A realist case study inquiry of English primary school physical activity initiatives. Issue 1 (2nd January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Defever, Emmanuel; Randall, Vicky; Jones, Michelle
• Is Part Of: Sport, education and society. Volume 28:Issue 1(2023)
• Page Start: 30
• Page End: 43
• Publication Date: 2023-01-02
• Subjects: Primary schools -- physical activity -- realist case study -- socio-ecological model -- stakeholder interactions; Physical education and training -- Periodicals; School sports -- Periodicals; Sports -- Periodicals; 796.07
• DOI: 10.1080/13573322.2021.1980779
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1357-3322

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Concern that children are not engaging in enough physical activity (PA) to bring about health benefits is a crisis globally. This paper aims to examine primary school-based PA initiatives from within an English context. A qualitative inquiry was adopted and underpinned by the socio-ecological model. The study was presented through a realist case study of three selected primary schools to reveal a collection of context-mechanism-outcome statements across five levels of the socio-ecological model (individual, interpersonal, institutional, community and policy). The findings highlighted a multi-layered interaction of PA within the school setting as well as the school's own relationships with external influences. Three key components emerged from the research findings; these included the (1) teacher's unintentional facilitation of simple PA in classroom settings, (2) innovative uses of community networks as an additional resource to schools and (3) the uncovering of a complexity of external influences from home, community and policies on school-based initiatives.