Teaching health education content in Physical Education classes

The study aimed to analyze the teaching of health education in Physical Education classes in public schools in the Greater Florianópolis area, Santa Catarina (SC), by examining the topics addressed as well as the teaching and assessment strategies used, according to the school system. The study included 180 Physical Education teachers from the state education system of SC and from 11 municipal school systems in the Greater Florianópolis region. The data collection instruments used were: a questionnaire for the characterization of Physical Education teachers; and the Teacher Perception Scale on the Teaching of Health Education in Physical Education Classes.. Data analysis used descriptive (absolute and relative frequency) and inferential statistics (chi-square and Fisher’s exact). The findings revealed that the most commonly addressed themes in Heath Education were physical fitness, physical activity, and overall health. Practical classes were found to be the most frequently used teaching strategy, and assessment primarily focused on body language. In conclusion, teachers from the state network have addressed more topics related to health in their classes, especially body awareness, overweight and obesity, anatomical and physiological aspects of the human body, nutrition, and quality of life. These teachers using more theoretical classes for teaching purposes and employed all three assessment languages (verbal, written, and body language) to evaluate the content.