Social Justice in Physical Education: A Thematic Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers’ Open-Ended Responses

García-Valiente, David; Baena-Morales, Salvador

doi:10.3390/socsci15060340

Open AccessArticle

Social Justice in Physical Education: A Thematic Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers’ Open-Ended Responses

by

David García-Valiente

and

Salvador Baena-Morales

^*

Department of General and Specifics Didactics, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(6), 340; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15060340

Submission received: 10 March 2026 / Revised: 14 May 2026 / Accepted: 17 May 2026 / Published: 22 May 2026

(This article belongs to the Section Social Economics)

Download Versions Notes

Abstract

Social justice has become a cornerstone of contemporary educational systems, serving as both an ethical principle and a criterion for evaluating equity in learning opportunities. In the field of Physical Education (PE), its bodily and relational nature makes social hierarchies regarding ability, gender, and body image highly visible. This study adopted a qualitative descriptive design to explore how pre-service PE teachers conceptualize social justice and how they envision its didactic implementation within the Spanish curricular context. The findings provide a critical roadmap for teacher education programs, suggesting that fostering social justice requires moving beyond theoretical discourse toward specific pedagogical tools that address power dynamics and inclusion within Physical Education contexts.

Keywords: social justice; physical education; pre-service teachers; qualitative research; thematic analysis; pedagogical practice

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

García-Valiente, D.; Baena-Morales, S. Social Justice in Physical Education: A Thematic Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers’ Open-Ended Responses. Soc. Sci. 2026, 15, 340. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15060340

AMA Style

García-Valiente D, Baena-Morales S. Social Justice in Physical Education: A Thematic Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers’ Open-Ended Responses. Social Sciences. 2026; 15(6):340. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15060340

Chicago/Turabian Style

García-Valiente, David, and Salvador Baena-Morales. 2026. "Social Justice in Physical Education: A Thematic Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers’ Open-Ended Responses" Social Sciences 15, no. 6: 340. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15060340

APA Style

García-Valiente, D., & Baena-Morales, S. (2026). Social Justice in Physical Education: A Thematic Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers’ Open-Ended Responses. Social Sciences, 15(6), 340. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15060340

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Social Justice in Physical Education: A Thematic Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers’ Open-Ended Responses

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI