Teaching Moral Reasoning In School Physical Educatiton Classes

Abstract

The fact that sport makes character has been admitted for a long time, considering it a generator of moral values and socially desirable qualities. However, it has been proven that sport practice, by itself, does not educate, but should be practised in a specific way so that it provides all the moral values proclaimed by the classics. In addition, physical education has been considered an appropriate context in order to point pupils towards the interpretation of sport practice in a positive way. According to researchers, social and personal values in physical education and sports can be developed by applying the techniques of social learning (reinforcement and modelling) and structural development (resolution of moral dilemmas). That is why, in this article, we are presenting the implementation process and the results of an intervention program applied to the context of school physical education for the development of moral reasoning in students. Although the duration of the program has not allowed for the observation of big changes, the orientation of a significant number of pupils towards higher levels of moral reasoning has been proven, so this system can be relied on as an alternative support to traditional physical education.
KEY WORDS: Moral development, adolescents, moral dilemmas, secondary education.