The subareas of physical education are physical fitness, sports, and recreation. Physical education is part of the school curricula in many parts of the world. It is a fundamental part of educating young people to take care of physical health, to learn to do physical activities and to practice the most common sports.
In addition, it allows them to participate in them, demonstrating their intrinsic value and meaning within the social and environmental context of the students.
Through physical education, participants can engage in physical activities designed for fitness, gross motor skills, and holistic health.
Main subareas of physical education
Physical aptitude
Among one of the subareas of physical education is physical fitness.
This is the ability to meet daily energy demands and still have enough energy to respond to unplanned events. This capability includes five basic components:
-Cardio-respiratory resistance - It is the body's ability to supply oxygen and other nutrients to the tissue and to eliminate waste products for a sustained period of time.
-Muscle strength - It is defined as the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to develop maximum contractile force against resistance in a single contraction.
-Muscle endurance - It is defined as the ability of a muscle or muscle group to exert a certain force for prolonged periods.
-Flexibility - Refers to the ability to move the joints through a range of motion.
-Body composition - Refers to the proportion of fat, bone, water and muscle content in the body.
Now, improving these components requires certain motor skills. Therefore, physical education programs usually include the development of aspects such as agility, balance, coordination, power, speed and reaction time.
Sport
Sport is another of the subareas of physical education. The word sport has its origins in the idea of doing an activity to distract from the pressures and rigors of everyday life.
Its concept implies all physical activity that contributes to physical fitness, mental well-being and social interaction. This includes norms or rules and, in some cases, jurisdiction.
In the school context, there are many benefits for both students and educational systems of sports practice.
It has been shown to have the potential to contribute significantly in a number of domains: physical, lifestyle, affective, social, and cognitive.
If carried out properly, sports programs can support the development of social skills and social behaviors, self-esteem and positive attitudes toward school, and, in certain circumstances, academic and cognitive development.
Recreation
Recreation is more organized than simple play, and generally involves leisure activities that require active physical participation.
As one of the sub-areas of physical education, its objective is to achieve the development of the integral health of people.
This includes balancing the various levels: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and social. Through recreation, pedagogical, sociological and psychological values can be promoted.
References
- IOM (Institute of Medicine) (2013). Educating the student body: Taking physical activity and physical education to school. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Recovered from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
- Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (s / f). The Nature of Physical Education. Recovered from ed.gov.nl.ca.
- Greenberg, JS, Dintiman, GB and Myers Oakes, B. (2004). Physical Fitness and Wellness: Changing the Way You Look, Feel, and Perform. Illinois: Human Kinetics.
- Delaney, T. and Madigan, T. (2015). The Sociology of Sports: An Introduction. North Carolina: McFarland.
- Bailey, R. (2006). Physical education and sport in schools: a review of benefits and outcomes. Journal of School Health, Vol. 76, No. 8, pp. 397-401.
- UNICEF. (2004). Sport, recreation, and play. Recovered from unicef.org.
- Acedo Gracia, FJ (2009). Physical Education and recess. Madrid: Cultivalibros.