van den Berg Vera, Salimi Rosanne, de Groot Renate H M, Jolles Jelle, Chinapaw Mai J M, Singh Amika S
Department of Public and Occupational Health, the Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VU University Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Welten Institute-Research Centre for Learning, Teaching and Technology, Open University of the Netherlands, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Sep 30;14(10):1160. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14101160.
School is an ideal setting to promote and increase physical activity (PA) in children. However, implementation of school-based PA programmes seems difficult, in particular due to schools' focus on academic performance and a lack of involvement of school staff in program development. The potential cognitive and academic benefits of PA might increase chances of successful implementation. Therefore, the aim of this qualitative study was: (1) to explore the perceptions of teachers and principals with regard to implementation of additional PA aimed at improving cognitive and academic performance, and (2) to identify characteristics of PA programmes that according to them are feasible in daily school practice. Twenty-six face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with primary school teachers (grades 5 and 6) and principals in The Netherlands, and analysed using inductive content analysis. Teachers and principals expressed their willingness to implement additional PA if it benefits learning. Time constraints appeared to be a major barrier, and strongly influenced participants' perceptions of feasible PA programmes. Teachers and principals emphasised that additional PA needs to be short, executed in the classroom, and provided in "ready-to-use" materials, i.e., that require no or little preparation time (e.g., a movie clip). Future research is needed to strengthen the evidence on the effects of PA for academic purposes, and should examine the forms of PA that are both effective as well as feasible in the school setting.
学校是促进和增加儿童身体活动（PA）的理想场所。然而，实施基于学校的PA项目似乎很困难，特别是因为学校注重学业成绩，且学校工作人员缺乏对项目开发的参与。PA潜在的认知和学业益处可能会增加成功实施的机会。因此，这项定性研究的目的是：（1）探讨教师和校长对实施旨在提高认知和学业成绩的额外PA的看法，以及（2）确定他们认为在日常学校实践中可行的PA项目的特征。对荷兰的小学教师（五年级和六年级）和校长进行了26次面对面的半结构化访谈，并采用归纳式内容分析法进行分析。教师和校长表示，如果额外的PA对学习有益，他们愿意实施。时间限制似乎是一个主要障碍，并强烈影响了参与者对可行的PA项目的看法。教师和校长强调，额外的PA需要时间短、在课堂上进行，并以“即用型”材料提供，即不需要或只需很少准备时间的材料（例如一段电影片段）。需要进一步的研究来加强关于PA对学业目的影响的证据，并且应该研究在学校环境中既有效又可行的PA形式。
