Physical education and quality of life: reflections and perspectives

The study of the quality of life of individuals has become a prominent issue for contemporary society. However, research involving quality of life should consider that this is a complex issue that involves objective and subjective aspects, living conditions, lifestyles and multidimensional factors. There is a widespread idea in society that physical activity, exercise, sports and related activities can have a positive impact on improving the quality of life of the population. However, in several studies, this relationship is examined from the biological point of view, which considers only health indicators. Such practices are being studied in the area of Physical Education in various perspectives, such as biological, psychological, social, and cultural. Therefore, Physical Education should seek to produce knowledge that meets the scientific principles, and look for evidence that effectively clarifies the dynamics of this relationship. In this sense, methodological rigor, particularly the conceptual definition, is essential for a better understanding of the results and of which generalizations are actually likely to e proved. In addition, it is necessary to identify the possibilities and limitations of quantitative evaluations, qualitative evaluations and possible combinations.

Alternatives exist: analysis of scientific literature in two Brazilian journals about the pedagogical work of Physical Education

Considering that the process of teacher training in universities takes into account the confrontation of knowledge produced by the scientific methods, the current study intended to identify what are the main contributions of the Brazilian scientific production of Physical Education teaching. Therefore, an exploratory study was done from the articles published on the subject in the two main periodicals of the area. The data analyzes allowed us to verify the relevancy of the knowledge produced and to suggest alternatives to its inclusion in the docent training programs.

The impact of structured teaching methods on the quality of education in Brazil

This paper estimates the impact of the use of structured methods on the quality of education for students in primary public school in Brazil. Structured methods encompass a range of pedagogical and managerial instruments applied in the educational system. In recent years, several municipalities in the state of Sao Paulo have contracted out private educational providers to implement these structured methods in their schooling systems. Their pedagogical proposal involves structuring of curriculum content, development of teacher and student textbooks, and the training and supervision of teachers anti instructors. Using a difference-in-differences estimation strategy, we find that the 4th- and 8th-grade students in the municipalities with structured methods performed better in Portuguese and mathematics than did students in municipalities not exposed to these methods. We find no differences in passing rates. A robustness test supports the assumption that there is no unobserved municipal characteristics associated with proficiency changes over time that may affect the results. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.