This blog is the second installment of the EERA-funded seminar series on ‘Physical Education Curriculum Learning across European Borders’ and focuses on the curricula of Austria and Spain.
At the end of December 2025, I had the opportunity to present at and participate in the seminar Physical Education Curriculum Learning Across European Borders: PE Curricula within Austria and Spain, led by the UKPE Cross-Border Learning and Innovation Collaborative. My presentation was based on the PE curriculum for general secondary schools in Austria (RIS, 2024) and sought to outline the document and critically examine the educational goals it sets out and how they are implemented.
An overview of the Austrian PE curriculum
Spanning a total of 316 pages, the curriculum for general secondary schools, which applies to students in grades 5–10, ages 10–16, took effect in September 2024 for fifth-graders and is being phased in gradually on an annual basis (RIS, 2024). The document is divided into an interdisciplinary section and subject-specific plans, with the PE curriculum (referred to as Movement and Sport) a relatively small proportion at just 5-6 pages. The PE curriculum is mainly focused on outlining learning outcomes in the form of competency expectations that students are expected to meet.
Students should acquire…
- comprehensive movement and sports-related skills (technical, methodological, social, and personal skills)
- an individual understanding of movement and sports
- and a fundamental willingness to engage in physical activity as the basis for mindful, responsible, and self-determined athletic activity
(RIS, 2024, p. 147).
The curriculum aims to emphasize the balance between physical skills, such as coordination and athletic performance, and reflective practices, such as questioning societal norms around sport and movement and one’s own actions. This dual focus highlights the importance of not only physical development but also critical thinking and personal growth in PE (RIS, 2024).
‘A capable self’
Notably, this Bildung-oriented dual approach (an emphasis on the interconnection between individual and societal aspects) is rooted in sport-pedagogical discussion in German-speaking countries over the past decades (Ruin & Stibbe, 2021; Wibowo et al., 2022). However, research on German PE curricula shows that education’s primary purpose in these documents is to produce individuals who are healthy, high-performing, and self-optimising—or in other words: to produce a capable self (Buchner, 2018; Ruin & Stibbe, 2021). Similarly, an analysis of the Austrian curriculum reveals that while this breadth (Bildung-orientation) is clearly articulated at the level of objectives—albeit briefly—it is insufficiently reflected in the outlined competency expectations, which form the core of the document. Since teachers are likely to focus primarily on these learning outcomes when seeking guidance for their teaching, this can be seen as a significant narrowing of focus.
Nevertheless, an emphasis on multi-perspectivity (as a didactic principle; see Ruin, 2019) can be clearly identified within the Austrian curriculum. This concept encourages students, teachers, and researchers to approach movement and sport from various perspectives, including material, social, and cultural contexts. For example, students are encouraged to gain a wide range of experiences and then reflect on them personally, to engage with the social dynamics of physical activity and sports, and to consider the ethical implications of physical activity and sports (such as issues related to sustainability and environmental protection). This approach aligns with the broader educational goal of fostering well-rounded personal development combined with a critical engagement with the world (Biesta, 2021). As such, it clearly challenges the traditional view of PE in German-speaking countries as solely focused on physical fitness and performance (Stibbe, 2016).
Seminar reflections on Austria and Spain – same logic, different emphasis?
Reflecting on my presentation and the seminar discussions, I realize how much the current Austrian curriculum still reflects a traditional sport-oriented idea of PE, despite an apparent effort to offer broader perspectives. Indeed, while the document superficially seeks to balance the development of physical skills with critical thinking, personal reflection, and social engagement, in the end it reads as a sport-oriented curriculum, focusing on athletic performance with a touch of pedagogical embellishment.
The other contribution in the seminar session outlined the Spanish curriculum which, in my opinion, revealed a similar phenomenon. While the objectives of the Spanish curriculum place learners at the center of the pedagogical focus in a PE framework intentionally designed to be inclusive, the translation of these objectives into clearly operationalized learning outcomes (competencies) risks undermining this intention—a similar narrowing has been identified in earlier Austrian curricula (Meier et al., 2021). However, the Spanish curriculum is broader in scope, with a clear focus on enhancing physical activity rather than on sport alone.
Conclusion
Overall, the seminar was an eye-opening experience that deepened my understanding of the potential of international and interdisciplinary comparisons. The participants’ varied perspectives challenged me to think critically about how PE curricula are designed and how certain structural components of curricula development are shared across different countries. Not least, it revealed to me the omnipresence of neoliberal ideas centered on the creation of a capable self, one perpetually focused on the ongoing improvement of their own performance (Buchner, 2018; Ruin & Stibbe, 2021).
Even though Austria tends to narrow this focus to sport, while Spain broadens it to include physical activity and health, this underlying premise can be identified as central in both documents. Learner-centered approaches appear largely rhetorical, ultimately giving way to the overarching goal of producing a ‘capable self’ that is responsible for the own performance and health.
Key Messages
- The Austrian PE-Curricula for general secondary education follow a ‘Bildung’-oriented approach and emphasize multi-perspectivity as a central teaching principle, which reflects the sport pedagogical discourse in German-speaking countries.
- The focus on standardized learning outcomes in the form of competency expectations that students are expected to meet overshadows the broader educational goals.
- It leads to a noticeable narrowing of the curriculum toward a sports-oriented approach that emphasizes athletic performance and is merely ‘spiced up’ with pedagogical elements.
- As is similarly evident in the Spanish curriculum, the core objective of PE in Austria appears to be to empower students to establish themselves as capable, healthy, and well-performing individuals.
Professor Sebastian Ruin
Department of Human Movement Sciences, Sport and Health, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
Dr Sebastian Ruin is a professor of Movement and Sport Pedagogy at the University of Graz (Austria). He gained his PhD in 2015 at the German Sport University Cologne (Germany) and habilitated in 2021 at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal (Germany). His main work fields are educational theory in movement and sport, curricula research, the role and understanding of the body in sport-pedagogical settings, as well as diversity and inclusion in sport.
University Homepage: https://online.uni-graz.at/kfu_online/wbForschungsportal.cbShowPortal?pPersonNr=127867&pMode=E
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sebastian-Ruin
Other blog posts on similar topics:
See also our blog post on language and educational concepts, which covers ‘Bildung’. translating-across-words-paradigms-and-traditions-of-education
Biesta G (2021) World-centered Education: A View for the Present. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003098331
Buchner, T. (2019). Die Subjekte der Integration. Schule, Biographie und Behinderung [The subjects of inclusion. School, biography and disability]. Klinkhardt. https://elibrary.utb.de/doi/book/10.35468/9783781556850
Meier, S., Raab, Andreas, Höger, Brigitta, & Diketmüller, R. (2021). ‘Same, same, but different?!’ Investigating diversity issues in the current Austrian National Curriculum for Physical Education. European Physical Education Review, 28(1), 169–185. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336X211027072
RIS [Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes]. (2024). Lehrplan der allgemeinbildenden höheren Schule [Curriculum for general secondary Education]. Bundeskanzleramt der Republik Österreich. https://ris.bka.gv.at/eli/bgbl/1985/88/A1P1/NOR40264235
Ruin, S. (2019). Mehrperspektivität als sportpädagogischer Gemeinplatz? Eine konzeptionelle Standortbestimmung [Is multiperspectivity as part of sport-pedagogy commonplace? A conceptual assessment of the status quo]. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-018-0564-6
Ruin, S., & Stibbe, G. (2021). Health‐oriented ‘Bildung’ or an obligation to a healthy lifestyle? A critical analysis of current PE curricula in Germany. The Curriculum Journal, 32(1), 136–151. https://doi.org/10.1002/curj.92
Stibbe, G. (Ed.). (2016). Lehrplanforschung: Analysen und Befunde [Curricula research. Analysis and findings]. Meyer & Meyer. https://www.dersportverlag.de/detailview?no=128934
Wibowo, J., Krieger, C., Gaum, C., & Dyson, B. (2022). Bildung : A German student-centered approach to health and physical education. European Physical Education Review, 29(2), 233-250. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336X221133060