The body at school: a forgotten dimension
At the end of November 2020, the French Ministry of Education launched a campaign encouraging children to exercise for 30 minutes a day at school in order to combat sedentary lifestyles. This was already a significant problem before the Covid-19 pandemic, and periods of widespread lockdown have made it even more acute, as initial scientific studies have shown.
Sylvain Wagnon, University of Montpellier and Fabien Groeninger, University of Montpellier
Beyond this measure, and the awareness it implies, the role of the body in learning remains unclear. Isn't this one of the great forgotten aspects of French school history? How can we now envisage an education system that takes into account the child as a whole, in order to promote the development and emancipation of all?
Emergence of physical education
The ministry's proposal to promote physical activity among students is in line with the international Daily Mile initiative. Launched in Scotland in 2012, this program involves children in all schools running one mile, or more than 1,500 meters, every day.
The stated objective in France is to combat the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle, and physical activity is limited to motor skills. In Finland, the Finnish Schools on the Move project is much more ambitious and aims to integrate physical activity into the school day, without limiting it to a single activity.
More than 90% of Finnish schools participate on a voluntary basis. Recess breaks are scheduled regularly so that children do not remain seated for more than two hours, while relaxation exercises prepare students to concentrate on all school activities.
In France, physical education has long been part of the school curriculum, and the Third Republic even assigned it civic, patriotic, health, and economic objectives. Gradually, the sporting dimension was taken into account—particularly under the Popular Front with Jean Zay, who saw it as a measure of social justice and equality. But it was not until 1962 that the discipline was officially institutionalized.
Nevertheless, physical education and sports remain a subject that must constantly reaffirm its legitimacy in the face of so-called "intellectual" disciplines. This turbulent history of the relationship between physical and intellectual education partly explains why PE teachers were not fully integrated into the National Education system until 1981—they were previously under the authority of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Historical taboo
The pioneering work of Pierre Arnaud, Georges Vigarello, Jacqueline Descarpentries, and Bernard Andrieu has highlighted this prioritization of cognitive learning over physical learning, largely for religious and political reasons. The body, perceived as an obstacle and a source of disruption, is excluded from the school environment. It is an obedient, domesticated, and standardized body that the French school system has shaped through the centuries-old classroom format, where children sit all day long.
There is a real historical taboo surrounding the body in schools, both in terms of knowledge about it and taking children's biological rhythms into account in learning.
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The recurring question is whether the body is part of the being to be educated or whether it simply accompanies the being to school. Science and Earth Life programs (SVT) refer to this knowledge of the body, health education, hygiene, and sexuality. But it is a body that remains debated, misunderstood, and subject to numerous stereotypes.
In a report by the French Institute of Education, Marie Gaussel highlights the many educational and political aspects of the role of the body in schools, but above all its continuing marginal position.
Prioritization of learning
The body/mind dualism characterizes French education through the dichotomy between cognitive learning and physical, manual, and emotional learning. However, this hierarchy between body and mind reflects a misunderstanding of the mechanisms of learning, motivation, and interest in children, which have been highlighted by child psychology and progressive education since the late19th century.
Specific activities, such as yoga, are beginning to be incorporated into school curricula. However, it is also important to offer activities that help develop different aspects of a person's personality.
Marianne Lenoir 's work in educational science highlights the importance of taking the body into account when understanding well-being at school, as well as motivation. This is also a key point in alternative teaching methods, whether Freinet, Decroly, Montessori or Steiner, reminding us that the concept of holistic education—i.e., taking into account the different facets of the human being and refusing to compartmentalize cognitive, physical, and psychological development—is an old one. As early as 1869, the anarchist educator Paul Robin made it a key issue for individual and collective emancipation.
Can holistic education be the future of the French public education system? The body cannot be reduced to curriculum elements: it is an inherent part of any comprehensive reflection on our education systemCurrent debates highlight the need to transform the practices and objectives of our French education system and the need to break down barriers between academic disciplinesThis is one step among many toward rethinking a new form of education that respects the personalities of learners.
Sylvain Wagnon, Professor of Education Sciences, Faculty of Education, University of Montpellier and Fabien Groeninger, Associate Researcher at Lirdef (Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Research Didactics, Education, and Training), University of Montpellier
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