Enhancing university practicum students’ roles in implementing the Ontario Daily Physical Activity (DPA) policy

Abstract

In Canada, the Ontario Daily Physical Activity (DPA) policy promotes comprehensive school physical activity programmes (CSPAP) mandating 20 min of DPA in schools. As community and teacher involvement is a key component of the CSPAP framework, developing partnerships to implement CSPAPs is worth exploring to facilitate the meaningful and relevant engagement of partners. One understudied role is that of university Physical Education practicum students who intern in the CSPAP context. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore university practicum students’ perceptions of DPA engagement and identify strategies to enhance their roles in implementing DPA. Using abductive reasoning to create meaningful and practical findings for CSPAP partners, the experiences of nine practicum students before and after DPA implementation were analysed using the CSPAP framework. The findings were contextualised using the CSPAP and community-based participatory research literature. Three non-hierarchical themes provided insight into how to prepare practicum students for, and enhance their roles in, DPA: (1) building relationships to enhance DPA and facilitate school partners’ engagement, (2) maximising use of resources and (3) co-learning DPA implementation knowledge and skills. The main contribution to the DPA literature is a group of guiding questions for school–university partners to facilitate the building of relationships, efficiency of resources and co-learning between partners. Methodologically, this study is an example of creating practical DPA partnership findings using the CSPAP framework and provides support for further use of abductive reasoning methodologies to explore DPA and CSPAP programmes and partnerships.

Keywords:

• School physical activity programmes
• youth
• school
• physical activity
• exercise
• physical education students
• community partners

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the participants for sharing their experiences that contributed to our study findings and ultimately to the development of DPA policy programmes in school communities.

Notes

1. The claim that obesity is a critical public health crisis has received critical debate (Gard and Wright 2005). The validity of these claims, however, is not the focus of this study. Rather, our concern is that these claims have led to physical activity interventions, which ought to be optimised.