The development of a professional development programme for physical activity promotion in adolescents' physical education classes, Nigeria.

Abstract

Introduction: Nigerian adolescents are physically inactive and unable to enjoy the health benefits of exercise, due to the lack of physical activity (PA) during physical education (PE) classes. Adolescents’ PA can be promoted in different environments, such as at school and in the wider community. Schools promote PA through school sports, at lunch break and in PE class. School-based interventions in PE classes have been effective in promoting PA in adolescents and encouraging healthy lifestyles. Purpose of the study: To develop a professional development programme for PE teachers in junior secondary schools and to evaluate its impact on students in order to improve PA in Nigerian schoolgoing adolescents. Methods: This study employed a mixed-methods approach, including intact group and action research designs. A purposive sample of 1200 students were recruited from twenty-four junior secondary schools, from the Epe local government area, in Lagos State East senatorial district, Nigeria. The schools were sampled and purposively assigned to an intervention group (n= 14) and a control group (n= 10). Teachers (n=14 intervention; n=10 control) and students (n=695 intervention; n=498 control) participated in the study. Students completed the Attitudes and Practices of PA for Adolescents (QAPPAA) questionnaire pre- and post-intervention. A PE teacher from each school participated in the teacher-training intervention (n=24) and in focus group discussions pre- and post-intervention. The professional development training (PDT) was designed, based on the focus group discussions (FGDs) and information from the related literature. The data collection tools for pre- and postintervention were teacher FGDs and validated student questionnaires. Quantitative data were analysed with the use of a statistical package (IBM SPSS Statistics version 25, US) which performed descriptive and inferential tests and analysed significant differences between pre- and post- intervention. The one-sample t-test was applied to test for significant agreement or disagreement to statements measuring attitude to PE, pre- and post-scores. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the post-intervention scores, to determine the interaction effects of categorical interval scale variables. The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test was applied to observed differences between the two dependent measurements, to discover whether there was a statistically significant difference in mean scores or not. Lastly, the analysis of the qualitative FGDs was carried out with the aid of computer-assisted data analysis software (Nvivo 12), to identify and interpret themes and sub-themes that emerged from the FGDs.