Teachers’ experiences with physically inactive children and their strategies to promote physical activity in early childhood education settings

Objective: As an increasing number of children are identified as insufficiently physically active, the school environment has been targeted for efforts to promote physical activity (PA) among inactive children. While research has highlighted teachers’ role in promoting generic school-based daily PA, less is known about the early childhood education teachers’ experiences of physically inactive children and the strategies they use to promote PA. This study’s aim was to explore early childhood education teachers in Sweden’s experiences of physically inactive children and their strategies to promote PA among members of this group in their everyday school settings. Design: Qualitative interview study. Setting: Four small municipalities in Midwest Sweden. Method: Ten teachers working in early childhood education settings participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed with a focus on teacher agency and the social, material and cultural resources teachers used to promote PA. Result: Findings indicated that teachers shoulder the worry and unarticulated responsibility for inactive children. This resulted in their use of strategies that varied and which were largely subjective in character. At the same time, teachers expressed how their agency was limited by insufficient resources. Conclusion: Teachers used social, material and cultural resources to promote PA, but their strategies were not informed by evidence or formal guidelines. None of the resources they used were specifically designed for inactive children. Instead, teachers used general resources which they adapted to inactive children’s interests and needs.