School sports competitions: reflection and action in Sport Pedagogy can make a difference

Abstract

Competition in school sports is an issue that has always generated heated debate, occasionally disputed among the ones who support it and the ones who reject it. In an attempt to go beyond such arguments, we engaged both in reflecting upon competition as a fundamental element of sports practice, and in presenting a proposal for educational actions that stem from the virtues of competition. The proposal for school sports competition activities that we support is based on the concept of responsible cognitive educability and is systematized through pedagogical and methodological principles. We recommend educational actions that promote democratic participation, with less emphasis on the product and more emphasis on creating a process for subjects who learn through competition.

Keywords: competition at school – school sports – sport pedagogy.