Semantic gaps in the theory and the practice of physical and sports education in the Italian context

Authors

  • Pietro Luigi Invernizzi Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1376-1613
  • Raffaele Scurati Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3247-1977
  • Gabriele Signorini Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0452-0172
  • Franco Mauro Campus LUDES, Budapest Semmelweis University, Lugano, Switzerland
  • Marta Rigon Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy / Sports Faculty, San Antonio Catholic University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
  • Francesca D’Elia Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1441-8101
  • Gaetano Raiola Facoltà Scienze Umanistiche e Dipartimento Scienze Motorie e Dello Sport, Università Telematica Pegaso, Napoli, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7659-1674

Abstract

Nowadays, we face a profound fragmentation of knowledge, which is addressed in distinctive ways, conforming to the specifics of each field of knowledge and having a specific lexicon and ways to interpret reality. To better understand and communicate the complexity of the reality of motor and sports sciences in Italy, it is necessary to study its ontology based on a holistic and comprehensive approach such as System Thinking (ST). So, this preliminary review aimed to verify the coherence of terminology used by Italian academics (who study methodologies related to teaching) and practical communities (who live the reality of daily teaching) in motor and sports sciences, specifically regarding the didactic of physical and sports education. For this purpose, according to Design Based Research (DBR), a first investigation of the interpretative semantics of the discipline’s specific terms was accomplished with the support of multiple sources of information such as documents, databases, and brainstorming performed by experts (representing the guiding team and stakeholders from all considered communities). Moreover, the frequency of some terms and keywords considered in European (ERC) and Italian (CUN) legislation was assessed to contextualize better the impact of common practice community keywords on the scientific and regulatory community. Successively, the studies that analyzed the terms from 2000 to 2020 in the leading scientific search engines (SCOPUS and Web of Science) were also investigated. Results indicate that in the CUN and ERC areas, there is a total absence of the most relevant lemma to the community of practice. Furthermore, significant terms such as play, sports education, psychomotricity, and gymnastics are less considered or unconsidered in the specific scientific and didactic fields. Possible solutions for a specific semantic model to reduce the gap are finally hypothesized and presented.

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Published

2024-03-27

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2024): Bridging the gap between theory and practice, part I

Section

Theme Articles

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Copyright (c) 2024 Pietro Luigi Invernizzi, Raffaele Scurati, Gabriele Signorini, Franco Mauro, Marta Rigon, Francesca D’Elia, Gaetano Raiola

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