Abstract

The purpose of this study was to conduct an implementation monitoring evaluation of a yearlong comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) professional development program across eight multi-state physical education (PE) teacher cohorts. Mixed-method data were collected during a three-year implementation period via workshop attendance sheets and evaluations, post-workshop implementation plans and artifacts, and follow-up phone interviews to enumerate and evaluate the program’s process of recruitment, reach, dose delivered, dose received, fidelity, and context. Recruitment strategies reached a total of 234 PE teacher attendees across eight workshops, with 77 PE teachers (primarily female, elementary, public school teachers) completing all program requirements. Facilitators among full program completers were participation incentives and network opportunities, while common inhibitors were difficulty with online technology and perceptions of added workload. Completers submitted implementation plans with at least three action steps, ranging from 4 to 7 months to accomplish, that predominately commenced with securing administration approval as the first step (81%), focused on implementing student physical activity initiatives beyond PE (76%), and evidenced with mostly picture artifacts (78%). Implementation was facilitated by the presence of multilevel support at school and an elevated image of PE and PE teachers at school, and was inhibited by scheduling constraints, unrealistic planning, and conflicting perceptions of physical activity and PE. Overall, this evaluation reveals unique perspectives of PE teachers regarding schoolwide PA promotion and informs future efforts to target and effectively support CSPAP leaders.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2020

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Preventive Medicine Reports, v. 19, 101109.

© 2020 The Authors.

This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0/).

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2020.101109

Funding Information

This work was collectively funded by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, unified and renamed as SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators, and the Active Living Research program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (I.D. 69549), with in-kind support from the Louisiana Department of Education and the Kansas Health Foundation.

Share

COinS