Kindergarten practitioners’ experience of promoting children’s involvement in and enjoyment of physically active play: Does the contagion of physical energy affect physically active play?

The purpose of this study is to gain insight into what promotes and what prevents children’s involvement in and motivation for physically active play. The overall research question is: How do kindergarten practitioners perceive their own influence on children’s involvement in physically active outdoor play. Furthermore, two sub-questions are addressed: What influence do practitioners believe they have on promoting children’s involvement in physically active play? What factors do practitioners perceive as promoting the enjoyment of and involvement in physically active play?

Overall, the results were divided into six themes relating to the two sub-questions. With respect to the question about how practitioners influence children’s involvement in physically active play, three themes were identified: 1) being a physical role model, 2) being supportive and responsive, and 3) creating a contagion effect in physically active play.

Being a physical role model includes the role of facilitator and supporter, as well as setting an example through bodily communication, based on the motto that children do what the adults do. In this way, the physical behaviour and attitude of practitioners may promote children’s involvement in physically active play. The practitioners emphasise that children need a lot of appreciation and acknowledgement of their emotions as well as their actions. Physical/motor tasks have to be adapted to the needs and developmental level of the individual child. According to the authors, this kind of response and acknowledgement is vital for promoting children’s involvement in and enjoyment of physically active play. The practitioner’s attitude towards physical activity, and the way in which he/she expresses joy of movement, may also play a central role for children’s feelings about and perceptions of physical activity. The authors thus find that the practitioners’ approach to physical activity has a contagion effect on children. Furthermore, physical communication in the form of energy, vitality and bodily expression have a contagion effect on children’s involvement in and enjoyment of physically active play.

The second sub-question, which concerns factors promoting involvement in physically active play, is addressed under three themes: 1) a feeling of freedom and autonomy, 2) social relationships, and 3) mutual enjoyment from sharing physical experiences.

The majority of the interviewed kindergarten practitioners said that field trips create enthusiasm, positive emotions and motivation, because they make practitioners feel that they have more freedom, more time and closer relationships with the children (compared with staying at the preschool’s own outdoor areas). Being involved in the children’s activities is perceived by the practitioners as meaningful and motivating. Walking together in nature or on a field trip may promote closeness and intersubjectivity between children and adults in a different way than at the preschool premises. The mutuality of sharing experiences — being together and involved in the same physical activity - is crucial. Furthermore, the practitioners experience that children become more curious in nature, and that more challenges, surprises and spontaneous moments occur, which promotes child-to-child as well as child-to-adult relationships in physically active play. Furthermore, the results suggest a mutual contagion effect in which children’s curiosity and bodily activity motivate the adults, and vice versa. Spontaneous events give children and adults common experiences, and new stimuli can be essential for developing new skills.

Overall, the study emphasises the practitioner’s position as a role model, who is conscious of his/her own attitude and communication with children in physically active play. The study shows that practitioners find that physical energy has a contagion effect, and that they consider that their presence and immediate response play an important role in children’s inspiration, involvement and persistence in physically active play, and, ultimately, in children coping with a given physical task. In this way, the study serves to illustrate the importance of intersubjective processes and of mutuality in relation to developing and promoting a motivating culture for physically active play.

Data collection was carried out in three randomly selected kindergartens in central Norway with children aged from 1-6 years. The data material consists of a total of 10 qualitative interviews with preschool teachers and assistants. The interview guide includes questions about the role preschool teachers and assistants play in connection with physical outdoor activities at the kindergarten. Based on a phenomenological approach, the interviews focus on the practitioners’ own experiences and thoughts about the subject.

Bjørgen, K. & Svendsen, B. (2015). Kindergarten practitioners’ experience of promoting children’s involvement in and enjoyment of physically active play: Does the contagion of physical energy affect physically active play? Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 16(3), 257-271.