The preceding and inevitably simplified account of the main philosophical directions within the tradition of which we are a part should serve, if nothing else, to silence those critics who regard our focus on sport as a trivial pandering to hedonism and fashion. As can be seen, our values are humanistic and secular. They incorporate ideas which would seem quite unremarkable to the people of ancient Greece and Rome, (however controversial they may seem to some of our colleagues in the educational world of Denmark today); the great European tradition of Enlightenment; much more recent philosophical conceptions of the link between the body and the intellect and the very nature of the individual, and very recent ideas of organisational theory, learning processes and the imperatives of education in a global and multicultural society.

However, alongside such a broad historical and philosophical perspective, we also wanted to produce a clear, comprehensive and concrete expression of the values of our college. We approached the formulation of a basic philosophy seriously and painstakingly. All parties have been involved – the teachers, the management, the practical and administrative staff and the board. During the academic year 2000/01 we ran a series of group discussions concerning the concept and philosophy which we are presenting in these pages. It was discussed in its entirety and endorsed at a two-day seminar for all stakeholders.

As a basis for the discussions and the actual formulation of the philosophy of the college, we identified five central questions which we think our philosophy and concept has to address:

1. What do we understand by education?
2. How do we perceive sport and physical culture?
3. How do we combine the specific and specialised with the general?
4. What do we understand by learning and skills?
5. What do we mean when we say that the college should be a learning organisation?

Of course, any such philosophy is an expression of the search for values and axioms which can show the way forward in the task of creating an excellent educational institution which meets the requirements of the time. This process, ideally, is never-ending, as defining values is always an ongoing process. Education and pedagogy are concerned with development, and so it will be necessary to produce new proposals in the future which reflect changed circumstances and insights.

Our answers

In fact, in our philosophy, the first three questions are so inseparably inter-related that we will answer them together.
We start out from the needs and interests of the students in the contemporary world and our own assumptions and visions – not from tradition and outdated notions of culture. We have identified five aspects to our concept of what education involves:
Ethical
Scientific
Psychological
Cultural
Aesthetic

Ethical

In reality, there have never been any truly universal values or traditions. Those who hanker after them and mourn their loss are often romantic nostalgists. However, it is true that today there is a great deal of uncertainty regard common morality and common directions Secularisation and the break down of traditions does leave open many questions. When trying to establish mutual values, we must constantly be aware of the multi-cultural nature of the modern world and the societies within it. Ethics are, in essence, rules of behaviour. When people have to live together in close proximity, form teams and apportion responsibilities, the task of setting values has a framework. There is no doubt in our minds that the unconventionality of our college has been a great advantage in this regard, as it creates the space for the development of values by those who are affected by them. The ideas of such Existentialists as Kirkegaard and Sartre are not just dry concepts for the classroom, but have a great deal to contribute in this process.

Scientific

Sports instruction, physical training and nutrition are actually, albeit often implicitly, based on scientific principles. We strive to make the interconnections between mathematics, physics, biology and sport very clear. Simply calculating the calorific consumption of an aerobics session provides an admirable vehicle for science teaching. It is essential for any sports instructor today to have a deep and wide knowledge of natural science. Indeed in fields such as biology, the dualism between the physical and the psychological is rapidly dissolving, and the latest research has opened exciting ways of considering us as communicative systems, where biology and cybernetics meet. The recent problems relating to doping in competitive sports more than ever highlight the need for a scientific understanding in the debate over sporting ethics. When looking at health and healthy lifestyles, natural science is unavoidable. It is also essential that we learn to separate the truly scientifically based from the fanciful or fashionable, and that this knowledge is widely distributed and available.

Psychological

There are three main, very different lines of thought in the field of sports psychology: the psychoanalytical and psychodynamic, the behaviouralist, and the cognitive. Thus studying sports psychology requires studying the main trends of psychological theory in general. The differences in the view of human nature the theories take open up perspectives on ethics and existentialism on the one hand and culture and society on the other. In addition recent research into the brain and into cybernetics brings in the perspectives of the natural sciences. Sports psychology also includes social psychology, management and organisational theory and practice, made concrete in team-building and theories of teamwork. All of these studies will be useful to the students in the future, whatever path they choose.

Studying psychology in this way gives the students the basis to separate hype from truth, rather as in the areas of nutrition and health. It is also helpful in such matters as textual interpretation, and analysing pictures and films or other media. We regard this as a very important part of the overall education we offer.

Cultural

Here we mean the development of a perspective which incorporates the historical, the present and the students’ views of the future.
We take as a background the Judeo-Græco cultural heritage which was expressed in Classical culture and Christianity, then crystallised into modern European culture and society via the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Enlightenment. We look at the battle between tradition and religion on the one hand and secularisation, science, emancipation and democracy on the other. This also involves examining modern theories about the relationship between the body and the mind. The studies extend to the debate between nationalism and globalisation, and the new modern global society with universal values and rules of behaviour.
We consider that society is currently in transition from one cultural and social paradigm to another, from an industrial society to a global mass-communication knowledge society, where the agenda relates to individualisation and cultural liberation. Just some of the themes we approach are: sport now and in the future, lifestyle and identity, the IT revolution and its implications and globalisation.

Aesthetic

In a world in which traditional, religious, ethical and human values are in crisis, it can be very profitable to examine a field where values are principally perceived intuitively and emotionally. Art, of whatever form, has its own language and symbols which create meaning and context at a non-rational level. Postmodern man is ambivalent. On the one hand we seek answers and meaning through thought, while on the other we seek to subsume ourselves into something greater, through sport, the experience of nature and art. Sport, like art, focuses on deepening the meaning of experience. The total involvement in a football match, a ski run, dancing, music or art involves a process of concentration and qualification. The world of experience and meaning can be opened up through concentration and training. There are many kinds of intelligence, and through aesthetics and art we can also communicate with students who are perhaps not otherwise very open to expressing themselves in the language of logic and theory.