Browsing by Subject "välituntiliikunta"

Objective of the study. The objective of this Master's thesis is to study the experiences and views of class teachers on recess activity. The thesis also aims to discuss about the factors that motivates the teachers to arrange and enable recess activity for the students. Also the resources that teachers utilize to motivate and engage students in recess activity are explored. Methods. The material for this study was acquired during spring 2017 by interviewing three class teachers from a school located in southern Finland. The material was analysed by using qualitative content analysis. The material was categorized into different categories according to the themes emerging from the material. Results and discussion. According to the class teachers are provided with a variety of tools and ideas for promoting their physical activity during recess. Teachers also felt that longer recess allowed the students to engage in the physical activity in more depth. They also emphasized that one of the objectives for recess activity is to support self-determination of the students so that the recess activity becomes more peer-directed instead teacher-directed. Teachers found students to be the main source of their motivation. Enthusiastic attitude towards activities and self-determination of the students enhanced the motivation of the teachers to provide recess activities. However, students were also one of the factors that decreased the motivation of the teachers. Bad attitude and misbehaving of the students lessened the motivation. Colleagues were found both increase and decrease the motivation of the class teachers. Teachers used variety of methods to motivate students. Encouraging the students to get involved in activities was considered the most important method. Also the lifestyle and the experiences of the teachers were regarded to have an impact on teachers' readiness to activate and motivate students.