Imaginary about school physical education in the countryside of Amazonas: records of perceptions and possibilities of transformation

Abstract

We have tried to know the imaginary about School Physical Education (P.E.) in five towns in the countryside of Amazonas, Brazil. We conducted an exploratory field research. We interviewed. 53 people, among teachers, managers, and pedagogical staff, followed by content analysis. The results point out that the imaginary encompasses: a sporting hegemony; dichotomies between body/mind and theory/practice centered in Cartesian rationality; a conception of health as the lack of disease that guides physical activity to combat a sedentary lifestyle and obesity; the idea of P.E. as an area of knowledge that develops competences and motor, social, psychological, and cognitive skills. Finally, we listed some implications for the processes of expansion to the countryside of School P.E. in the Amazon, considering that this subject needs to be valued to contribute to the regional development, in the areas of health, education, culture, and leisure.