Swimming at schooll. Towards an aquatic literacy

Abstract

Background: Aquatic education is not only essential for the motor development of children and adolescents, but also directly influences the performance of the brain. This favors concentration, attention and motivation, essential aspects in any learning. It seems opportune, therefore, that in the integral development of the students, the aquatic motor skills are contemplated in the curricular development.

As a basis for the program, the reasons for practicing both physical education and swimming and the benefits that it entails for the health of people and especially school children are exposed. Subsequently, we will review the current situation of the countries in whose physical education curricula, swimming is already implemented as teaching content to students.

Objetives: The purpose of this document is to guide, delimit and focus the swimming program in the school environment, proposing guidelines for the teaching-learning process as well as pedagogical supervision that serves the educational community on the road to implementation of this content in all schools to achieve "aquatic literacy" of society. It is added the objective of finding another way to reduce accidents in aquatic environments giving prominence to students both to prevent them and to help them.

Method: An in-depth curricular study has been carried out both in official legal documents from Spain and other countries, as well as references from European organizations that advocate for equality in all children of the scope they cover. On the other hand, all the progressions and needs that the aquatic pedagogic process itself requires have been analyzed. On the other hand, the key aspects in the prevention, rescue and aquatic lifeguard are analyzed.

Results: All relevant aspects of physical education have been adapted to the application of these in the aquatic environment, detailing both curricular structure, objectives, contents, organization and pedagogical supervision in each of the school educational levels, including from Early Childhood Education, Primary, Secondary, up to the Baccalaureate. Both aquatic motor development and safety and survival processes are described.

Conclusions: Physical education is possible in the aquatic environment, thus expanding the barriers of classes and gyms, and providing greater wealth and safety physical practices in the water. It also provides security to citizens and a reduction in accidents and deaths in this environment.

Keywords: Aquatic environment, curriculum, physical education, swimming, safety and survival.