Physical activity through the eyes of six ten-year-old children: A case study

The purpose of this study was to gain insight as to how six children at ten years of age perceive physical activity. In an effort to plan for and design developmentally appropriate physical education programs for children in the elementary school, we need to gain further insights as to how children view physical activity, and how they participate in physical activities during their physical education classes and in their leisure time.;As the nature of this case study was to seek explanations for why children feel the way they do about physical activity, a grounded theory approach was incorporated. Classroom and playground observations, interviews, personal activity logs, photographs, and documents related to the school program were studied over a five month period to gain understanding of the perspectives of six ten-year-old children towards physical activity. The study involved an equal number of boys and girls from one grade five classroom, in an urban elementary school, who were taught physical education by a physical education specialist.;The findings indicated that the children wanted to be active, but felt there was little time during the school day for physical activity. Personal safety and feeling psychologically secure were also prerequisites for their participation in activities, both at school and in their leisure time at home. The six children wished to have fun in physical education classes, and wanted a wide range of activities within their physical education programs. They also equated fun with activities which challenged their abilities, allowing for active participation, which permitted them to play with friends. Fairness on the playground and in the physical education classroom was extremely important to these ten-year-olds, and the children viewed being successful in physical education as the ability to participate cooperatively with others in group activities. Physical activities provided the children with opportunities to develop and demonstrate personal and social responsibility. Participation styles differed between boys and girls.;As a result of this study, parents of these children are encouraged to give more consideration to their child's interests in choosing physical activity programs for leisure time. They need to closely examine how much time their children spend watching TV and videos during their leisure time. Elementary teachers may wish to consider providing more time for physical education and for physical activity during the school day. Teachers may also want to consider their students' interests, and offer varied programs which focus on skill development in ways that provide optimal challenges and success for all children. Elementary teachers need to consciously plan for and model personal and social responsibility with their students within the context of physical education. They need to recognize that at this age boys and girls hold definite perceptions of their own abilities and of the abilities of others.;The six children in this study valued opportunities to make decisions when learning and practicing skills within the context of physical education classes. Teachers might give this consideration within the context of unit and lesson planning. The researcher advises elementary school administrators to make decisions in the best interests of children, by staffing their schools with teachers who have expertise in teaching physical education. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).