An assessment of the Physical Education and Sport curriculum of the high school in Italy: official documents and points of view on their implementation

Abstract

This report offers a summary of the high school Physical Education and Sport educational curriculum in Italy. The research was conducted within Do It Yourself! A participative approach to increase participation and engagement of high school students in Physical Education and Sport classes (DIYPES), a European Erasmus+ project whose final aim is proposing an innovative participative approach to physical education classes’ development and employment, focused on needs and interests expressed by high-school students. The assessment of the current situation related to Physical Education and Sport teaching in Italian high schools, prerequisite for introducing any innovation, was performed following two complementary methodologies: a document analysis of the official documents defining the curriculum at national level, and interviews to 7 stakeholders – 4 high school teachers, 2 researchers and 1 policy maker – in order to gain various points of view on the implementation of the ministerial guidelines, considering in this way the different curriculum levels proposed by UNESCO.