Jonas Vestergaard Nielsen

Involving children in the co-design of outdoor spaces has been suggested as a viable approach to engagement and use. However, an in-depth evaluation of such spaces is necessary to establish their full potential. The evaluation framework RE-AIM was used to examine the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of a Danish outdoor space that was co-designed with fifth graders from the local school. Fifth to eighth graders participated in the evaluation via a questionnaire (n = 143) and fifth and eighth graders participated in focus group discussions (n = 23). Questionnaire responses suggested that high levels of reach and adoption do not result in frequent use. Findings from focus groups highlighted seven key constraints of implementation and maintenance: (i) limited perceived accessibility, (ii) lack of possibilities for spontaneous social interactions, (iii) lack of age-appropriate activity opportunities, and (iv) competing outdoor spaces and leisure activities constrain use in the implementation phase. Furthermore, (v) insufficient upkeep, (vi) an unpleasant social atmosphere, and (vii) lack of novelty in activity opportunities limit sustained use in the maintenance phase. In conclusion, the study suggests that although co-design with children seems a viable and valuable strategy in developing child-friendly outdoor spaces, local socio-spatial factors may counteract frequent use.

Summary: In 2014, the Danish government introduced a wide-ranging reform of primary and lower secondary education that applied to all public schools. A distinctive feature was that it became mandatory for schools to provide an average of 45 min of daily physical activity (PA). The capacity for change of local school heads and the schools overall are considered key to fulfilling such a policy-driven requirement. The aim of this study is therefore to explore local school heads’ ability to implement the stated requirement of 45 min of daily PA within their local organizational capacity for change. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted across 11 schools. Respondents were school staff with management responsibilities (leading teachers with school management responsibilities, deputy heads and school heads). Results indicate that local school heads are central agents in converting the Danish school requirement of 45 min of daily PA into local action. This includes their ability to advance broad aims into concrete goals, secure supportive structures and organize the implementation strategy. Heads also need to support the staff in building sufficient knowledge capacity on how to arrange and incorporate PA into their daily practice, support the widespread dissemination of this knowledge across the school and reserve work hours for such activities. Assigning local PA ambassadors was particularly highlighted as important implementation support, as they can help build and disseminate knowledge while also broadcasting the school head’s strategy and focus on integrating and upholding students’ PA levels.

Schools have been identified as a promising setting for promoting physical activity (PA). Yet, to realize changes at the population level, successful school-based PA programs need to go to scale. The Svendborgproject is an effective school-based program promoting additional physical education (PE) lessons. The aim of this study is to determine program fidelity across different school groups, representing early and late adopters of the Svendborgproject, and how these are adapting the intervention. Three different school groups were identified, covering the original intervention schools and two groups of late adopters consisting of four former control schools, and five normal schools without any previous connection to the program. A PE teacher questionnaire (n = 122) was used to determine school fidelity. The results show that, while the original intervention schools have implemented the program with the highest fidelity, all schools have implemented the program with medium to high fidelity. It is suggested that having front-runner schools achieving early success with the program both strengthens political project support and provides strategies to back late adopters’ implementation of the program. Furthermore, results from the current study suggest that continual promotion of the program by school heads is less important if support is established at the structural and organizational macro level. Finally, we highlight the importance of scaling up organizational capacity when scaling up program reach to assure a workable balance between fidelity and improving the fit to specific contexts.

Background: Regular physical activity (PA) strengthens both the physical, psychological and social health in children and young people. Furthermore, research show that PA is beneficial for academic related outcomes. In 2014, the Danish government introduced a wide-ranging reform of primary and lower secondary education that applied to all public schools. A distinctive feature was that it became mandatory for schools to deliver an average of 45 minutes of daily PA. Local school heads and the school's capacity for change is considered key to deliver such a policy-driven requirement. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore the ability of schools to implement the stated requirement of 45 minutes of daily PA. There is special focus on the role and impact of leadership by school heads. Methods: Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted across eleven Danish schools. Respondents were school staff with management responsibilities (leading teachers with managerial duties, deputy heads and school heads). Thematic analyses were performed, focusing on factors relating to local organizational and leadership capacity. Results: Three main factors were found to support the local leader's ability to the implement the mandatory daily PA: i) local school culture, values, and norms; ii) staff skillset and school resources; iii) existing work routines and systems. Conclusion: Results indicate that local school heads are central in converting the Danish school requirement of 45 minutes of daily PA into local action. Future PA programs could benefit from focusing specifically on engaging school heads, as they can both help advance broad ambitions into concrete goals, secure supportive structures and organize the implementation strategy within the local setting. In connection with this heads must be able to rely on sufficient organizational ad administrative components to ensure quality delivery. This entails building sufficient competencies among relevant staff groups on, for instance, how to incorporate PA in daily practice as well as allocate work hours for further development of such practices. Also, assigning a local PA ambassadors is highlighted as an important implementation factor. The ambassadors can help build and disseminate knowledge and support the school head's strategy and prioritization in relation to school-based PA.

Good motor skills (MS) are considered important for children’s social, psychological and physical development and general physical activity (PA) levels. The Motor skill in Preschool study (MiPS) aimed to optimize children’s MS through weekly PA sessions. The aim of this study is to use the RE-AIM framework to report the two-year implementation process of MiPS since the programme’s initiation. Data were collected through a staff questionnaire based on the RE-AIM framework. Data were collected at three months, one year and two years after initiation. Results show that the pedagogical staff believes that the programme promotes MS in children. Implementation measures only showed medium to low fidelity concerning the core element of performing adult-initiated PA sessions with a duration of at least 45 min 4 days a week. The largest barrier was finding the time to plan these PA sessions. Still, the content of the PA sessions achieved high fidelity scores and the programme was deemed suitable for staff’s everyday practice and in alignment with the stated pedagogical goals. The mandatory competence development course was highly valued as strong implementation support. It is notable that there is a large variation in the implementation among the preschools with some struggling more than others.

Good motor skills (MS) and physical activity (PA) are considered important for children’s physical, social, and psychological development. The Motor skills in PreSchool (MiPS) study-Denmark aimed to optimize children’s MS through weekly PA sessions. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of local preschool leaders and their strategies in influencing the implementation of MiPS into daily practice. Leaders from all seven preschools in the project were interviewed. The results show that preschool leaders used communication (setting an agenda and dedicating speaking time to address the program at staff meetings) and reflective questioning about the pedagogic staff’s current practice in relation to the program (adding focus on MS and PA) as their main course of action. Through this form of communication and reflective questioning, the preschool leaders aimed to involve the staff and heighten their sensemaking in the existing practice while also ensuring that the implementation of the program was kept in progress. In sum, future implementation of an MS and PA initiative in preschools should put emphasis on a shared responsibility between leaders and staff combined with an adaptive approach in which the existing practice is reshaped rather than just increasing the workload of the pedagogic staff.

The growing use of smartphones has been pointed out as one of the main reasons for the decrease in children’s outdoor time. However, there is still a gap in our understanding of how smartphone use affects children’s outdoor experiences and activities. The aim of the study is to explore children’s dependency on their smartphones, what smartphone functions children use when outdoors and how smartphone use affects children’s outdoor experiences. The study uses a mixed methods design which implements interviews with a small sample of children (N = 34) in order to help develop a questionnaire for a larger sample (N = 1148). Both datasets are included in the analysis with a complimentary perspective. The results suggest that children are highly dependent on having their smartphones available as an integrated part of their lives. However, smartphones also create favorable conditions for rich and valuable outdoor lives by expanding children’s and parents’ sense of security, children’s outdoor sociality, and children’s opportunities to mold their outdoor experiences. We stress that children’s passion for the digital world needs to be reconsidered as not ‘all bad’, but more as a condition in modern children’s lives and an asset to embrace in future strategies for actively engaging children in outdoor activities.

School recess provides a unique opportunity for children to be active. However, many children perceive smartphones as a key barrier for engaging in physical activity during recess. The aim was to investigate if a ban on smartphone usage during recess changed children’s physical activity. During August–October 2020, children from grades 4–7 (10–14 years) at six Danish schools were banned from using their smartphones during recess for a four-week period. Questionnaire and systematic observation (SOPLAY) data were collected from 814 children before intervention (baseline) and 828 during the last week of intervention (follow-up). The mean frequency of physical activity significantly increased from baseline to follow-up (odds ratio = 1.370), as did physical activity on a moderate level (odds ratio = 1.387). Vigorous physical activity significantly decreased (odds ratio = 0.851). The increase in physical activity was found among both schools having outdoor and indoor recess, among both boys and girls, and nearly equally among grades 4–7. This suggests that implementing a ban on smartphone usage during recess would improve the everyday conditions for health among a broad range of schoolchildren. Future studies are needed to further investigate the association between recess physical activity and smartphone usage.