Browsing by Author "Jänkälä, Anni"

The basis of this study was the need to increase physical activity in early childhood education based on previous research. Studies have shown that childcare centers do not have equal possibilities to support children’s physical growth and development because of unequal physical activity conditions. The task of this study is to describe, analyze and render preschool education teachers’ views and experiences on how physical education actualises in a preschool group setting. The aim of this study was to find out how the teachers describe the preschool groups’ activity and which factors have an impact on the execution of physical activity in preschool groups. The study was a qualitative case study. The research material was collected through half structured theme interviews. The research material consisted of interviews from five (5) preschool teachers. Teachers who participated in the study were working in Helsinki metropolitan area at the time of the interviews. The research material was analysed using qualitative research data analysis. Results of this study suggest that teachers working in preschool groups viewed physical activity as a part of daily preschool education activity and physical activity was integrated into other components of preschool education as well. Organised physical activity was part of the preschool groups’ activities and children’s voluntary physical activity was made possible depending on the childcare centers’ resources and safety factors. Results of this study indicate that there are multiple factors affecting the execution of physical activity in preschool groups. The teachers viewed the execution of physical activity positively primarily through enabling factors. For the factors that possibly limited physical activity execution, teachers tried to find creative and promotive solutions. Based on the results of this study, the pedagogic decisions of the preschool teachers enable children’s physical activity in different learning environments, despite the varying resources of the childcare centers. The educators’ own physical education views and the pedagogic skills of the preschool staff members are the main determinative factors in how children’s physical activity is executed in preschool groups.