The school physical education component in the promotion of mental health: a bibliographical study

Abstract

The mental health of children and adolescents has become an increasingly relevant issue in the contemporary educational field, especially in light of the growing incidence of anxiety, stress, and other socio-emotional difficulties within the school environment. In this context, School Physical Education emerges as a curricular component with significant potential to contribute to the promotion of students’ psychological well-being, as it involves bodily practices that encourage social interaction, cooperation, and emotional expression. From this perspective, the present study aims to analyze, based on scientific literature, the contributions of School Physical Education to the promotion of mental health in the educational context. Methodologically, this research adopts a qualitative approach, with a basic and bibliographic nature. The corpus of the study consisted of five scientific articles published in journals related to Physical Education and education, selected according to criteria of thematic relevance and alignment with the research objective. For data treatment and interpretation, the content analysis technique proposed by Bardin was employed, allowing the identification of thematic categories related to the contributions of bodily practices to students’ psychological well-being. The results indicate that Physical Education classes can significantly contribute to the reduction of symptoms associated with anxiety and stress, as well as promote the development of self-esteem, socialization, and socio-emotional skills. It is concluded that School Physical Education, when guided by inclusive and participatory pedagogical practices, can play an important role in promoting mental health, contributing to the integral development of students and to the construction of healthier school environments.