School Physical Education; Legitimacy; Ideal-Type; Social Action; Legitimate Domination. 

MOURA, Iuri Leal. The construction of the legitimacy of School Physical Education: social action as a base element for the legitimization of the discipline at school. 2024. 83 pages. Thesis. (Doctorate in Education, Contemporary Contexts and Popular Demands). Institute of Education/Multidisciplinary Institute, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica/Nova Iguaçu, RJ, 2024.

This research is part of the theme of the legitimacy of Physical Education in Schools (PES), which is interpreted as a construction through the social actions of the agents that encompass it, promoting the link between regulation and the social recognition of professions and/or school subjects. It addresses the following problem: how is the legitimacy of Physical Education in Schools constructed through the social actions of different groups? To answer this question, the general objective was to analyze how the social actions of different groups construct the legitimacy of Physical Education in Schools, identifying convergences and divergences between these actions, thus contributing to the broader understanding of its legitimization. The specific objectives were: To develop a decoding instrument based on a review of the concepts of Social Action and Legitimate Domination, aimed at using it as a diagnostic tool for the research field; To identify the ideal-typical profiles of the actions reflected in the questionnaire responses; To compare the typical profiles of agents, including Physical Education teachers, teachers of other subjects, students, and school administrators, analyzing convergences and divergences; To compare and analyze official documents and typical profiles, seeking points of convergence and divergence in the construction of legitimacy. This study is justified by gaps identified in previous bibliographic research. While prior studies provide a general overview of legitimacy, this research seeks to address how its construction occurs in social relations through Social Action. Many studies propose pathways to legitimacy (or delegitimization) or offer reflections on the concept but do not explain how legitimacy is constructed—or do so only partially. Thus, this study aims to understand how social action contributes to the construction of legitimacy, grounded in Weberian concepts of Ideal Type, Social Action, and Legitimate Domination. The study is based on the following theoretical-methodological premises: Legitimacy is constructed through the social actions of agents. Social action is that which is oriented by a reference to the behavior of others. Legitimacy is understood as that which is valid to the extent that it provides models and obligations for social action—essentially, it is the acceptance of norms by a social group that self-regulates to maintain order. We propose that the legitimacy of Physical Education in Schools is constructed by its various groups through social actions linked to practices such as physical activity for health and sports. These actions reflect traditional legitimate domination, as they are passed down from generation to generation. This descriptive, non-experimental, cross-sectional field study analyzes a specific context at a given point in time. It employs a questionnaire with a design characterized as a survey, aiming to gather data from the perspectives of the participants. The qualitative approach focuses on understanding how legitimacy is constructed through social action. Through the research results, we hope to contribute to the legitimization of Physical Education in Schools, providing support for the construction of a curriculum that emphasizes Social Relevance.