Professional education of teachers in physical training and health: the experience of Denmark

Abstract

Purpose: Today physical training becomes an integral part of the European education system as it brings knowledge and insight centered on principles and concepts of the 21st-century learning skills. The article offers an analysis of the structural model, content and goals of the basic physical education projects in the professional teacher training system of Denmark. As this country has gained a positive experience in creating its own strategies for reforming of all the important teacher education components, based on the widespread use of modern motion-focused technologies in the learning process. Material: Data for this study were collected from multiple sources of Ukrainian, European and Danish educational environments at various time points from 1990 to 2019. Three cultural generations of 50 scientific articles that researched the topics of physical training teachers’ education have been chosen. Results: Our research reveals that the Danish strategy of “healthy nation” with the “sports-for-all” approach calls for the new generation teachers, pedagogically competent in their physical training subjects and able to promote healthy life thinking. Conclusions: Three major projects: “Learning in motion”, “Put the school into motion”, “Learning and Talent in Sport” brought considerable impact into physical training teacher education in the Danish environment, implementing innovative ideas of the close connection between learning abilities and physical activities. The research findings may be used in reforming physical training teacher education in Ukraine, especially its transformation from traditional to innovative type by means of the overall implementation of the modern strategies, assimilating movement and physical exercises into the teaching process.