‘Maybe add something to it?’: building on The Daily Mile to enhance enjoyment and engagement

ABSTRACT

The focus of this study is to investigate if a physical activity initiaitive (The Daily Mile) centred on running could be adapted to enhance primary school children’s enjoyment of and engagement with physical activity. An intervention took place over a 4-week period consisting of two components: The Daily Mile and an adapted component, The Extra Mile. The Extra Mile involved providing additional activities to the Daily Mile underpinned by self-determination theory [Deci, Edward L., and Richard M. Ryan. 1985. Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York, NY: Plenum. http://lib.ugent.be/catalog/rug01:001363062] and achievement goal theory [Nicholls, John G. 1989. The Competitive Ethos and Democratic Education. The Competitive Ethos and Democratic Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press]. A qualitative research approach was applied, using focus group interviews with children, children’s diary entries and teacher-researcher observation checklists to determine children’s engagement and enjoyment levels. Findings revealed that providing additional activities (within The Extra Mile) was important in increasing children’s enjoyment of and engagement with The Daily Mile. Finding the balance between each of the components to meet the needs and preferences of children is recommended.

KEYWORDS:

• The Daily Mile
• primary school
• physical activity
• self-determination theory
• achievement goal theory

Introduction

While the teaching of physical education is an important consideration for teachers and children, schools are also seen as key sites for physical activity (Powell 2017). School settings have been identified as ideal locations for the implementation of interventions which seek to increase physical activity levels. School is generally the place where children spend more than half of their waking day and where entire groups of children can be addressed (Institute of Medicine 2013). Building on the physical activity experienced within physical education in school settings, encouragement of initiatives such as promotion of active school breaks or physically active learning across the curriculum can provide further opportunities for physical activity promotion among groups of children. Within primary schools, the setting for the research in this study, the classroom teacher or physical education teacher, arguably, has a crucial role in enabling children to develop positive attitudes towards physical activity within and beyond the physical education lesson. The purpose of the research reported in this paper was to investigate if a physical activity intervention in a primary school setting (focussed on promoting enjoyment of running) could help develop early positive attitudes to physical activity.

Physical activity has been defined as ‘any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure – including activities undertaken while working, playing, carrying out household chores, travelling, and engaging in recreational pursuits’ (WHO 2018). Addressing obesity levels (McMullen et al. 2015) has often provided the rationale for physical activity interventions in schools and recommendations (WHO 2020) that children should experience and engage in sixty minutes of physical activity each day have been accepted as guidelines for policy development related to promotion of physical activity in many countries. Furthermore, several evidence-based interventions have recently been recommended to support schools in promoting physical activity (WHO 2022). Yet, very low levels of children reaching this target have been reported (Sport England 2021; Woods et al. 2018; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2018; CAHMI 2016) and in response, the concept of utilising a school for physical activity was manifested through the establishment of various physical activity promotion programmes internationally.

These programmes have traditionally adopted a ‘whole of school’ and ‘multi-component’ approach (Institute of Medicine 2013, 9). Many countries have developed their own model of physical activity promotions for schools to utilise. For example, Poland developed ‘PE with Class’ in 2013, Finland established ‘Finnish Schools on the Move’ in 2010, while the United States had ‘Let’s Move Active Schools’ which is based on the CSPAP (Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programme) a particular conceptual framework (McMullen et al. 2015) acknowledged as one of the ‘best investments’ that work for physical activity (Global Advocacy for Physical Activity 2012, 710). The approach has several components: physical education, physical activity – before, during and after school – as well as involvement from students, staff, parents and the wider community (McMullen et al. 2015). Significantly, the CSPAP conceptual framework is a structure that can help embed research into whole-of-school activity programmes. Ireland (the setting for the study reported in this paper) developed one such whole-of-school physical activity model known as the Active School Flag (ASF). ‘The ASF initiative provides schools with a framework to guide, support and incentivise them to work towards achieving a physically educated and physically active school community’ (Department of Education and Skills 2020). The Daily Mile, described below, is an example of one initiative that has been promoted within schools as they seek to gain The Active School flag award.

In the UK, The Daily Mile (The Daily Mile Foundation 2020) has been one very popular means of increasing children’s physical activity levels (Chesham et al. 2018).

The Daily Mile is a social physical activity, with children running or jogging – at their own pace – in the fresh air with friends. Children can occasionally walk to catch their breath, if necessary, but should aim to run or jog for the full 15 minutes

The Daily Mile is generally undertaken at a time selected by the teacher during the school day, rather than undertaken in the physical education lesson. It has been criticised for failing to provide enjoyment, a key attribute that children look for in physical activity (Fairhurst and Hotham 2017) as well as for lacking a theoretical foundation (Ryde et al. 2018). Nevertheless, over 9000 schools participate in the Daily Mile in the U.K. In Ireland, The Daily Mile has been promoted by Athletics Ireland (2018), the National Governing Body for athletics, and has been undertaken in schools nationwide since 2018. It is generally regarded as a means of promoting physical activity beyond the physical education class but within the school day.

The lead author (a classroom teacher and teacher-researcher) had been implementing The Daily Mile with children in his classes in an urban coeducational school for five years. Noting that not all children engaged fully or enjoyed The Daily Mile he sought to make some changes to implementation of the initiative. As ‘fun and enjoyment’ were reported as the main reasons that pupils take part in physical activity (Department for Education UK 2013, 8) and are key determinants of physical activity behaviour in young people (Garn et al. 2019) linked to long-term engagement, he chose to focus on these two concepts: enjoyment and engagement. Two theories were identified as particularly significant: (a) self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan 1985) and (b) achievement goal theory (Nicholls 1984). The origins of self-determination theory stem from an individual’s ability to satisfy three psychological needs: relatedness, autonomy and competency (Deci and Ryan 1985). The concept of relatedness involves ‘the need to feel belongingness and connectedness with others’ (Ryan and Deci 2000, 73). This is evident from children who reported they engaged in physical activity because of the sense of enjoyment, as well as the social aspect and the sense of belonging to a team (Brockman, Jago, and Fox 2011). Therefore, relatedness and enjoyment are closely aligned. The need for autonomy can be linked to children making choices as they engage in physical activity while competency is particularly relevant as children enhance movement competencies through physical activity. Enjoyment could be viewed as a common thread linking each of the three ‘needs’. Within the parameters of Achievement Goal Theory (Nicholls 1989: Demetriou et al. 2019), goal orientations are categorised into mastery goal orientation (promoting attributes such as diligence, effort, co-operation, and personal development) and performance goal orientation (making comparisons with others, competition, success based on ability, and reward and punishment schedules for success and failure). Both of these orientations can affect a motivational climate in educational settings and hence are particularly relevant when designing and implementing physical activity initiatives in primary schools.

As well as theories related to engagement, enjoyment and motivation there was one further key element that became a focus for the study. The Child Sports Participation and Physical Activity (CSPPA: Woods et al. 2018) research conducted in Ireland indicates that athletics does not rank in the four most popular activities in relation to school sports for primary school children (boys or girls) (Woods et al. 2018). Hence, The Daily Mile with its emphasis on running, traditionally embedded in athletics, seemed to pose challenges when attempting to investigate engagement and enjoyment for children in primary schools.

The research sought to investigate if a physical activity initiative (The Daily Mile) in a school setting could be broadened and extended to enhance children’s enjoyment of and engagement with physical activity: Does the incorporation of further physical activities into a physical activity initiative (The Daily Mile) increase children’s enjoyment of and engagement with the initiative?

The design of the research

The process of finding a suitable participant for the research is crucial (Cohen, Manion, and Morrison 2013). Qualitative research was the methodology adopted for this study, using an interpretive lens as it was particularly important to identify the participants’ perspective(s) on an aspect of the social world through a social interaction (Maxwell 2005). Furthermore, as ‘qualitative research is quintessentially interactive’ (Rossman and Rallis 2017, 25) this study was characterised by interactions between the children and the teacher-researcher in a natural setting (Denzin and Lincoln 2011), constructing knowledge in a joint capacity. Bronfenbrenner (1977) argued that the developing child should be studied within their own natural environment, undertaking tasks familiar to them amongst people they were comfortable with revealing the true nature of the child.

The setting for the study was a school in a town in the north-east of Ireland. Within the school, the study was centred in two sites: a classroom (for completion of diary entries and interviews) and a sports ground (where the run took place). Hence, the thoughts and actions of people in their natural setting (Bronfenbrenner 1977; Bogdan and Biklen 2007) were central to the study. Sixth class children, 11–13 years old (n = 27) were the participants in this study undertaken by the teacher-researcher, their generalist class teacher and lead author. The participants were recruited by convenience sampling and are identified by pseudonyms.

The focus of the study was on children’s enjoyment of and engagement with a four-week running intervention consisting of two components: (1) The Daily Mile and (2) The Extra Mile, an adaptation of The Daily Mile, created by the researcher, which built on children’s early experience of The Daily Mile. Pre-intervention the researcher’s personal experience of implementing The Daily Mile with children in sixth class in primary school indicated that the level of meaningful engagement from the children in the class was variable. Component 1 of the intervention involved three runs of The Daily Mile in week one, where the focus was solely on jogging or running for fifteen minutes around the sports ground which measures 400 metres in perimeter. The Extra Mile, component 2, involved nine runs over three weeks. It entailed a similar approach to component 1 (The Daily Mile) with the addition of extra activities embedded in the run. For example, one extra activity involved the children running over ten low hurdles along one side of the perimeter while a second prompted the children to carry an egg on a spoon over a short distance. The purpose of the Extra Mile was to increase children’s enjoyment of, and engagement with The Daily Mile.

The Extra Mile was underpinned by the two theories (self-determination theory, Deci and Ryan 1985 and achievement goal theory, Nicholls 1989) discussed above in order to address motivation and enjoyment towards deeper engagement within the intervention. A primary theme was selected for each week based on children’s psychological needs: ‘competency’, ‘relatedness’, as well as ‘child voice and autonomy’, with the broader purpose being the creation of positive attitudes towards physical activity although arguably also contributing to the development of the physically literate child. The extra activities designated to each week were based on these primary themes. However, there was a secondary theme each week also, to ensure that all crucial elements were threaded through consistently. For example, in week 4 when the primary theme was ‘child voice and autonomy’, the children selected from a range of extra activities or they could suggest an appropriate activity themselves. The activities in week 4 ranged from a soccer slalom to a three-legged challenge. The primary aim linked to this theme was to provide children with voice and space. The secondary themes of ‘relatedness’ and ‘achievement’ were also present in this week’s activities (Table 1).

Table 1. The Intervention Timeline.

Observation, informed by the teacher-researcher checklist (Table 2), interviews and children’s diaries were the data collection strategies used to provide rich data to support the enquiry. Observations were a crucial element of this study to determine the engagement levels of the children throughout the intervention (recorded using a checklist with space available to include additional comments in a commentary box) and to select children for the focus group. The checklists provided the teacher with a manageable guide to record engagement levels. All participants were categorised as low-engagement (L-E), part-engagement (P-E) or full-engagement (F-E) (Table 3). The teacher-researcher, using purposive sampling, compiled three sets of four participants drawn from each engagement group (based on observation of their level of engagement in component 1) to gain a broad spectrum of thoughts and perspectives across three interviews. The focus of the interviews was on exploring children’s broad perceptions of physical activity and their enjoyment of both components of the intervention with questions related to their engagement levels also. By interviewing, the teacher-researcher was providing clear opportunities for hearing the voice of the child (Lundy 2007). The teacher-researcher conducted the interviews with a keen awareness of his privileged position as a class teacher, listening carefully to the child's voice without offering opinions. An emphasis was placed on trust and ‘togetherness’ in the relationship (Cohen, Manion, and Morrison 2013) throughout the interviews, which were recorded and transcribed to facilitate analysis. In line with Hatch’s (2002) argument that participants’ voices should be sufficiently represented, the children completed a diary entry (DE) immediately after each run, with a focus on enjoyment and engagement levels linked to their personal description of the activity. This was to ensure that they were provided with an opportunity to offer additional insights into the voice of the child, building on those gained from focus group interviews and to ensure that all children had an opportunity to provide insights regardless of their inclusion in the focus group. A constructivist paradigm (Lincoln and Guba 1985) underpinned the study whereby comprehending the participants’ realities and perspectives became the central concern of the focus group interviews (n = 12), conducted after the implementation of each component.

Table 2. Teacher-Researcher Observation Checklist.

Table 3. Checklist Rubric: Observed Engagement Level During a ‘Run’.

Observed Engagement Level	Approximate amount of time spent engaging appropriately during the ‘run’
5	80–100%
4	60–80%
3	40–60%
2	20–40%
1	0–20%

This research undertaken by a class teacher aligns with The Teaching Council policy to ‘promote engagement by teachers in, and with, research’ and to promote ‘greater sharing by teachers of their experiences of implementing research in their work’ (Teaching Council 2022). In the spirit of teacher research and acknowledging the reality of his day-to-day teaching, a further point should be highlighted: the teacher was obliged to take an action that was unplanned at the outset of the study. Following the initial interviews where children were found to have a narrow understanding of physical activity, the teacher planned two lessons with a focus on the nature and purpose of physical activity. These lessons were conducted by the teacher-researcher in the form of an English oral language lesson and an SPHE (Social, Personal, Health Education) lesson with a focus on exploration of the term ‘physical activity’. It was hoped that this would enable the children to better understand physical activity, as well as the purpose and aims of both The Daily Mile and The Extra Mile. Images of different means of physical activity were displayed with the visual-oriented presentation considered ‘more effective at helping students understand the broad concept of physical activity’ (Trost et al. 2000, 297). Additionally, the children designed a physical activity promotion campaign for their school. It is important to be cognisant that their understanding of physical activity may not have been perfect after just two lessons devoted to the topic, as Howells et al. (2019) argued that it is a difficult concept for children to comprehend and that their understanding of this concept should not be hastened. Table 4 provides an overview of the intervention. The impact of this element will be discussed further in the findings below.

Table 4. Timeline of Intervention, Interviews and Lessons.

Event	Week	Element	Description	Number of Participants in Total
The Daily Mile (TDM)	1	Component 1 of the Intervention	Children participate in TDM as normal on 3 separate occasions in this week	n = 27 n = 25 n = 26
Interview 1	1	Focus Group	Exploration of PA perceptions as well as enjoyment and engagement of TDM	n = 12
The Extra Mile (TEM)	2, 3 and 4	Component 2 of the Intervention	Children participate in TEM on 3 separate occasions each week	Week 1 n = 25 n = 24 n = 26	Week 2 n = 26 n = 27 n = 27	Week 3 n = 24 n = 25 n = 27
SPHE (Social Personal Health Education) Lesson	2	Lesson 1: Theme Physical Activity	Development of an understanding of physical activity through use of visual imagery and discussion	n = 27
English Oral Language Lesson	3	Lesson 2: Theme Physical Activity	New knowledge (literacy skills – discussion of a design of a PA programme for their school)	n = 25
Interview 2	4	Focus Group	Exploration of PA perceptions as well as enjoyment and engagement of TEM	n = 10

PA = Physical activity.

Ethical permission was granted by Dublin City University Ethics Committee to conduct this study with consent or assent granted by all participants. Valid endeavour was a key concern. Greig, Taylor, and MacKay (2012) argued validity is most important ‘when verbally engaging with children and younger people’ (114), hence, the diaries and the interviews reflecting children’s voices and children’s involvement in selection of activities were particular examples of valid endeavour. Trustworthiness was enhanced using multiple data sources and by the teacher-researcher’s position of privilege as an established teacher in the school and as the class teacher. This existing trusting relationship demanded a significant level of awareness by the teacher-researcher throughout.

As Denscombe (2010) indicates ‘qualitative data need to be prepared and organised before they can be analysed’ (274). Familiarisation of and immersion in the data occurred through the process of transcribing and re-reading the interviews, the diary entries and the teacher observations informed by the checklists. This entailed using the teacher bias, based on the teacher’s close relationship with the children, as a resource for knowledge production (Braun and Clarke 2021). Following this, thematic analysis using steps as suggested by Braun and Clarke (2006) was undertaken. However, acknowledging the different approaches to thematic analysis, selecting two themes based on the literature review: ‘physical activity’ and ‘physical activity motivation’ helped to progress through the steps involved in coding. Codes related to ‘physical activity’ broadly (e.g. ‘bodily movement’ and ‘confidence in new understanding’) and codes related to ‘physical activity motivation’ (e.g. ‘accompanied by friend’, ‘beating personal record’ and ‘break from class’) were identified using coloured font and highlighter. The codes were then analysed to identify emerging patterns in the data. These patterns then formed the categories e.g. ‘sport’, ‘enjoyment’, ‘developing an understanding of physical activity’, ‘achievement’, ‘relatedness’, ‘autonomy’ and ‘logistical considerations’. Finally, the categories were merged to form themes used to report the findings, two of which will be discussed below: ‘Children’s Understanding of Physical Activity: Developing Over Time’, and ‘Successes and Challenges of The Daily Mile and The Extra Mile’.

Findings

Children’s understanding of physical activity: developing over time

As the children’s understandings and perspectives of physical activity underpin their views on the intervention, it was important to try to establish and compare their understandings and perspectives of physical activity throughout the course of the intervention. Interview 1 (Int1), undertaken after component one (The Daily Mile), uncovered that the children across all engagement groups had a varied understanding of physical activity. These understandings ranged widely from those related to health (fitness, physical health, mental health) to everyday activities, sport and enjoyment:

Well in my opinion it means that you need to do something physically – so you work your mind and your body to do it and to be active means you need to do something physically like play football or something like that.

                                       (Niall, P-E, Int1)

Niall’s understanding of physical activity included physical and mental elements as well as the added element of playing sport. Ruth felt that there should also be an importance placed on eating healthily related to physical activity:

… it’s not just about what you’re doing, it’s also about what you’re eating. Like if you’re running all day trying to get fit but you’re not eating properly it won’t help you. So being healthy and being physical kinda comes together.

                                       (Ruth, P-E, Int1)

Most of the children demonstrated some understanding of physical activity albeit with a narrow focus on sport. Four of the children interviewed explained that it entailed movement of the body and four also mentioned organised sport. As well as this, elements of physical and mental health were alluded to by five of the children. Trost et al. (2000) argued that identification of these concepts might stem from the influence of individual fitness activities, organised sports and mass media, which play such a prominent role in the world today.

The children’s developing understandings of physical activity were apparent, particularly following analysis of interview 2 (Int2) conducted after week four of the intervention. Ruth was confident that she and her peers had a more satisfactory understanding: ‘I think that it’s not just me, but most people understand physical activity more’ (Ruth, P-E, Int2). Hugh referenced daily chores as being a form of physical activity and that it did not equate to organised sport: ‘It’s not just doing sports – it can be absolutely anything like doing your daily chores and stuff’ (Hugh, F-E, Int2). It would appear that the classroom-based lessons, described above, equated with Trost et al.’s belief that without prior intervention, the children did not see everyday activities such as ‘walking or bicycling to school and household chores such as sweeping the floor as physical activity’ (Trost et al. 2000, 296). Maeve, along with many of the other children, alluded to a key principle of physical activity following the lessons: It involves ‘ … moving your body’ (Maeve, L-E, Int2). As discussed above, Howells et al. (2019, 39) argued that ‘physical activity is a complex variable’ and it is clear from the children’s responses in Int2 that they had a more developed understanding of this intricate concept and thus could make some more informed comments about their perspectives on physical activity.

Successes and challenges of the daily mile and the extra mile

As one of the aims of this study was to determine if the physical activity interventions could help develop early positive attitudes towards physical activity, children’s responses to the intervention are discussed embracing the concepts of: enjoyment, relatedness, achievement and autonomy. Deci and Ryan (1985), as discussed earlier, argued that these elements are important determinants of formation of positive attitudes. Enjoyment, for example, is a positive emotion that is a key psychological determinant of physical activity behaviours in younger people (Garn et al. 2019).

Enjoyment

Recent studies (Chalkley et al. 2020; Marchant et al. 2020; Hatch et al. 2021) have discussed the importance of enjoyment in running-based physical activity interventions in schools. Marchant et al. (2020) outlines that a lack of variety was one of the most significant barriers when engaging in The Daily Mile and that additional approaches would be needed to sustain it in the long term. Chalkley et al. (2020) highlight the important role that autonomy played in children’s enjoyment of the Marathon Kids intervention (another school-based intervention with an emphasis on running), while Hatch et al. (2021) outlined how their study found that ‘The Daily Mile could be made more enjoyable by incorporating other activities’ (10). Although this study preceded the writing of Hatch et al. (2021), incorporating further activities was central to The Extra Mile to enhance children’s enjoyment of running.

When questioned about the component the children preferred, eight out of the ten children present for Int2 responded that they preferred The Extra Mile. Róisín (P-E Group) stated that she enjoyed them both the same amount and Keith (L-E Group) claimed that he enjoyed The Daily Mile more. Enjoyment encapsulates a range of responses given by the children during the interview. The full-engagement group all mentioned enjoyment in some form when discussing what they enjoyed about The Extra Mile. The responses included the use of the term ‘fun’ related to participation in novel activities as well as the element of surprise or novelty that was involved in participation in The Extra Mile. Hugh suggested that enjoyment derived from the ‘change’ or difference that The Extra Mile offered in comparison to The Daily Mile. Another interesting response in the category of enjoyment was elicited from Ruth, who enjoyed the element of surprise that occurred each week from the anticipation in finding out the activities which they would be participating in: ‘ … we wouldn’t be prepared for – which was fun’ (Ruth, P-E, Int2). Five of the children referred to the activities that they enjoyed using the word ‘fun’. This resonates with Coulter and Woods (2012) research, which states that children engage in different physical activities because they are ‘fun’. Another concept which provided enjoyment for a specific cohort of the children (n = 2) was the non-competitive nature of some of the activities. Elizabeth alluded to how she found certain activities, which were incorporated into The Extra Mile as ‘funny’, defusing some of the competitiveness, which was characteristic of The Daily Mile or other competitive activities. She referred to this when engaging in the ‘egg and spoon balance’: ‘ … it was funny when they were going around and dropping it and no-one was getting really tense about it or competitive so … ’ (Elizabeth, L-E, Int2). Both Elizabeth and Maeve agreed that they preferred when people are not competitive when engaging in physical activity. Some children clearly enjoy physical activity that is less competitive with a focus on fun and enjoyment. This approach to physical activity was also evident in Ní Chróinín et al.’s (2021) study of Meaningful PE, whereby teachers made an effort to minimise competition in activities. This resulted in ‘lessening the importance of winning and losing which made a difference to children who perceived themselves as less skilled’ (10), helping participants to feel more confident and have fun.

Maeve also enjoyed The Extra Mile when accompanied by a friend: ‘It was kind of fun because you’re doing something different every single day … with a partner’ (Maeve, L-E, Int2), This example also demonstrates how enjoyment and relatedness can be incorporated. It was central to the design of the intervention to include activities that the children would not always participate in and were inherently enjoyable during the third week. Novel activities such as the ‘three-legged challenge’ and the ‘egg and spoon balance’ were deployed to provide such experiences. The week also sought to provide an enjoyable experience for those who enjoyed the concept of achievement, through the completion of the ‘timed run’ activity. The aim of week 3 was to motivate the children intrinsically, a central element of the self-determination theory, involving the ‘enactment of activity for its own sake because the activity is enjoyable and interesting’ (Kokkonen et al. 2019, 3). ‘Tennis ball partner keep ups’ was designed by the children during week 4 and was considered ‘enjoyable’, ‘interesting’, and the ‘best ever’ activity (Louise, F-E, Int2). Her DE verified this: ‘I loved today’s mile. It was the best one ever and you really had to think about what you were doing’ (Louise, DE: W4, Day 1).

Relatedness

Relatedness involving ‘the need to feel belongingness and connectedness with others’ (Ryan and Deci 2000, 73) was a key thread running through the study. The concept of relatedness embracing the element of social interaction, played a larger role in the children’s enjoyment of The Daily Mile than The Extra Mile. Eight of the children commented on aspects of social interaction as an enjoyable aspect of The Daily Mile in Int1 and only half that number commented on it as an enjoyable aspect of The Extra Mile in Int2. Seven of those eight children referred to getting the chance to talk to others, mainly their friends while running The Daily Mile. Ruth (P-E, Int1), a self-proclaimed ‘active’ person, was the exception. She commented on how she found the support she received from a friend assisted her in running, during the first component of the intervention: ‘I’m not much of a runner … but like when I’m running with a friend … it’s better because I just don’t want to stop and leave them … when I’m running with a friend it’s easier’ (Ruth, P-E, Int1). It is children like Ruth that the second component of the intervention, The Extra Mile, aims to target. It aims to cater towards a variety of physical activity interests (Hatch et al. 2021) to engender positive attitudes in the area. It was for this reason that the concept of ‘enjoyment and relatedness’ was central to week 3 (as children ran the Extra Mile), aiming to appeal to the children’s psychological needs for enjoyment and social connection. Keith’s comment exemplifies this objective of The Extra Mile: ‘Yes, I did enjoy The Extra Mile because you could try things that you haven’t tried before and some of the things you need a partner and you can talk with them’ (Keith, L-E, Int2). Keith was one of the four children who enjoyed the aspect of relatedness in both components and whose observed engagement intensified during the second component, The Extra Mile. It was important that The Extra Mile still catered for this psychological need through co-operative tasks, which generally were more intensive than merely walking – the alternative for children who stopped running.

Connection with others was viewed as a positive by Róisín: ‘I enjoyed that we run, I talk to a lot of people, they even encourage me to run more’ (Róisín, P-E, Int2). However, Maeve viewed this form of relatedness in a negative light: ‘ … sometimes people … can tell you to keep running or your friends starting to speed up … you want to take your break and then you have to catch up with them. That was just kind of a bit irritating’ (Maeve, L-E, Int2). This contributed to creating a performance-oriented climate that is damaging when aiming to sustain physical activity behaviours in individuals (Whitehead, Durden-Myers, and Pot 2018).

It was clear that the children felt that there could be changes made to avoid negative interactions during The Daily Mile. Róisín suggested ‘ … to add more space for runners or walkers so they have more space to run, so when a person is in their way, they go the other way … ’ (Róisín, P-E, Int1). The addition of space was an issue that resonated with a study of Hanckel et al. (2019) which led to children withdrawing because of limited space. The Extra Mile aimed to alleviate the congestion that Róisín alluded to which was a feature of The Daily Mile, through a staggered approach to starting the activity combined with prompting some children to begin at different points around the course.

Achievement

Achievement motivation is closely linked to achievement goal theory (Nicholls 1984). The concept of achievement was represented in the responses of ten of the children in relation to both components of the intervention over both interviews. It was clear that the full-engagement group seemed to enjoy the aspect of achievement. Both Philip and Brian made similar comments regarding The Daily Mile: ‘I always try to beat my last score. My highest is 5 laps I think’ (Brian, F-E, Int1). His DE in week 1 (W1) comments also reflect this: Day 1: ‘Brilliant way to get active and push yourself to get more laps or the same amount.’ / Day 2: ‘Great way to wake up in the morning. I try to do all the laps non-stop’ / Day 3: ‘Still really good. One thing I wish is the time was longer. I was shorter [quicker] today and yesterday’ (Brian, DE: W1). It was noted during this week in the teacher-researcher observation checklist, that Brian was particularly ‘engaged’ and got off to a ‘quick start’ on several occasions. Louise wasn’t so sure why she finds The Daily Mile enjoyable: ‘I don’t know, I think it’s just really fun to do’ (Louise, F-E, Int1). However, her DE elicits an insight into what it is she enjoys – achievement in the form of self-progress: Day 1: ‘It was very fun. I like trying to challenge myself to run another lap’ / Day 2: ‘I enjoyed today. I found it easier to run and it was really fun.’ / Day 3: ‘I feel really happy after doing it. I know I am getting better at it’ (Louise, DE: W1). It was documented in the teacher-researcher observation checklist that she maintained a high observed engagement level each day of week one and on day one she was: ‘Very engaged – good pace with Brian.’ Even though they may not have been communicating during the run, the concept of relatedness is still evident. The children may have been challenging and/or supporting each other during this run, actions that resonate with achievement goal theory embracing the concept of motivation.

None of the children interviewed mentioned achievement as an enjoyable aspect of The Extra Mile. An argument can be made that The Extra Mile was lacking in this area. This could be inferred from Louise, who displayed an inherent desire for achievement: ‘ … some of them (activities) like the three-legged challenge and the egg and spoon were a little bit slow and you didn’t really have enough time to do them [without slowing down]’ (Louise, F-E, Int2). Louise, who was clearly focused on the concept of achievement during The Daily Mile, was not able to participate at the same intensity during these ‘slower’ activities within The Extra Mile and was unable to satisfy this intrinsic need which she enjoys as a measurable achievement. Ruth proposed:

… you could have different levels on them … so like you have to do like different obstacles depending how good you think you are so then you could get even better by doing something not at the bottom level you know? (Ruth, P-E, Int2)

This innovative idea suggests implementing a differentiated approach, which could satisfy the need for an element of achievement in The Extra Mile.

In week 3, a differentiated opportunity was provided in response to a contextual challenge. Two children commented on their contrasting experience of this. Niall found that this experience was not an enjoyable one: ‘ … when another class were doing PE and we didn’t actually get to shoot – we just had to bounce it against the wall which I didn’t really find was good’ (Niall, P-E, Int2). It appeared that Niall was confident enough in his ability to shoot the ball into the hoop and was disappointed that he missed this activity. Maeve had a different experience: ‘I like the basketball when we were bouncing it against the wall because you don’t have to put much effort into it – you could just talk while doing it’ (Maeve, L-E, Int2). In contrast, it could be argued that Maeve was not as confident in her ability to shoot a basket and therefore felt that this activity was differentiated to an appropriate level providing her with an attractive choice. This perceived lack of competence can lead to a disengagement in physical activity ‘as children lack the competence and confidence to move and will not enjoy participation in activities where they understand they will not be successful’ (Robinson et al. 2015, 1276). This example demonstrates that differentiated opportunities allow achievement at a variety of levels and is an important consideration when designing physical activity interventions.

Another activity in The Extra Mile which caused some conflicting opinions in terms of the children’s ability to perform it, was ‘tennis ball partner keep-ups’, designed by the pupils for the fourth week of the intervention. Keith suggested he wouldn’t include it in The Extra Mile: ‘ … because it’s very difficult to pass and move at the same time’ (Keith, L-E, Int2). Niall indicated that he was satisfied with the level of challenge provided: ‘I kind of liked the way it [level of challenge] was somewhere in between because if it was too challenging, you’d get annoyed and it wouldn’t be fun anymore’ (Niall, P-E, Int2). With this comment, Niall highlighted the importance of the level of challenge being appropriate, for it to be considered ‘fun’.

Overall, no child found The Extra Mile to be over-challenging. This suggests that The Daily Mile caters towards the element of achievement that many of the children enjoy. However, The Extra Mile, aims to place a greater emphasis on more enjoyable activities. It is reassuring that most of the children still perceived the level of challenge of The Extra Mile to be at a moderate level so that it was still ‘fun’. Perceived competence has a role to play in one’s achievement and can also have an important influence on one’s own physical activity interests. This is purported by Robinson et al. (2015), where an importance is placed on developing motor competence ‘which enables children and adolescents to successfully participate in various types of physical activity’ (1275).

Autonomy

Autonomy is a primary motivator in relation to engagement in physical activity and the concept of ‘volition’ in some form is a key component in this regard (Ryan and Deci 2000, 74). Personal interest in physical activity was reflected in Ruth’s remarks: ‘doing something you actually like’ (Ruth, P-E, Int1). This is what makes physical activity enjoyable for her. She developed her point further: ‘ … if your parents tell you to go run but you don’t enjoy running, so instead you could just play like football or go on your bike or something like that’ (Ruth, P-E, Int1).

As running is the main physical activity undertaken during The Daily Mile, it clearly does not necessarily cater for the personal interest of the child. The CSPPA study (Woods et al. 2018) indicates that running in the context of athletics is not a popular physical activity for primary school children in Ireland. There is some disparity between that CSPPA finding and this study. Amongst this cohort of children, running was the most frequently mentioned form of physical activity, when questioned regarding physical activity they enjoy. Over both interviews, running was mentioned by 7 children as enjoyable. However, even though running was mentioned 7 times, seventeen other forms of physical activity were identified by the children. Interestingly, five children did not mention running at all. This confirms that running was not the only form of physical activity these children enjoyed. Ruth did not identify herself as a ‘runner’ (Int1). Maeve also claimed that: ‘ … running is not really for me … ’ (Maeve, L-E, Int1). Both children were not motivated by the physical activity of running and did not associate with the concept of being a runner. This raises the question if the autonomy of the child is respected as The Daily Mile is imposed on children repeatedly in school settings. Fairhurst and Hotham (2017) question whether The Daily Mile can engender positive attitudes towards physical activity in children. The same literature criticised The Daily Mile for being ‘overly simplistic’ (83). It can be argued that focusing on one form of physical activity, running, is the ‘overly simplistic’ element, especially when children in this study mentioned seventeen other forms of physical activity they enjoy. Niall (P-E, Int1) had a suggestion to resolve this: ‘I think maybe add something to it … like instead of having to run’ (Niall, PE). Through this comment, Niall identified a central feature in the design of the second component of the intervention, which catered towards a variety of physical activity interests. A variety of physical activities was added by the teacher-researcher to motivate the other children in the class who did not enjoy running as a physical activity. This concept is also supported by Hatch et al.’s (2021) findings, whereby children also suggested incorporating other activities or a competitive element into The Daily Mile. While not all of the additional activities in this study appealed to all of the children, the ability to select activities, the autonomy granted to children was significant.

Children’s personal interests clearly played a part in their responses when challenged to highlight what they enjoyed. These varied from Hugh whose favourite activity was ‘soccer slalom’: ‘ … because we don’t get to play much football in school so it’s always nice to play soccer’ (Hugh, F-E, Int2) to Brian: ‘My favourite would probably be the basketball because we played basketball for a few weeks (in Physical Education)’ (Brian, F-E, Int2). Brian would prefer to return to The Daily Mile instead of engaging in an activity he was disinterested in (skipping). Elizabeth expressed a disinterest in an activity as well: ‘I didn’t really enjoy the basketball because I’m not really into basketball’ (Elizabeth, L-E, Int2). Even though offering children an opportunity to engage in a range of different physical activities was a step in the right direction, it was important to further expand the concept of autonomy and give the children a voice (Lundy 2007) reflected in the design of the fourth week of the intervention.

Autonomy and the voice of the child

The concept of having a voice was important to the children. This form of autonomy was alluded to on five occasions during the interviews. Three children responded expressing that they enjoyed the concept of having a voice in the design of the intervention, whereas two children responded with suggested modifications. Niall stated that an enjoyable element of The Extra Mile was ‘ … in the end we had a say in it’ (Niall, P-E, Int2). Niall and Colm both expressed their enjoyment of the physical activities engaged in during the final week when ‘we got to choose’. Colm developed this point in his response to the next question when he was asked about the physical activities he would recommend: ‘I wouldn’t really recommend, it’s kind of their decision’ (Colm, P-E, Int2). From this statement, we can infer that Colm assumes that child voice should be considered a vital feature of the intervention and therefore it is up to each individual cohort to design their own intervention. The comments reflect the findings of Brockman, Jago, and Fox (2011) whereby children were more motivated to engage in physical activity when provided with ‘freedom from adult control, rules and structure’ (461). All responses in relation to child voice derived from the P-E group. Evidently, this was an aspect of the intervention that this group felt strongly about. Therefore, further avenues should be explored to enhance the motivational potential of this feature of the intervention. It appropriately aligns with Lundy’s participation model (2007) and advocates the importance of children being given ‘the right to have their views given due weight in all matters affecting them’ (Lundy 2007, 927).

Many of the children suggested making the intervention longer in terms of both duration and the distance to run. This allocation of time for physical activity has not yet been approved in the Irish primary school context, even though teachers ‘play a crucial role in enabling children to develop positive attitudes towards physical activity, preparing them for an active lifestyle’ (Scannell and Murphy, 2022). Alongside a ‘busy curriculum’ (Ryde et al. 2018, 9), making the intervention longer represents a challenge.

Hugh suggested that The Extra Mile should be carried out instead of The Daily Mile, whereas Niall expressed disappointment that some children did not take some of the activities as seriously as he did: ‘ … it was kind of annoying the way not everybody respected the rules … ’ (Niall, P-E, Int2). Ruth who felt as if others were ‘cheating’ (P-E, Int2) also echoed this feeling of injustice. This could be attributed to a performance goal-oriented approach that these children may assume. This orientation is associated with negative attributes such as making comparisons with others. Attributes of this kind can be detrimental to hopes of physical literacy (Whitehead, Durden-Myers, and Pot 2018).

While the study was conducted in just one school with one class, the findings nevertheless present evidence of the successes and challenges related to teachers’ use of physical activity interventions, one of which is engaged in by thousands of children. It would be useful if additional observers could be available to allow for further reliability related to children’s enjoyment and engagement. This points to the need for further research with additional researchers coming from outside of the school, hence avoiding any power imbalance that may exist emanating from the central role of the teacher.

Conclusion

Four key recommendations emerge from this study. Firstly, while The Daily Mile is effective in what it set out to achieve – increasing children’s level of physical activity – it can be argued that more can be achieved. A theoretical framework with a focus on motivational aspects of children’s engagement in a running activity such as that investigated for the design of The Extra Mile should be considered when The Daily Mile is under review either by an individual teacher, a school, a district or by policy makers who promote the concept for adoption across settings. Secondly, in any reconceptualization of The Daily Mile features such as enjoyment, relatedness, autonomy and child voice should be central elements as we consider the importance of the balance between what The Daily Mile and The Extra Mile respectively offer children. This study suggests that each component caters for the different preferences of children and hence offering a blend of both weekly can provide the balance between each of the components to meet the needs and preferences of children in primary school settings. Thirdly, as children’s understanding of physical activity developed over time, Lundy’s participation model (2007) was central to providing children with a voice. It was through hearing the children’s voices that their understandings were revealed. It will be important for researchers and teachers to capture the child’s voice related to this important concept of understanding of physical activity. Finally, Trost et al. (2000) recommended the development of appropriate classroom-based lessons (in the case of this study in the context of SPHE and oral language) focussed on supporting this developing understanding. These lessons can play a crucial role in supporting the practical application of physical activity interventions such as The Daily Mile and The Extra Mile. The creation of such cross-curricular links by teachers to deepen children’s understanding of the potential for lifelong physical activity is recommended, illustrating too the significant role of the primary teacher in this endeavour.

As promotion of physical activity in schools seems likely to persist into the future, there is scope to develop frameworks of alternative physical activity opportunities for children within schools. The Extra Mile challenges the status quo in creating an alternative approach to an established physical activity initiative, underpinned by motivational theories to focus on children’s enjoyment of and engagement with physical activity. The Daily Mile has served a clear purpose; it has the potential to achieve something more. Arguably, The Extra Mile can ‘go the extra mile’.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).