Pupils' experiences of health-related exercise activities in physical education

Beaumont, Lee C. (2014) Pupils' experiences of health-related exercise activities in physical education. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 11 (Suppl. 1). S128. ISSN 1543-3080

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Abstract

Objective: To explore pupils’ experiences of health-related exercise (HRE) in secondary school physical education (PE). Methods: Forty-seven pupils (35 male, 12 female; 11-16 years) from four secondary schools participated in a qualitative multi-site design that utilised semi-structured interviews. Interview transcripts were transcribed, coded and analysed. Results: Circuit training was the most popular HRE activity reported by pupils (25.7%). Running and multistage fitness test were the next most frequently occurring activities in HRE lessons (21.4% and 17.1%, respectively). When the data was categorised according to the ‘range and content’ outlined in the National Curriculum for Physical Education in England (NCPE; DCSF/QCA, 2007), fitness and health activities were the most popular (74.3%). Within fitness and health activities, most pupils reported participating in fitness training (69.2%) in PE lessons rather than engaging in fitness testing (30.8%). Pupils mainly experienced HRE activities when they were delivered as a ‘block’ or unit of work over a number of weeks (the discrete approach) rather than through the activity areas (the permeated approach) or through a combination of the permeated and discrete approaches (the combined approach). Conclusion: The results provided an important insight into pupils’ HRE experiences. Knowledge of pupils’ experiences in HRE provides a basis for future planning and development of meaningful and effective programmes. The development of such programmes across schools in the UK cannot be underestimated given the declining physical activity levels in young people. Practitioners and curriculum planners should consider ‘pupil voice’ when implementing future HRE programmes.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Sport, Health And Education
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	09 Jul 2020 00:08
Last Modified:	10 Aug 2025 06:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/75978
DOI:	10.1123/jpah.2014-0173

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