본 연구는 체육학의 분과 학문에서 이루어진 초등체육 관련 연구를 고찰하여 연구 동향을 파악하고 향후 초등체육 발전을 위한 과제를 탐색하는 데 목적이 있다. 이를 위하여 2001년부터 2011년까지 한국초등체육학회지와 『한국체육학회지』에 출판된 논문 중에서 만 6-12세 아동의 학교체육, 생활체육, 전문체육 참여와 관련된 연구, 아동의 체육 활동과 관련된 일을 수행하는 예비교사, 현직교사, 코치, 스포츠 강사를 대상으로 한 연구, 아동을 대상으로 하여 초등체육에 시사점을 줄 수 있는 연구를 대상으로 하여 분석하였다. 스포츠 교육학 분야의 연구는 이미 분석이 이루어졌기 때문에 이를 제외한 체육사․철학 (3편), 스포츠 사회학(41편), 스포츠 심리학(101편), 운동발달 및 운동학습(19편), 운동역학(9편), 운동 생리학(88편)의 여섯 개 분과 학문에 대한 분석을 실시하였다. 분석을 통하여 초등체육의 연구는 아동에 ‘관한’ 연구가 지배적이었으며, 이를 극복하기 위해, 아동과 ‘함께’ 하는 연구 또는 아동을 ‘위한’ 연구가 필요하고, 연구 주제의 중복성을 극복하기 위한 주제의 다양성 확보, 연구 문제 중심의 다학문적 협력 연구를 지향하는 통합 학문으로서의 초등체육학의 학문적 정체성 및 위상 확립이 과제로 제시되었다.
The purpose of this study was to examine trends and issues in discipline of elementary physical education by reviewing research in sub-disciplines of kinesiology. Studies from Six sub-disciplines (i.e., sport history and philosophy, sport psychology, sport sociology, motor learning and development, biomechanics and exercise physiology) which were published in The Korean Journal of the Elementary Physical Education and The Korean Journal of Physical Education during 2001-2011 were reviewed. The review was performed by creating database of selected studies based on the title, author, year of publication, purpose, subject, length of study, methods, and major findings to figure out trends and frequency of studies. Findings revealed that there is relatively lack of philosophical and historical examination of elementary physical education and further research should be conducted to examine historical development of elementary physical eduction and to discuss philosophical identity of elementary physical education. Although research on sport sociology and psychology has widely explored elementary physical education-related topics, most of studies were focused on upper level of elementary students due to availability of participants who can respond to questionnaires. The motor control/development and biomechanics area gathered less research attention with limited research focus. Although many studies have been published in exercise physiology areas, most of studies were intervention studies in experimental settings. Based on these findings, three suggestions were provided. First, more studies should be conducted as researching with children and researching for children rather than researching on children. Second, future research should explore diverse topics which are unique to elementary physical education to minimize overlapping similar research topics. Third, there should be efforts to establish the discipline of elementary physical education with unique research focus and cumulative body of knowledge as well as with supports from each sub-discipline of kinesiology