La representación de las personas mayores en los libros de texto de Educación Física

Abstract

This study is based on an analysis of photographic images of elderly people that appear in school physical education textbooks, with the objective of determining if the manner in which this social group is portrayed fosters the development of a plural societal vision or perpetuates prejudiced stereotypes that could be detrimental to intergenerational relationships. Representation is considered with regards to sex, race, appearance and the type of physical activity being shown. The variables of camera angle, somatotype and clothing were included in the analysis of appearance. Type of physical activity looked at the environment, the physical space and the level of proficiency. The sample comprised 3,316 images from 36 physical education textbooks produced by Spanish publishing houses, all of them directed at students of Compulsory Secondary Education in Spain. A content analysis was undertaken by means of an ad hoc codification system. During the process of preparing the group of categories, and with the aim of confirming the validity and reliability of the measurement instrument, there were two pilot projects, two consultations with experts and two triangulations with observers using Cohen’s Kappa coefficient. The SPSS 15.0 statistical package was utilised for data analysis. There were further univariate and bivariate descriptive analyses and Pearson’s chi-squared was also applied. Results demonstrated that there was a low representation of elderly people in the physical education textbooks and that both the portrayal of their corporal characteristics and the activities in which they were involved corresponded to a stereotyped, prejudiced vision of old age. The bias centres on a traditional and negative representation of aging, typical of late-modernity, which is adapted to the consumption parameters of the market society.