Equipping High School Classrooms to Support Physical Activity

• In Event: Physical Activity, Health, and Change in Physical Education

Abstract

High school classrooms are often not the focus of classroom physical activity (PA) resources or programming. Using concepts from Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (1986) and Fullan’s Change Leadership Model (2011), an intervention providing high school teachers with classroom-appropriate PA equipment was enacted. Teachers chose which types of PA equipment they wanted to use in their classrooms after attending monthly professional development sessions where the use of various equipment was modeled. Researchers used constant comparison and trustworthiness measures to compare data from interviews with eight teachers and eight students and found six themes describing participants’ positive experiences with the equipment use in their classrooms. Themes suggest high school teachers and students are receptive to the inclusion of PA in their classrooms.

Authors

• Shannon C. Mulhearn, University of Nebraska - Kearney

• Pamela Hodges Kulinna

• Candice McLeod

• Hyeonho Yu, Arizona State University Polytechnic

• Janelle Marie Griffo, Arizona State University