HEALTH HEALTH AS A STRUCTURING AXIS OF PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION: FROM CURRICULAR FRAGMENTATION TO CONTRIBUTIONS FOR A HOLISTIC UNDERSTANDING

Abstract

Professional education is crucial for shaping Physical Education teachers’ knowledge, especially about health. However, how the topic is addressed in teacher-education programs still faces significant challenges. This article aims to examine, through a literature review, how health is treated in initial Physical Education teacher training between 2015 and 2024, mapping the guiding conceptions, existing gaps, and recommendations for a more holistic practice. The methodology consisted of a narrative review with searches in six databases, resulting in the analysis of 10 studies. The findings, organized into two categories, show that the curriculum remains anchored in a biomedical model fragmented and with a strong emphasis on the Natural Sciences. This structure leads to gaps such as the low prominence of health in licensure programs often relegated to the non-teaching bachelor’s track and a reductionist understanding of the topic focused on physical fitness. As a counterpoint, the literature recommends an integral pedagogical approach that articulates health and education and incorporates contributions from the social and human sciences to foster a broader, contextualized understanding. It is concluded that teacher education must overcome its biologicist legacy, treating health as a cross-cutting, dialogic theme in order to equip future teachers with a critical, ontological, and multifaceted outlook aligned with the complex demands of basic education.