SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF BACCALAUREATE STUDENTS ABOUT BEING A PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL

ABSTRACT The social representations that a group manifests about a particular field may serve as a clue to understanding its behavior, but as these representations vary according to the scope in which they emerge, studies are needed in different contexts. Thus, the purpose of this research was to identify and discuss the social representations that baccalaureate students in physical education associate with being a physical education professional. A total of 51 (69,87%) students participated, 18 females and 33 males, with a mean age of 25,52 years ± 4,7 from the first to the eighth period, the morning and afternoon shifts of a private institution located in the West Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The results revealed that health, training, professional values and physical activity are the associations that make up, possibly, the central nucleus of the social representations of these academics. The study concluded that the group has social representations about the professional being of physical education that disregards the humanistic dimension of the area, evidencing a hegemonic view of the biological dimension of the area.