Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Physical Education Subject: Perceived Limitations and Improvement Proposals

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has generated a series of variations on the Physical Education subject, in the form of health measures and social distancing, which could be jeopardising the educational quality of the subject. This study aims to know and understand which are the main limitations perceived by Physical Education Spanish teachers at the levels of Primary and Secondary Education. A qualitative ethnographic-interpretive design has been used, in which thirteen teachers from different Spanish Regions and educational levels participated. The information was gathered through semi-structured interviews and the content analysis followed a cyclical and circular process. The results are specified in three thematic areas: (1) The adaptation of Physical Education to the health-educational measures of COVID-19; (2) The Physical Education teaching-learning process in the new setting; and (3) The role of Physical Education teacher in the situation of the pandemic. Finally, based on the main limitations and difficulties noticed, the article offers a series of recommendations with which some of the problems could be lessened.