Barcelona and the problem of physical education in primary education at the beginning of the c.20. The Catalan Schools in District VI

Abstract

The New School in Barcelona –beginnings of the C.20– was shaped by private bourgeois initiatives. These attempted to institutionalise a modernist model, both Catalan and progressive, in order to socialise and discipline proletarian children. Its objectives were pacific, nationalising and productive. Focussing on physical education in the District VI schools, this study assesses the incorporation of the control and social use of the body. The bibliographical review of the period, jointly with other contributions, make up the current state of the question. Additionally, the study of discourse contributes to positioning a socio-critical history of education. In this way it can be seen that physical education was used not so much for fostering health and fitness but, rather, as a discipline that co-operated in the formation of a covert curriculum.