approach, physical education and sport sciences are enhancing the educational strategy based on the involvement of the subject as a fundamental actor of his educational processes. This contribution aims to underline the intrinsically embodied essence of motor activity, game and sport, and the educational strategies that enhance the body as a subject that creates cognition through the interaction with the environment-objects- persons, in the concrete situation experienced by the subject

Spazi e attività per una scuola innovativa

Making school today requires innovative teaching that involves spaces,times and different activities such as to shift attention from the classroom,as the only learning space, to environments capable to involve eachindividual student in an active and diversified way. The ministerialguidelines offer a clear idea of what an innovative school is. The partialanalysis of a questionnaire, proposed to a sample of 631 primary andsecondary school students, seems to indicate that the time is right to startthis innovative process. The current students, probably prompted byinnovative and constantly evolving extracurricular environments, seem tobe ready for this idea of a new, dynamic and active school. A school inwhich the body, movement and emotional aspects can no longer besegregated between a desk and a chair, but open to a multiplicity ofeducational environments which can no longer be renounced.Fare scuola oggi richiede una didattica innovativa che coinvolga spazi, tempie attività diversificate tali da spostare l’attenzione dall’aula, come unicoambiente di apprendimento, per aprirsi a una molteplicità di ambienti capacidi coinvolgere in forma attiva e personalizzata ogni singolo allievo. Le lineeguida ministeriali forniscono una idea chiara sulla strada da intraprendereper dare vita a una scuola innovativa. L’analisi parziale di un questionario,proposto a un campione di 631 allievi di scuola primaria e secondariadi primo grado, sembra indicare come i tempi siano maturi per iniziare talepercorso innovativo. Gli attuali studenti, probabilmente sollecitati da ambientiextrascolastici innovativi e in continua evoluzione, manifestano bisognie attese in piena sintonia con l’idea di una scuola nuova, dinamica, attivae pienamente coinvolgente. Una scuola in cui gli aspetti corporei, motoried emotivi, non possono più essere segregati tra banco e sedia, ma devonoaprirsi a una varietà di situazioni educative cui non si può più rinunciare

Physical Education in primary school: New horizons of education through body and movement

After years of work, interrupted by plateaus of political pondering, the 2002 Budget Law (Art. 103) has finally officialized the inclusion of specialist teachers for the subject of Physical Education. That is, after the Italian Senate Bill S 992/2020, which mandated the introduction of specialist teachers to guarantee «a real and qualified teaching for children through interventions that are adequate and targeted in terms of motor development, but also to impact learning, prevention, and socialization» (D’Elia, 2022, p. 82)

Self-esteem in physically active middle school students

The present research examined the effect of physical fitness on self-esteem of pre-adolescent children. Students performed the MOTORFIT tests and filled IPAQ-C and Self-Esteem questionnaires. According to the level of the physical fitness we evaluated the self-esteem. Results showed no gender differences, while differences for the level of physical fitness was found. In particular, participants who performed better the MOTORFIT test reported a higher self-esteem compared to less physical fit participants. However, a discrepancy emerged when the self-esteem was analysed as a function of the physical activity reported where no differences emerged between the groups. In conclusion, our results provided an effect of physical activity on self-esteem through objective measures. Key words: physical activity, pre-adolescent, psychosocial characteristics

The positive impact of physical activity on working memory abilities: Evidence from a large Italian pre-adolescent sample

Physical activity (PA) is an essential component of people's well-being. Copious evidence argues for its protective effect across individuals' lifespan. However, its role as a factor of enhancement for human cognitive skills is still a matter of study. The present work aims to provide conclusive evidence about PA's role in modulating working memory skills in active pre-adolescent children. By enrolling a large number of participants, we tested the effect of PA on Digit Span Backwards (DSB), a well-consolidated test taxing primarily short-term auditory memory, i.e., less dependent on attention fluctuations. Higher working memory capacity was assumed to emerge in the participants practising PA compared to the less active ones. Moreover, due to the different activities participants reported to practice, we expected that children practising open-skill activities manifested better memory skills than the peers practising closed-skill activities, due to the intrinsic nature of the two forms of exercises. Data supported the previous hypothesis highlighting PA's positive effect; however, they did not keep the assumed differences for open vs closed skills. Results are discussed in the light of the cognitive efforts required to sport beginners, particularly in the light of what they are prompted to code, remember and recall in each step of the proposed exercises

Educazione motoria e soft skills nella scuola primaria: multilateralità intensiva e transfer nell’ambito della capacità di differenziazione cinestesica

Current childhood generation have no time for free play in parks and courtyards. Thisis a problem for the correct psycho-motor development of children. The strategies referringto extensive multilateralism do not seem sufficient to solve this problematic andneed to be integrated by intensive multilateralism strategy. In the present study, primaryschool’s classes which carried out intensive multilaterality, on the kinesthetic differentiationapplied to fixed target shooting, were compared with other school’s classes thatcarried out general extensive multilaterality. The result confirms the grater effectivenessof the first strategy on the second strategy, both in relation to shooting ability and totransferability from general area to specific area such as basketball shooting.Il poco tempo dedicato dall’infanzia al gioco libero all’aperto, sta causando notevoli problemial corretto sviluppo psico-motorio dei bambini. Le strategie riferite alla multilateralitàestensiva non sembrano più sufficienti a rispondere a tale problema e devono integrarsialla multilateralità intensiva. Nel presente studio sono state confrontate classi di scuolaprimaria che svolgevano multilateralità intensiva, applicata alla differenziazione cinestesicanel tiro su bersaglio fisso, e classi che svolgevano multilateralità estensiva generale. I risultaticonfermano la maggiore efficacia della prima strategia sulla seconda, sia in relazioneall’abilità di tiro, sia in relazione alla trasferibilità da ambiti generali ad ambiti specificicome il tiro a pallacanestro, in questo caso

Dual role of scaffolding on motor-cognitive development in early childhood education

The link between motor and executive function (EF) development is unclear. To test whether learning difficult motor task drives EF development, we measured EF changes in 5-year-old children from 3 kindergartens in north-eastern Italy engaged in a specific motor program including a difficult motor task (walking on unstable bar). One-hundred children divided in 2 groups participated for 1 hour/week for 10 weeks: Group A was supported by a teacher and group B no. The capacity to perform the difficult task was assessed at the beginning and end of the study; the children able (Groups A1 and B1) or unable (Groups A2 and B2) to perform the task at the Pre-test were similar in the 2 groups. To assess EF, the day/night test (Gerstadt et al., 1994) was used. Dynamic balance results. Time at spring bar: Group A pre 69.2 post 29.6 - Group B pre 71.8 post 48.8. EF results. Group A1 pre 4.90 post 2.71 - Group B1 pre 3.62 post 3.54. Group A2 pre 4.64 post 1.22 - Group B2 pre 5.30 post 3.55. Conclusions. Teacher support significantly promoted improvement of motor skill; teacher’s scaffolding significantly promoted EF development in children with initial low motor competence only.This research was supported by Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano CONI-Treviso and A.S.D. Laboratorio 0246, Treviso, Italy

A post COVID lockdown pilot study on the effect of physical activity intensity on cognitive functions of children aged 6-8 years old

Physical activity practice is very important for individual\u2019s wealth status. Moreover, it is possible to consider physical activity one of the teachers\u2019 tool to improve the academic achievement and the cognitive functions in children. However, according to some evidences it seems that the physical activity at high intensity increase the cognitive functions compared to the low intensity physical activity. In this project, we investigate how the intensity of physical activity affects a series of cognitive functions such as Attention and Working Memory. Eleven participants of a summer camp participated at the study. Three experimental weeks with different physical intensities were involved (Standard Intensity, High intensity and Low Intensity). Participants performed the cognitive tasks at the beginning and at the end of each experimental week. Our results indicated an effect of the physical activity intensity in some kind of attention. Working Memory instead, was not affected. Thus, our results suggested that intensity could be an important factor to increase some cognitive functions, but not all of them