La enseñanza de la fisiología humana en el Instituto Nacional de Educación Física de Madrid: una experiencia de 30 años

The aim of this personal work is to present the educational experience in the teaching of human physiology in the discipline of Physical and Sports Activity (INEF) in Madrid. An attempt has been made to contribute to the training of more than 9,500 students in this difficult discipline over the last 30 academic years. Most notable of the results is such a large dropout rate (around 48%). This dropout rate, determined by the number of students not present and the rate of absenteeism (absenteeism rate = number of students not present/total number of students), has increased significantly between the first year (1986-1987) and the 13 year (1997-1998). The absenteeism rate has now tended to stabilise. A critical view of any teacher determines the need for an analysis of the rate of such considerable absenteeism. The high average (84%) of the rate of success (success rate = the number of students who passed the course / total number of students) throughout the 28 years suggests that the problem does not lie with the teacher. It is suggested that the high rate of absenteeism lies in a series of interrelated causes: 1) the preliminary training of students, 2) the difficulty of human physiology, 3) the essence of the race and 4), understanding of the reflexive form of human physiology as the basis for understanding the functioning of the body during exercise.