Reflections that know of “new normal”: the complex role of physical educators during the COVID-19 pandemic

The contribution of this study is a reflection on the physical education teaching and learning processes in primary school throughout COVID-19 pandemic. In this difficult time, the role of physical education has been more than ever an important instancefor all students to channel the accumulated negative emotions. Due to the legal limitations related to COVID-19, the practice of physical and sport activities during school time has encountered several difficulties.The group-based games, whichare mainly represented by sharing and being together in a group, had to give way to individual games played by the place in a condition of social distance with a distance of 2 meters to the right and left, front and back for each student. In this scenario, the outdoor space has become a learning environment in which to combine the educational model of outdoor education with the educational learning aims of physical education.It was possible to carry out outdoor activities and help children in the management of negative and stressful emotions related to the pandemic by means of outdoor education. Children had feelings of anger at the difficulty of understanding this negative event, but they had also feeling of suffering and disappointment. The observance of the anti-COVID-19 rules represented by the use of masks and social distancing has contributed to live a suffering period. For this reason, the psychophysical benefits related to physical activity were significant. For this aim, the use of outdoor-based educational activities has allowed to the teachers to reach learning aims related to the knowledge of the external environment.