Using pedometers to explore the physical activities that children want to do, and teachers want to implement: a mixed method case study
PhD Title: Using pedometers to explore the physical activities in primary school that children want to do, and schools want to implement: a mixed method case study. Background: It is globally acknowledged that physical activity has numerous benefits for children’s overall health and well-being (Fotina & Ellefson, 2021). Yet recent research suggests that children’s engagement with physical activity is declining (Salway et al., 2023). Neil-Sztramko et al. (2021) evidenced that fewer than 30% of children and adolescents (aged 6-18 years) meet global physical activity recommendations of at least 60 minutes of ‘out of breath’ movement per day. In response to this, there have been multiple attempts at increasing the volume and intensity of physical activity that children engage in at school, through the development of well-designed and evaluated physical activity interventions. Yet despite great promise, evidence suggests that school-based interventions, when implemented into the real-world context of a primary school, result in limited success (Love et al., 2019). This has led to a shifting narrative away from formally constructed outcome-driven interventions towards more informal practitioner-led initiatives that embed physical activity into the existent rhythms of the school day and provide outcome measures that align more closely with the needs of children and their teachers. This evolving domain embraces a more pragmatic approach – prioritizing the voices of children and teachers in physical activity research and designing interventions that can be implemented by practitioners already familiar with the specific complexities of the school context (Jago et al., 2023). Method: This study takes a case study approach to explore the physical movement that primary school children engage in, of their own volition, during the primary school day and how this impacts their teachers’ daily practices and governance. It also explores the practical issues of using pedometers with young children in a primary school setting. The sample consisted of 189 children, aged 4-11 years, in 1 primary school in England. Participants wore pedometers from 8.30am-3.30pm every school day for 4 weeks, to quantitatively investigate how active they were during the school day. The step count data was used to select both high and low active children to participate in further qualitative investigation. Focus groups (n=32) were used to explore what children want from physical activity at school and what they do to be active. In-depth interviews (n=6) were used to examine how teachers practice and governance were impacted and how they could be supported more effectively. Quantitative step count data was analysed using JASP (Jeffreys Amazing Statistical Package, Version 18.1) and qualitative data was analysed thematically using NVivo (Version 12). Results: The results presented in this study suggest that children were motivated to be active by wearing pedometers and receiving daily class-based feedback of how active they were. Through the 4 weeks of the study, children achieved an average of 9,427.78 steps per school day, through engaging in activities that they chose, such as playing more active games, socialising with friends whilst moving at playtime, integrating additional movement into transition points and participating in more regular and intensive ‘Daily Miles’. Teachers supported movement by implementing active lessons flexibly to suit their own timetable, adding movement breaks into transition points, allowing children to participate in additional daily miles and taking a more active role themselves, modelling the behaviour that they wanted to see. The study also highlights the importance of ensuring that wearable devices used to measure physical activity are fit for purpose. This study found that practical issues with pedometers such as discomfort and poor attachment resulted in lower levels of engagement for both children and teachers. Ensuring wearable devices meet the unique needs of children and their environment is vital to support continued engagement. Conclusions: Through prioritizing children’s and teachers’ voices, this study provides a holistic view of the process (practical considerations when using pedometers with young children), conditions (what do children do to be more active) and context (how does physical activity impact teachers’ practice and governance and the school environment) of implementing more physical movement into the primary school day. It provides evidence of the benefits of taking a whole school approach to physical activity, engaging in child-led movement, ensuring activities prioritize social connection, allowing teachers flexibility to implement as they choose, and embedding monitoring into the day in a way that is understandable for both children and teachers. Finally, I conclude that daily movement at primary school is not a discrete event, rather it is a compound activity resulting from a multitude of interconnected social environmental and individual factors that are interwoven throughout the day. All these aspects need to be considered when trying to support children’s physical movement at school.
Children, physical activity, movement, qualitative, primary school
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