In 2006, the European Union published its recommendations on competences for lifelong learning. Since then, key competences have been integrated into the official curriculum in Spain. The objectives of the present study are: a) to describe the strategies used most frequently by physical education teachers to incorporate key competences in their programmes; and b) to identify the profiles of teachers and schools that promote the inclusion of key competences in their physical education programmes. Data were collected via a questionnaire administered to a sample of 2051 physical education teachers in primary and secondary schools in Spain.

The results show that while teachers include key competences in their programmes, they do not usually do so explicitly. The competences most frequently included are: social and citizenship skills; autonomy and personal initiative; learning to learn; and knowledge of, and interaction with, the physical world. To develop these competences, lesson plans often aim to integrate knowledge, skills and attitudes, apply problem-solving approaches, and foster the transfer of learning to everyday life. The lack of interdisciplinarity emerges as a negative aspect. Factors favouring the inclusion of competences are the provision of competence-based training for teachers and the presence of a coordination system for dealing with competences in the school. The conclusion drawn is that merely including key competences in the official curriculum is not enough; reinforcement and correction of all the aspects mentioned are essential to ensure that adequate attention is paid to competences in physical education programmes.