Abstract:

Reducing sedentary behavior among young people is considered an important goal given the potential benefits of adequate physical activity on their health, cognitive functions, and academic performance. Especially, the World Health Organization has regularly pointed out insufficient physical activity in adolescents, most of whom do not meet the recommended threshold of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day. However, promoting physical activity at school outside the regular physical education (PE) classes can be challenging due to time constraints resulting from the demands of different subjects in the school curriculum. On this basis, school recess might provide an opportunity to increase physical activity and develop a habit of regular exercise in adolescents. The aim of the present study was to explore PE teachers' perceptions of this possibility.

Five qualified PE teachers (three men and two women, aged between 29 and 42) from two schools catering for students aged between 12 and 15 in the canton of Vaud (Switzerland) took part in the study. A semi-structured interview was conducted with each of them. The interviews were initially intended to clarify interviewees’ perception of the influence of physical activity on students and of students' activities during recess. Next, the interviews focused on how to implement active recess. Textual analysis of the transcribed interviews was performed using the software Alceste V Education, which identified five lexical categories (C1 to C5). For each lexical category, a qualitative analysis was performed on the content of typical associated text fragments.

The discourse associated with C1 reflected an awareness of the potential influence of physical activity in adolescents. The perspectives enabling active school recess linked to C2-5 corresponded to those available in the literature. The whole discourse was structured specifically on three main points of tension. The interviewees considered the promotion of physical activity in schools to be potentially beneficial to students' health and academic performance but to be hampered by institutional barriers and widespread attitudes in the educational community. Regarding active recess at school, the interviews revealed a debate about the respective merits of adult-supervised physical activities and physical activities freely initiated by students using the equipment and facilities provided. The prospect of gender-specific physical activities during recess was also contrasted with that of promoting physical activity, including in mixed contexts, at school and not only during recess.

The results led to a discussion about possible systemic changes that would promote physical activity at school, including during recess.

Keywords:

Adolescents, school recess, promoting physical activity, physical Education teachers, textual analysis, content analysis.