NEW TRENDS AND CHALLENGES IN PROMOTING PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The article focuses on Not Only Fair Play project (Erasmus+ Programme – Sport - Collaborative Partnership, Project Number: 557089 EPP1-2014-IT-SPO-SCP) developed by 11 partners from 9 European countries (Italy, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Poland, Romania, Turkey, UK). The project’s underlying principle is the collaboration across Europe between schools to promote social inclusion, equal opportunities and awareness of the importance of sport through increased participation in and equal access to physical activities. The specific project objectives are to raise awareness of the importance of sport in schools through a better integration of physical education into the school curricula, to enhance the role of sport as a means to promote social inclusion and to promote an ethical approach to sport. The article presents the project main objectives, activities and outcomes. The article gives insights into a wide range of educational experiences (ethical issues, student support, barriers, online teacher/student experiences, collaboration teachers/ parents) proposed by the project. The article also examines the project e-materials and tools created so far with a view to motivating students only interested in sport to improve their school performance, helping students balance their school career with their passion for sport, integrating sport and healthy lifestyle approaches into the students’ educational pathways and using sport as a means to acquire transversal skills.