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This article explores the relationship between physical education as a school subject, and physical activity health initiatives in schools. Drawing on curriculum theory and discourse theory we stud...

BACKGROUND: After-school programs (ASP) provide opportunities to influence children’s physical activity (PA). However, little is known about the PA levels of the youngest schoolchildren. The aim of the study was to describe the level of PA intensity and sedentary time among first graders attending ASP in Norway, and to investigate factors that are associated with PA in the ASP. METHODS: First graders from 14 ASPs were invited to participate in the study and 426 children were included. The children wore an accelerometer for five consecutive days during their stay in the ASP. Light, moderate, and vigorous PA and sedentary time were registered and analyzed. RESULTS: On average, the children accumulated 25.8 minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during their ASP-stay. However, there was considerable variation within the sample. Sex, as well as body mass, were associated with MVPA. The activity level increased substantially when the children had to be outside. CONCLUSIONS: The findings show that on average, the children were quite physically active in the ASP. However, it seems critical to devote increased attention to the least active children and to include extensive outdoor play-time in the ASP schedule.

This study investigates pupils’ experiences with learning outside the classroom and discusses how these experiences might contribute to ‘deep learning’ according to a pragmatist theoretical framework and a situated perspective on knowledge. The data comprise materials from three months of fieldwork with participatory observations and qualitative interviews of pupils from two Norwegian primary schools. The results are interpreted according to John Dewey’s two criteria for educative experiences, ‘transaction’ and ‘continuity’, and to our operationalisation of deep learning. We argue that learning activities that entail both transaction and continuity can be regarded as facilitating deep learning. This study was funded by Oslo Metropolitan University.

This study investigates teachers’ intentions and practices related to teaching outside the classroom. We report on three months of fieldwork consisting of participatory observations and qualitative interviews of teachers in two Norwegian primary schools practising weekly uteskole [outdoor school]. We find that the teachers’ intentions for uteskole are to facilitate first-hand experiences for their pupils. The teachers organise and teach uteskole in two distinct ways: 1) friluftsliv activities [outdoor living activities] and 2) theoretical learning activities. The connections between friluftsliv activities and theoretical learning activities are seldom emphasised. Furthermore, the teachers rarely organise theoretical learning activities that entail pupils’ transacting with their surroundings. We discuss how the teachers’ work can be understood through the Romantic and the Pragmatist perspectives of experiential education and through the representational epistemology of traditional schooling. We outline how a transactional epistemology, operationalised as the “multi-modal model of knowing”, can support teachers in facilitating transaction between the pupils and the environment outdoors and aid in establishing continuity between learning activities outdoors and indoors. We argue that these are important factors that can enhance uteskole as a teaching method for facilitating deep learning in Norwegian primary education.

After-school programs (ASPs) might influence the activities and behaviors of children. The aim of the reported study was to investigate how stationary behavior unfolds during ASP time in a sample of Norwegian first graders. A total of 42 first graders from 14 ASPs were observed during one entire ASP day. ActiGraph accelerometers were used to measure the intensity of their physical activity (PA). Children were found to be involved in stationary behavior for 54.9% of the studied ASP time—a median of 79.5 min (IQR = 62.0). However, there was considerable variation among the children in the sample. Most stationary behavior—63.5% of all stationary behavior during ASP time—was accumulated when the children were sitting indoors. The proportion of stationary behavior was significantly higher indoors than outdoors, during adult-managed time than child-managed time, and during time spent together with other children than time spent alone (p &lt, 0.05). In child-managed physical activity play outdoors, stationary behavior commonly occurred during short periods of standing still. Stationary behavior was usually rapidly broken up by longer periods of PA. Stationary periods involved activities in close relationship with other children and appeared to be important for social interaction and friendship building. The researchers suggest that ASP staff members should actively promote physical activity play that breaks up sedentary time and replaces some stationary behaviors with PA, especially among the least active children.

Background: Overweight and obesity are public concerns with risk of adverse health outcomes. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is lower in adolescents than children in general. An increase in body mass index (BMI) is associated with a decrease in HRQoL. The purpose of this study was to measure and explore the HRQoL among adolescents with overweight or obesity who had participated in an intervention study, Young & Active, with the aim of increasing physical activity (PA), reducing BMI and promoting HRQoL. Methods: Mixed methods, with a convergent design, were used to investigate how different methodological approaches could expand our understanding of the adolescents’ HRQoL. Quantitative post-intervention data on HRQoL were collected among the 84 intervention participants, aged 13–14 years, using the KIDSCREEN 52 questionnaire. The data were compared with a Norwegian reference population of 244 individuals, and analysed using a non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 adolescents from the intervention. A directed approach to content analysis was adopted, using the ten sub-scales from KIDSCREEN 52. Results: HRQoL in the intervention sample was significantly reduced on the sub-scale of physical well-being compared to the reference population. The reference population scored significantly lower than the intervention sample on the sub-scale of parent relation and home life. No significant differences were found on the other sub-scales. The qualitative data supported the quantitative findings on the sub-scale of physical well-being, but showed that perceptions of fitness, energy level or health could vary. Regarding parent relations, the interviewees extended this to include relationships to other family members as equally important. Most of the interviewees expressed a negative view of their bodies, but not their clothing or accessories. This may explain why no statistically significant differences were found on these aspects in the results from the KIDSCREEN questionnaire.Conclusion: The use of the KIDSCREEN 52 instrument gave important indications about the adolescents’ HRQoL and need for additional follow up. The qualitative data provided an in-depth understanding that nuanced the findings and widened our knowledge of the adolescents HRQoL. Combining methods enabled a comprehensive approach to research on HRQoL.

I denne artikkelen undersøker vi fremtidige muligheter og utfordringer i femårige lærerutdanninger i kroppsøving og idrettsfag på masternivået, i lys av kvalitet og relevans for fagfeltet. I undersøkelsen ble det benyttet en kvalitativ tilnærming med to metodiske innganger. Først ble et utvalg på 96 masteroppgaver i perioden 2015–2018 innenfor fagfeltet kroppsøving og idrettsfag brukt for å undersøke hva slags tematikker, teoretiske tilnærminger og metoder som er benyttet i masteroppgavene. Med bakgrunn i denne undersøkelsen ble det gjennomført en workshop med et utvalg lærerutdannere for å få innsikt i hva de oppfattet som fremtidige muligheter og utfordringer i femårig lærerutdanning i fagfeltet. Analysen av masteroppgavene viser at forskning angående meninger, oppfatninger og forståelser av kroppsøving og idrettsfag i skolen er gjennomgående tematikker. Relativt få oppgaver belyser begreper, teorier, praksiser eller didaktikk i profesjonsfeltet. Resultatene fra workshop viser at lærerutdannere identifiserer strukturelle utfordringer og adresserer et behov for mer praksisnærhet og (yrkes-)relevans i fremtidige masteroppgaver. Kompetansebehov blant lærerutdannere som veiledere trekkes også fram som en utfordring. På bakgrunn av undersøkelsen ser vi et behov for at mer utdanningsvitenskapelige perspektiver vektlegges i fremtidige masteroppgaver for å tilføre fagfeltet relevante og nye kunnskapsbidrag. In this article, we examine future opportunities and challenges in five-year teacher education in physical education (PE) and sport at the master’s level, considering quality education and its relevance to the field and practice. We have used a qualitative approach with two methodological approaches. First, we surveyed a sample of 96 master’s theses written in the period 2015–2018 in order to establish an overview of their most common themes, theoretical approaches, and methods. We then conducted a workshop with a selection of teacher educators to gain insight into what they see as opportunities and challenges in the future of five-year PE teacher education. Our analysis of the master’s theses shows the most common themes to be opinions, perceptions and ways of understanding physical education and sport in school. Relatively few of the theses investigate concepts, theories, practices or didactics in the professional field. The results from the workshop show that teacher educators identify structural challenges and address a need for more practical proximity and professional relevance in future master’s theses. We see that there is a lack of educational science perspectives—greater emphasis on this area in future master’s theses would contribute relevant knowledge to the field.

BackgroundInterventions directed at after school programs (ASPs) have the potential to support physical activity (PA) in young children. Research has indicated that interventions that emphasize competence building among the ASP staff can lead to increased PA among the children. The present study evaluates the effectiveness of theActive Play in ASPintervention—a program for ASP staff aimed at supporting physical activity among first graders in ASP.MethodsWe used a matched-pair cluster randomized design and included 456 first graders from 14 schools in Norway. From these, 7 ASPs received the intervention (N = 229), while 7 acted as controls (N = 227). Measurements were taken at baseline, immediately post intervention (7 month follow-up) and after a year (19 month follow-up). The primary outcome was moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), which was estimated with predefined cut points of counts per minute (CPM) and expressed as minutes/hour. Secondary outcomes were vigorous and light intensity physical activity (VPA and LPA) and sedentary behavior. The analyses of intervention effects were based on between-group differences in outcome changes between the 3 measurement points and were conducted using a mixed-effects model for repeated measures using categorical time. In exploratory analyses, we investigated gender, baseline body mass index, and baseline CPM as potential effect modifiers.ResultsNo significant intervention effects was observed on MVPA (0.55 min/hour [99% CI -0.55:1.64]) or on the secondary outcomes, min/hour of LPA, VPA or sedentary behavior. Exploratory analyses indicated that among the 50% least physically active children at baseline, children in intervention ASPs reduced sedentary time from baseline to 19 months follow up by 1.67 min/hour (95% CI -3.12:-0.21) compared to the controls.ConclusionsAlthough the intervention did not significantly increase the mean MVPA among the children in the intervention ASPs compared to controls, it did seem to have a small effect by reducing sedentary behavior time among the least active children. An even stronger emphasis on how to identify less active children and support their activity may be needed in order to increase their PA and further reduce sedentary behavior time.Trial registrationClinicalTrials;NCT02954614, Registered 3 November 2016, −Retrospectively registered, first participant enrolled August 2016

BackgroundOverweight and obesity are public concerns with risk of adverse health outcomes. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is lower in adolescents than children in general. An increase in body mass index (BMI) is associated with a decrease in HRQoL. The purpose of this study was to measure and explore the HRQoL among adolescents with overweight or obesity who had participated in an intervention study with the aim of increasing PA, reducing BMI and promoting HRQoL.Methods Mixed methods, with a convergent design, were used to investigate how different methodological approaches could expand our understanding of the adolescents’ HRQoL. Quantitative post-intervention data on HRQoL were collected among the 84 intervention participants, aged 13–14 years, using the KIDSCREEN 52 questionnaire. The data were compared with a Norwegian reference population of 244 individuals, and analysed using a non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 adolescents from the intervention. A directed approach to content analysis was adopted, using the ten sub-scales from KIDSCREEN 52.ResultsHRQoL in the intervention sample was significantly reduced on the sub-scale of physical well-being compared to the reference population. The reference population scored significantly lower than the intervention sample on the sub-scale of parent relation and home life. No significant differences were found on the other sub-scales. The qualitative data supported the quantitative findings on the sub-scale of physical well-being, but showed that perceptions of fitness, energy level or health could vary. Regarding parent relations, the interviewees extended this to include relationships to other family members as equally important. Most of the interviewees expressed a negative view of their bodies, but not their clothing or accessories. This may explain why no statistically significant differences were found on these aspects in the results from the KIDSCREEN questionnaire. ConclusionThe use of the KIDSCREEN 52 instrument gave important indications about the adolescents’ HRQoL. Combining methods enabled a comprehensive approach to research on HRQoL, indicating better ways of providing help. More research using the benefits of mixed methods approaches is needed to further elucidate these findings.

Background: Development of motor competencies and learning of movements in children is dependent on varied physical activity (PA). After-school programs (ASP) might provide opportunities for young schoolchildren to participate in PA. The aim of the current study was to investigate the PA of first graders in ASP and to consider its contribution to the development of motor competencies and the learning of movements. Methods: The study was performed utilizing a mixed methods design. A total of 42 first graders were sampled from 14 ASPs in Norway. Direct observations of the children’s activities were conducted for the duration of one entire ASP day. PA intensity was measured using ActiGraph accelerometers. Qualitative data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, while the Mann-Whitney U test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to analyze the quantitative data. Results: The median PA time among the observed children was 61.5 minutes. The median stationary time was 75.9 minutes. There was considerable variation within the sample. Girls were significantly more engaged in stationary behavior than boys. Frequent changes in activity type and intensity were typical features of the children’s ASP day. PA duration and intensity were significantly higher outdoors than indoors. Adult-managed time had longer periods of stationary behavior than child-managed time. The PA at all intensity levels contained barrier-breaking movements—especially at light intensity levels. Conclusion: Most of the first graders studied were engaged in a variety of activity types of different duration and intensity levels, favorable for the development of motor competencies and for the learning of movements. Hence, it is reasonable to highlight that light PA, in combination with moderate and vigorous PA, is also of great importance for children during the time they spend in ASP. Ultimately, there is a need for staff members who can also stimulate varied PA among the most stationary children. The study is funded by - Norwegian Fund for Postgraduate Training in Physiotherapy (http://fysiofondet.no/) - Oslo Metropolitan University (https://www.oslomet.no/en/english).

Background Overweight and obese adolescents are reported to be less physically active than their peers. Research-based knowledge about their views may contribute to a better understanding of key factors that may foster or undermine motivation for physical activity, and provide knowledge for the future development of interventions. This paper explores experiences of physical activity among overweight adolescents, age 13-14 years, participants in Young & Active, a web-based controlled trial intervention to increase physical activity (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01700309). The theoretical perspective is based on Self-Determination Theory. Methods Two qualitative post-intervention research interviews, with a nine-month interval, were conducted with 21 adolescents, 15 girls and 6 boys to study short-term and long-term changes. The informants were recruited from a total of 84 participants from the Young & Active intervention group. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results The participants associated physical activity with organized sports and physical education classes at school, and as a means of promoting good health and attractive bodies. A majority of the adolescents said that they experienced their health as poorer than other youths, and expressed worries about their fitness and future health. Mastering a physical activity, being together with friends and having fun promoted motivation to perform sports. Not mastering an activity, or not knowing the others made them less motivated. None of the adolescents highlighted the importance of informal active living when asked about their understanding and experiences of physical activity. Consistency was found between the first and second interviews. Conclusion This study adds to limited research on overweight and obese adolescents’ experiences of physical activity. The participants’ views reflect opinions in society about physical activity, and its importance for health. Viewing physical activity as conducted within organized sports makes it necessary to look into how these are organized, structured and led, and what can be done to support self-esteem, autonomous motivation and participation. The ability to choose among available, affordable and desirable physical activities, together with friends, may promote participation and maintenance.

IntroductionInterventions delivered in after-school programmes (ASPs) have the potential to become a means of ensuring adequate physical activity among schoolchildren. This requires a motivational climate, allowing for self-determined play. If trained, ASP staff may represent a valuable resource for supporting such play. Increasing knowledge and supportive skills among ASP staff may also potentially increase their motivation for work. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of the ‘Active Play in ASP’ intervention, which aims to promote physical activity among first graders attending ASP, and to present a protocol for a matched-pair cluster-randomised trial to evaluate the intervention.Methods and analysisInformed by experiences from practice, evidence-based knowledge and theory, the intervention was developed in a stepwise process including focus group meetings and a small-scale pilot test. The intervention contains a course programme for ASP staff to increase their skills in how to support physical activity through play. In a cluster randomised controlled trial, the ASPs will be matched and randomly allocated to receive the 7-month intervention or to a control group. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, after 7 and 19 months. First graders attending the ASPs included are eligible. The primary outcome will be accelerometer-determined minutes in moderate to vigorous physical activity in the ASP. The study uses a mixed methods approach including observations and interviews to provide rich descriptions of the concept of children's physical activity in ASP. Moreover, the trial will assess whether the ASP staff benefits from participation in the intervention in terms of increased work motivation. Lastly, process evaluations of programme fidelity, satisfaction and suggestions on improvement will be performed.Ethics and disseminationThe study is approved by the Data Protection Official for Research (reference no 46008). Results will be presented in conferences and peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberClinical Trials (NCT02954614), pre-results.

There are important ethical issues to be examined before launching any public health intervention, particularly when targeting vulnerable groups. The aim of this article is to identify and discuss ethical concerns that may arise when intervening for health behavior change among adolescents identified as overweight. These concerns originate from an intervention designed to capacitate adolescents to increase self-determined physical activity. Utilizing an ethical framework for prevention of overweight and obesity, we identified three ethical aspects as particularly significant: the attribution of responsibility for health behavior, liberty to choose, and the effect on the participants’ psychosocial well-being. It is discussed whether and how measures can be taken to deal with these aspects. It seems evident that the ethical aspects are mainly concerned with the vulnerability of adolescents identified as overweight. However, we claim that when individual feedback and counseling is provided, tailored interventions have a unique potential to empower adolescents to make ethically anchored decisions about their own health behavior.

This article investigates how children play at different places in an outdoor area, and how the places influence child-managed bodily play. The study has a life-world approach, and the theoretical perspective is based on an interactional understanding of place. Qualitative material was gathered from interviews among children in a Norwegian after-school program and from close observations of their activities in the Climbing Area, at the Asphalt Place, and in the Sandpit. The findings show that bodily play that includes locomotory, stabilizing, and manipulative movements occurs in a relational process consisting of the affordances of the place and the abilities of the children. Initially, the Climbing Area offers opportunities for diverse bodily activities. At the Asphalt Place and in the Sandpit, it is the combination of the physical characteristics of each place and the equipment that stand out as affordances. Additionally, sociocultural factors play an important role in how the children play at the places.

This article is based on materials gathered from qualitative research interviews among eight-year-old and nine-year-old children participating in an after-school programme (ASP) in Oslo, and investigates how bodily play affects their sense of coherence (SOC). In line with Maurice Merleau-Ponty, children’s lived experiences are regarded as layered emotions, actions and conceptions from previous bodily engagement. They bind together the living body and its environment into a coherent, personal entirety that gives meaning to new practical situations. The study is based on Aaron Antonovsky’s theory of SOC. The concept of SOC expresses the extent to which an individual has a feeling of confidence in existence as comprehensible, manageable and meaningful. SOC is regarded as an important assumption for managing the world. The study shows that bodily play in the ASP has a considerable potential of promoting the children’s SOC. Most of the children in the study experience their world as comprehensible, manageable and meaningful. Negative thoughts and feelings are reduced during bodily play. Play offers particularly strong opportunities for the children themselves to shape outcomes, and for being together with other children whom they know well. If a child is excluded from joint bodily play or experiences repetitive unfriendly reports, the experiences of comprehensibility and manageability are reduced, and SOC decreases. The study demonstrates the importance of pedagogical competence among ASP professionals in terms of establishing an inclusive framework that encourage and stimulate child-managed bodily play. Future training of ASP professionals should encourage an understanding of the potential of developing SOC through bodily play.

Postprint version of published article. Original can be found at URL: http://www.idunn.no/ts/np/2010/01/art03

Based on qualitative data gathered from observations, we investigate what opportunities for physical activity kindergarten children utilize in outdoor areas that are manmade and contain only artificial playground equipment. The findings show that much self-chosen physical activity play took place in the outdoor area. Open surfaces are utilized in games that include walking and running. Places with graspable holds and standable steps are popular climbing areas. Loose and moveable equipment and substances increase the variety of activity. Based on these findings, we consider the outdoor area to be suitable for the observed five-year olds with regard to promoting physical activity

Aim: To examine the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among overweight adolescents and to test whether this relationship is mediated by body image (BI) and self-determined motivation for physical activity (PA) and exercise. Methods: One hundred and twenty adolescents identified as overweight or obese were recruited through the school health service. The participants completed self-report instruments measuring HRQoL, BI and self-determined motivation for physical activity and exercise in addition to a 20 m shuttle-run test, and body mass index was calculated. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the hypothesised five-dimensional structure of the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2 (BREQ-2) used to measure self-determined motivation. Associations between the study variables were explored using univariate linear regression. Mediation was tested by a multistage regression approach. Results: The five-dimensional model of BREQ-2 showed acceptable fit for the data. We revealed a statistically significant association between cardiorespiratory fitness and HRQoL (4.16 [0.3–8.02]; p < .05). CRF failed to affect BI in the first mediation equation. Hence, body image was excluded from further analyses. However, self-determined motivation proved to mediate the relationship between CRF and HRQoL. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the motivational mechanisms related to fitness can contribute to explain the association between CRF and HRQoL in overweight adolescents. The findings are important from a public health point of view and should be taken into account in the development of PA interventions for overweight and obese adolescents for the potential enhancement of their physical and psychosocial well-being.

BackgroundInternet interventions may provide opportunities for low threshold counseling using feedback to guide and support health behavior, including increased physical activity. Research shows that overweight and obese adolescents are less physically active than their peers of normal weight. There are good reasons to believe that Internet-based interventions may be particularly suitable for motivating adolescents to increase physical activity, but we need to gain further knowledge of what features are effective and how to design such interventions. ObjectiveTo describe the process of development and evaluation of usability of a Web-based program for increasing physical activity in overweight adolescents. MethodsInformed by the self-determination theory, motivational interviewing, and perspectives on self-regulation, this intervention was developed in a stepwise process by an interdisciplinary team of researchers, designers, developers, and representatives from the target group. An iterative qualitative usability testing approach (observation, survey, and interview) was applied in 2 sequences, first in the lab and second in the field, to assess how adolescents (aged 12-16 years) used and experienced the program and to make adjustments to the program based on evaluation of their response. ResultsThe following components were included in the program: self-monitoring through planning and registration of physical activity and graphical response on progress, autonomy supportive individual Web-based counseling, forum for social support, and relevant age-adjusted information about physical activity. The first usability test resulted in adjustments related mainly to making the content and aim of the different features more visible and explicit. The second test evaluated the program with adjustments from the first test, revealing that the program was well accepted by the participants and only small aesthetic adjustments had to be made to complete the final version of the Internet program, Young & Active. ConclusionsThorough preparation, with clear theory foundation and close monitoring in the developmental phase, as well as contribution and iterative evaluation from the target group, is essential to create a user-friendly and engaging program. The efficacy of the program will be evaluated in a controlled trial.

This article investigates how the body movements in children's play are related to their interaction with others. Qualitative material was gathered from close observation and qualitative research interviews among eight- and nine-year-old children in an after-school programme (ASP) in Norway. The theoretical perspective is phenomenological. The study shows that body movements in the children's self-chosen and child-managed play outdoors are extensive and arise from play situations where children spontaneously seek interaction with others. Such bodily interaction occurs largely in small groups of best friends or in larger groups that come together as the participants undertake the same activity. The children's body movements play a significant role in their interaction with others and can be interpreted as a fulfilment of their seeking such interaction. Based on the findings, it is recommended that self-chosen and child-managed play outdoors be encouraged in the ASP. While extensive body movements arise out of interaction in play, the play may also contribute to the children's health and development. The ASP can fill a complementary function to institutions with structured and adult-controlled activities.

«Hvilken betydning mener førsteklasselærere at fysisk aktiv lek i kroppsøvingstimene har å si for elevene?». Dette er problemstillingen som belyses i denne bacheloroppgaven. Det viser seg at barns hverdag peker i retning av mindre fysisk aktivitet, og at leken i større grad enn tidligere blir organisert av de voksne (Mjaavatn & Fjørtoft, 2008). Dette henger blant annet sammen med fokus på økt tilegnelse av kunnskap og læring i dagens samfunn (Frønes, 2011). Jeg ønsker derfor å undersøke hvilken betydning førsteklasselærere mener fysisk aktiv lek i kroppsøvingstimene har å si for elevene. Ved bruk av et kvalitativ forskningsintervjuet har jeg intervjuet tre lærere som underviser i kroppsøving i førsteklasse. I denne framstillingen ønsker jeg altså at lærernes stemme og perspektiver kommer fram. I tillegg har jeg lest relevant teori, og drøfter derfor informantenes svar med relevant teori og forskning.