Exploring the Perceived Wellness and Exercise Self-Efficacy of Basic Education Teachers: A Basis for Physical Exercise Program Plan

This study explores basic education teachers’ perception of their wellness and their exercise self-efficacy from which we would develop a preliminary framework to design a physical exercise program. To the best of my knowledge, I am not aware of any research in the area of physical activity that explores teachers’ perceptions of their wellness and the confidence they hold for doing physical activity within a typical work day in cases of stressful work. This study draws upon the theory of wellness and Bandura’s (1997) theory of self-efficacy. It used a mixed methods research and a survey for the quantitative part of the study to measure the wellness and self-efficacy (of the physical, mental, emotional and social) and the in-depth interviews for the qualitative part to focus on how the selected participants described their lived experiences. The results indicate that although most teachers see the importance of engaging in physical activity and overall wish to lead healthier lives, perceptions of self-efficacy seem to be affected, to some degree, by time and institutional work demands as well as family and personal life commitments. Nonetheless, positive social networks and organized options available seem to assist in attaining perceived wellness and increasing exercise participation. Teachers scoring higher on wellness assessments reported better supportive sustainability while those reporting the lowest wellness scores cited problematic family and organizational structures. These results highlight the need for an integrated socioculturally informed physical exercise intervention that incorporates mental and emotional support as well as institutional change in addition to physical fitness. The additional focus on institutional support as described should assist teachers in the proposed holistic program which centers on practical inclusiveness routines, the systematic addition of wellness education, and the promotion of healthful habits around the activities to increase resilience and performance.