Physical education as a field of knowledge at the University of Sao Paulo Physical Education School: a study of its trajectory and constitution based on the scientific journal of the institution

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the trajectory of physical education as a field of knowledge in the School of Physical Education of University of São Paulo. It was considered for analysis the editorials from 1986 to 2004 and the speech of the director of the School when he took charge in 1988, published in the Brazilian Journal of Physical Education and Sport - a scientific journal published by that college. The content analysis proposed by Bourdieu (1983) was used as a methodological approach. It was observed that there was a strong institutional investment in that period to produce, organize and publish knowledge, enhancing its visibility and presence in the academic scenario. However the definition of a clear academic identity, that is, a structure capable of orienting the production, organization, dissemination and application of knowledge still constitutes an imperative necessity for Physical Education to consolidate itself as a field of knowledge.