Pedagogical Perspectives of Teachers in Sports Schools in Uruguay

Abstract

The present article analyzes the pedagogical perspectives of the teachers responsible for the teaching of basketball and handball within the framework of the ¡Vamos Equipo! Program (VEP), implemented in public schools in Uruguay as a pedagogical extension initiative aimed at diversifying access to sports culture. It examines teachers’ conceptions of sport and its educational value in the formation of children. The study is grounded in a qualitative approach, with an exploratory and explanatory design, and adopts a multiple case study methodological strategy. The data analyzed derive from semi-structured interviews conducted with two Physical Education teachers who work in the program in the city of San Carlos, Maldonado Department. The findings reveal heterogeneous conceptions of sport and its teaching, as well as difficulties in articulating explicit theoretical foundations capable of critically guiding pedagogical practices. Although the teachers acknowledge the potential of the VEP to democratize access to non-hegemonic sports, such recognition is grounded primarily in intuitive perceptions and personal experiences rather than in consolidated conceptual frameworks. Likewise, there is limited appropriation of the program’s official document and a weak differentiation between the practices developed within the VEP and those characteristic of other institutional settings. In conclusion, the need is underscored to strengthen theoretical training and spaces for pedagogical reflection in order to re-signify the teaching of sport as an educational object and to enhance the formative purpose of the program.