Browsing by Author "Oksanen, Jenna"

The levels of children’s physical activity are constantly reducing. However, physical activity has a great positive influence on a child’s health, growth, development and learning. Through my research I wanted to find out how kindergarten teachers perceive physical education, how it shows in the everyday life in the kindergarten and which factors support children’s spontaneous physical activity in the kindergarten. My research was qualitative in nature. I used focused interview as my main data gathering method, as I believed it would be the best method to find answers to my research questions. I gathered the research data through interviewing two kindergarten teachers who work with children from ages 3 to 5. I used content analysis method for analyzing the data. The kindergarten teachers felt that physical activity is important for themselves as well as the children. The role of sports appeared in the interviewees’ groups in many different ways. The teachers also told that among other activities they have a guided exercise session once a week. Physical activity was also included in switching locations and other supervised, active situations. According to the teachers, physical activity also plays an important role in the children’s playing inside as well as outside. According to the results, it is also possible to increase the children’s spontaneous physical activity through adjusting the environment and creating an atmosphere that encourages physical activity. The teachers felt that sports equipment and toys are also of great significance in supporting the children’s spontaneous physical activity. One of the two kindergarten teachers emphasized the significance of the concept of parents as partners. Both teachers also agreed that places outside the kindergarten, such as forests, playgrounds and sports parks should be utilized in guided exercise as well as supporting children’s spontaneous physical activity.