The article focuses on the ethos of physical education as a foundation

of PE in schools and the education of PE teachers. The concept

of the ‘ethos of physical education’ refers to a set of practices,

social structures, habits, routines, beliefs and values that guide us in

physical education. The fundamental aim of this article is to study

the question of to what extent the ethos of physical education derives

from the ethos of sport. In the article, the beliefs of PE teachers

about the practices of PE are mirrored against a given philosophical

view. Our empirical data consists of a public debate that took place

in autumn 2011 in the weekly magazine ‘Opettaja’ of the Trade Union

of Education in Finland. At the philosophical level, we introduce

the concept of the ethos of physical education and its etymological

origins. Our starting point is the question of how to promote good

life through physical education. In the empirical analysis of the data

we apply the classification developed by Hämäläinen (2008), which

identifies five dimensions of the sport ethos: work, success, virtuosity,

fun and care; all of which can be distinguished in the public debate

in ‘Opettaja’. The authors of the present article question whether the

physical education debate should be extended beyond the experts in

the field. In the authors’ view, bringing the debate closer to the public

sphere serves to enrich physical education practices. The ultimate

goal is to build the ethos of physical education upon a ‘positive circle

of recognition’ in which different capitals of expertise are acknowledged

by other participants in the discussion.