Cooperation as a play. Cooperative physical education and socialisation in primary school

Abstract

The aim of the present work is to highlight the value of Physical Education, usually overlooked in the Italian school curricula, in relation to his educational significance, both in cognitive and socio-relational aspects. To achieve this goal, we developed a research project that tried to demonstrate rigorously a number of aspects, we believe of particular interest in education, in some ways identified by us, after two decades of teaching, training and research experiences. Specifically, we are going to talk about the socialization of children in classes at the beginning of primary school. Even making our task more difficult, but at the same time more convincing (especially if successful), we made a choice "uncomfortable". In fact, we wanted to operate in an area of "frontier": the socio-cultural context in which takes place the school we work in, in fact, is in the suburbs of Bologna. This area has a very high rate of immigration : the percentage of foreigners ranged from 50 to 70% approximately. We believe, moreover, that motor play can also facilitate a "good climate" of teaching/learning being joyful and proactive, rather than competitive and "squeezed" on the dimensions of self-assertion, efficiency, self-control, important aspects but not the only ones to be pursued, especially at the beginning of students “school life”. We state that traditional, cooperative, easy games involving all children, regardless of their motor skills, is an effective means to enhance the experience of mutual understanding, even among children coming from different cultures and backgrounds.