Physical activity in curriculum documents and selected religious instruction textbooks

Abstract

Caring sensibly for our health means caring for the supreme gift that is life, bestowed on us by God. Physical activity is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, affecting not only physical fitness, but also helping to maintain the so-called psychological well-being promoting spiritual development. Every teacher employed in a modern school should also be a facilitator of physical activity among pupils. Naturally, religion teachers can also become involved in educational activities in the health domain by implementing programmes promoting active lifestyles. This assumption should be reflected in the latest religion teaching documents containing fundamental principles and indications that provide structure to the teaching of religion, as well as in textbooks. The aim of this study is to indicate the provisions concerning physical activity in the most recent documents programming the teaching of religion, which are: the Core Curriculum for Catechesis of the Catholic Church in Poland, Program for teaching Roman Catholic Religion in kindergartens and schools, and selected textbooks on religious education published by Wydawnictwo Katechetyczne Sp. z o.o. in Warsaw. Based on the analysis of the indicated documents and textbooks, conclusions and postulates are proposed for the correlation of school religious instruction with education in order to promote health-oriented attitudes among students.

Keywords

• catechesis
• religious instruction
• health
• physical activity
• education
• sport