Health and physical education curriculum: a dialogue among Ibero-American countries

Health and well-being (HWB) have become central themes in educational systems worldwide, and Physical Education (PE) plays a crucial role in promoting these principles. This study aims to comparatively examine the health discourses present in the PE curriculum documents of Spain, Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay, identifying convergences, divergences, and tensions between institutional conceptions. This cross-border approach offers means to share knowledge and expand the integration potential of ideas across different contexts (O’Connor & Jess, Citation2020. From silos to crossing boundaries in physical education. Sport, Education and Society, 25(4), 409–422), and it is relevant for enriching our understanding of how PE can contribute to the holistic development of students in diverse sociocultural settings. The study utilised a document analysis approach inspired by Gray et al. (Citation2022, A health(y) subject? Examining discourses of health in physical education curricula across the UK. British Educational Research Journal, 48(6), 1161–1182), who analysed health discourses across the four nations of the UK. We examined national PE curricular guidelines from Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Spain. The analysis focused on identifying how health is framed and represented in each country’s curriculum and whether there are common themes or notable differences. We identified a broad alignment across all four countries, with a shared commitment to a holistic approach to HWB. The concept of HWB underpins the Spanish curriculum and is strongly present in the Chilean and Uruguayan curricula, which further incorporate the discourse of ‘sport for health’. On the other hand, the Brazilian curriculum stands out for integrating the discourse of ‘care’ in early childhood education and the discourse of ‘health as citizenship’ in elementary and secondary education. The findings demonstrate that while Ibero-American countries share similar objectives regarding HWB, the emphasis and implementation of these objectives vary based on national educational philosophies and societal needs. This comparative study highlights the importance of ongoing dialogue among Ibero-American countries to deepen understanding of how PE curricula can address global health priorities while respecting local contexts.