The Recognition of Physical Education as an Academic Subject at the University of Graz in 1926

Abstract

Introduction & Purpose

Compared to other disciplines, sport science is a relatively young academic field. As in other parts of Austria and Germany, the establishment of Physical Education (PE) teacher training courses and examination committees during the late 19^th and early 20^th century represented a significant political decision in the history of sport science (e.g. Court, 2025; Thaller, 1973). In Graz, this process began in 1873, however, the subject itself could not yet claim full academic recognition. It was not until 1926 that responsibility for PE teacher training was transferred to the university and an ‘Institut für Turnlehrerausbildung an der Universität Graz’ was established. The subject of PE was now placed on an equal footing with other academic disciplines at university, as it was not only extended to eight semesters but also included in the academic teaching qualification examination. This organisational process during the interwar period represents a decisive step towards the scientific professionalisation of the discipline (in sum also Sust, 2015). Hundred years after that, the implementation of a new PE teacher education curriculum in Austria invites to reflect on the pre-history of sport science at the University of Graz.

Method

The study draws on a historiographical examination of archival records that are kept at the University of Graz and the Austrian State Archives. Focusing on the development during the 1920s, the last most comprehensive contribution on the history of the institute by Thaller (1973) is critically re-examined and further developed. Cursorily, the new regional curriculum for PE teachers is used as a comparative foil of reflection.

Results, Discussion and Conclusion

The study presents the key aspects in the context of the development in Graz around 1926. It highlights how closely the subject’s efforts to gain academic recognition were linked to local sport(s) within the city of Graz, a fact illustrated particularly well by the problem of finding suitable premises to train and educate future teachers. The need for PE teachers in schools and, in this context, the link to early 20th-century education policy (esp. in relation to the reforms of Karl Gaulhofer) proved to be a key factor in the establishment of an institute at the university.

References

Court, J. (2025). Die Gründungsphase der deutschen Sportwissenschaft in der Weimarer Republik. In K. Reinhart & M. Krüger (Ed.), 100 Jahre Sportwissenschaft in Deutschland. Studien zur Genese einer akademischen Disziplin(Stadion Sonderband 6, pp. 27–38). Nomos.

Sust, M. (2015). Kurze Geschichte des Instituts für Sportwissenschaft der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz. Spectrum der Sportwissenschaften, 27(Sonderheft: 30 Jahre Österreichische Sportwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft), 42–58.

Thaller, F. (1973). Leibesübungen und Leibeserziehung in der Steiermark: Versuch der Darstellung ihrer Geschichte. In F. Thaller & J. Recla (Eds.), Sport am Puls der Zeit (pp. 19–171). Institut für Leibeserziehung der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz.