SCHOOL PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND BODY IMAGE: A DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS BASED ON THE BRAZILIAN NATIONAL COMMON CURRICULUM BASE

ABSTRACT: This study aims to analyze interfaces between School Physical Education, body image and National Common Curricular Base, from the critical analysis of this document. This is a qualitative and exploratory research by document analysis, whose semantic categorical content analysis was used for data analysis. Considering the BNCC, the absence of the term “body image” stands out, which represents that the document does not epistemologically delineate the construct. Considering only the specific parts related to the stages of Basic Education and Physical Education, 75 excerpts were found in the document that, although not directly mentioning the term body image, are related to the construct. These were selected, analyzed and grouped into four categories: (i) Presentation, Introduction and Structure of the BNCC; (ii) Early Childhood Education; (iii) Elementary School; (iv) High School. The categories listed allow the understanding of “if” and “how” the document presents possibilities to subsidize the insertion of the theme of body image in Physical Education classes. The main results show that there are different passages in the main sections of interest of BNCC that dialogue with body image in the context of School Physical Education. However, these are presented in a restricted way, so it is possible to say that the BNCC is a limited document in relation to a theme of such complexity in human education as the one analyzed in this study. Therefore, it is of fundamental importance that teachers, especially of Physical Education, are aware of body image, its implications in the school environment and its importance in the student’s development.