Learning from the experts: exploring playground experience and activities using a write and draw technique.

BACKGROUND: Qualitative research into the effect of school recess on children's physical activity is currently limited. This study used a write and draw technique to explore children's perceptions of physical activity opportunities during recess. METHODS: 299 children age 7-11 years from 3 primary schools were enlisted. Children were grouped into Years 3 & 4 and Years 5 & 6 and completed a write and draw task focusing on likes and dislikes. Pen profiles were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Results indicated 'likes' focused on play, positive social interaction, and games across both age groups but showed an increasing dominance of games with an appreciation for being outdoors with age. 'Dislikes' focused on dysfunctional interactions linked with bullying, membership, equipment, and conflict for playground space. Football was a dominant feature across both age groups and 'likes/dislikes' that caused conflict and dominated the physically active games undertaken. CONCLUSION: Recess was important for the development of conflict management and social skills and contributed to physical activity engagement. The findings contradict suggestions that time spent in recess should be reduced because of behavioral issues

Improving health behaviours and outcomes: An intervention to support engagement in physical activity

The purpose of this case study is to offer reflections on the personal experiences, processes of behavioural change; and subsequent outcomes of designing and implementing a collaborative exercise psychology intervention. The intervention, based on Bandura’s (1977) Self Efficacy Theory and using self-efficacy related behaviour change techniques (Michie et al., 2015), aimed to provide families affected by health inequalities with opportunities to enhance their understanding of health and make positive behavioural changes. This case is based around one female client aged 48 years of age who took part in the project with her ten-year-old daughter. Pre- intervention the client was engaging in minimal levels of weekly physical activity and reported poor self-rated mental well-being. Through improvements in self-efficacy, achieved through opportunities on the project, the client was able to make notable improvements to her physical activity levels leading to significant weight loss and improvements in mental well-being. From the practitioners’ perspective, reflection on areas for future work within the field of exercise psychology, particularly guidance on developing effective client-practitioner relationships with ‘hard-to-reach’ individuals and groups is warranted. More consideration for the suitability of the PA guidelines for individuals with poor physical and mental health is also required

Aspiration, Inspiration and Illustration: Initiating Debate on Reflective Practice Writing

The present article contemplates the future of reflective practice in the domain of applied sport psychology and, in so doing, seeks to engender further critical debate and comment. More specifically, the discussion to follow revisits the topic of ’reflective-levels’ and builds a case for ’critical reflection’ as an aspiration for those engaged in pedagogy or applied sport psychology training regimens. Assumptions and commentators associated with critical social science (e.g., Habermas, 1974; Carr & Kemmis, 1986), action research (e.g., Carr & Kemmis, 1986; Leitch & Day, 2000), and critical reflection (e.g., Morgan, 2007) suggest a number of foundation points from which critical reflection might be better understood. Finally, writing about ones- self via the processes of critical reflection and through reflective practice more generally are briefly considered in cautionary terms (Bleakley, 2000; du Preez, 2008). Auto-ethnography in sport (Gilbourne, 2002; Stone, 2009) is finally proposed as one potential source of illustration and inspiration for reflective practitioners in terms of both content and style

Exploring the use of Think Aloud within Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Judging Education.

Gymnastics is a judgement-based sport whereby the decision-making processes of judges are expected to lead to valid and reliable outcome scores. The concurrent Think Aloud method has been used to study decision-making amongst coaches and athletes in previous sport-related studies but never in judging-based studies. Hence, this project has two aims: 1) to explore decision-making underpinning the judging process in Women’s Artistic Gymnastic (WAG) by using a concurrent verbal report, Think Aloud (TA) and: 2) to examine the utilisation of TA as a means to facilitate judging education with Malaysian WAG judges. 10 qualified judges were required to verbalise (TA) their thought processes whilst judging a balance beam routine. Follow-up interviews investigated the prospective utilisation of TA within judging education. During the judging process participants verbally reported most frequently as to lack of balance, bending of arms and knees, pointing of feet, confidence, rhythm and tempo, and personal style as focal points for scoring. Overall TA was reported prospectively as an appropriate tool for use within judging education, however, some participants reported performance in the primary task of judging was affected by TA. Study outcomes reported the potential utility of TA to study the decision-making process amongst judges to enable deduction scores to be applied objectively. This study will inform future research to investigate the decision-making processes of both expert and novice judging extending to that of all four WAG apparatus

Effect of a family focused active play intervention on sedentary time and physical activity in preschool children

Background: Early childhood provides a window of opportunity for the promotion of physical activity. Given the limited effectiveness of interventions to date, new approaches are needed. Socio-ecological models suggest that involving parents as intervention targets may be effective in fostering healthier lifestyles in children. This study describes the effectiveness of a family-focused ‘Active Play’ intervention in decreasing sedentary time and increasing total physical activity in preschool children. Method: Seventy-seven families were recruited from 8 randomly selected SureStart children’s centres in the North West of England. Centres were randomly assigned to either an intervention (n = 4) or a comparison group (n = 4). Parents and children in the intervention group received a 10-week active play programme delivered by trained active play professionals; this included an activity and educational component. Families in the comparison group were asked to maintain their usual routine. Each participating parent and child wore a uni-axial accelerometer for 7 days at baseline and post-test. Week and weekend day sedentary time and total physical activity adjusted for child- and home- level covariates were analysed using multilevel analyses. Results: Significant intervention effects were observed for sedentary time and physical activity for both week and weekend days. Children in the intervention group engaged in 1.5% and 4.3% less sedentary time during week and weekend days, respectively and 4.5% and 13.1% more physical activity during week and weekend days, respectively than children in the comparison group. Parent’s participation in sport and their physical activity levels, child’s sex, availability of media in the home and attendance at organised activities were significant predictors of sedentary time and physical activity in this age group. Conclusion: A 10-week family focused active play intervention produced positive changes in sedentary time and total physical activity levels in preschool children. Specific covariates were identified as having a significant effect on the outcome measures. Moreover, children whose parents were active engaged in less sedentary time and more physical activity suggesting that parent’s activity habits are mediators of physical activity engagement in this age group. Keywords: Preschool children, Paren

Parental perceptions on children's out-of-school physical activity and family-based physical activity interventions

This study explored parents' physical activity knowledge and perceptions of children’s out-of school physical activity to formatively contribute to a family-based intervention design. Parents were largely unaware of the UK child physical activity guidelines and whether their child achieved the guidelines daily. Physical activity for many parents was attributed to healthy weight status, and the neighbourhood environment was perceived as unconducive to children’s outdoor play which consequently increased the attractiveness of adult supervised organised activities. Family-based intervention engagement was considered as an important opportunity to increase physical activity knowledge, family time, and receive feedback on activity behaviours. Parental concerns related to intervention content and logistic and timing barriers. Consulting with parents in a formative sense prior to familial physical activity intervention facilitates intervention content to be aligned with family-specific perceptions and needs, and offers opportunities to communicate the relevance of programs to parents. This may aid subsequent intervention recruitment and engagement

Physical activity patterns in youth with intellectual disabilities

The aim of this study was to assess the physical activity (PA) patterns of youth with intellectual disabilities (ID). PA was monitored for 7 days in 70, 5 – 15 year old participants using accelerometers. Thirty two participants were included in the final analysis. Habitual PA and the number of continuous bouts accrued for a range of bout lengths (5-600 seconds) for light (LPA), moderate (MPA) and vigorous (VPA) intensity PA were calculated. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to assess differences in the number of continuous bouts by sex, age, ID group and between week and weekend days. Participants exhibited short sporadic bursts of activity. The number of continuous bouts decreased as the intensity and duration increased. Few differences in PA patterns were reported by sex, ID group, age group and between week and weekend days, possibly due to the generally low PA levels within this population

Physical activity and play behaviours in children and young people with intellectual disabilities: A cross-sectional observational study

The benefits of physical activity and active play for children and young people are well established. However, there is a lack of physical activity research involving children and young people with intellectual disabilities. This study investigated habitual physical activity and recess play behaviour in 70 5- to 15-year-old participants with intellectual disabilities using objective methods (accelerometers) and systematic observation techniques. Results showed that few children were active enough to benefit their physical health (23% of the cohort). No differences in habitual physical activity, sedentary behaviour, or recess play behaviours were observed between boys and girls. Participants spent most of their recess time alone or playing in small groups, with no participants engaging in large group play. Older participants spent more recess time playing in small groups rather than playing alone and participants with Autistic Spectrum Disorder spent more time engaged in active pursuits and less time standing than non-Autism Spectrum Disorder participants. Positive correlations were observed between time spent alone and physical activity. These findings contrast with those typically observed in a mainstream school setting. In conclusion, interventions designed from formative research are needed to promote physical activity within this population. Implications for school psychologists are discussed

“I Wasn’t Sure What It Meant to be Honest”—Formative Research towards a Physical Literacy Intervention for Preschoolers

Physical literacy (PL) as a concept is important in developing lifelong physical activity; however, there is little research exploring how PL can be developed during the preschool years. This two-phase qualitative study sought the insights of academics/expert practitioners and preschool staff towards PL in order to inform the design of future preschool PL interventions. Phase One comprised of nine semi-structured interviews with experts in the field of children’s physical activity and/or PL. Interview topics included perspectives on the concept of PL and recommendations for interventions targeted at improving preschool PL. Phase Two consisted of focus groups with practitioners from four local children’s centres. Focus groups explored perspectives on the feasibility and acceptability of proposed PL interventions. Interviews and focus groups were analysed by thematic analysis and means of representation, respectively. Findings revealed that whilst there was limited understanding about the concept of PL among preschool educators, knowledge of child development was evident and that all participants agreed that there was a need for further training for practitioners. Perceived barriers to promoting PL noted by practitioners included funding, policy, curricular priorities, parental opinions, and the preschool environment. It was recommended that interventions should be: (i) designed using a participatory approach including all key stakeholders, (ii) conducted over the long term, and (iii) incorporate opportunities for children to engage in free and outdoor play. Furthermore, any intervention should be flexible to allow for variation between children’s centres, aligned to current policy/children’s centre targets and provide training and resources in order to overcome perceived barriers.</jats:p