Physical Activity Promotion In and via the School Environment

Dear Colleagues,

Physical inactivity is still on the rise in most countries around the globe and is considered one of the four leading major health risks by the WHO. It is evident that the physical activity behaviour of children tracks into adulthood, and consequently, many interventions focus on establishing healthy attitudes towards physical activity in children to prevent the dramatic health issues associated with low physical activity over the course of life. Moreover, physical activity is also key for the development of fundamental movement skills as well as social and psychological development in youth. The school environment potentially provides an opportunity to reach every child; therefore, many physical activity interventions are conducted within schools. However, physical activity promotion in schools is quite often a challenge, in terms of the physical, social and economic environment, and the competencies and workloads of teachers, as well as regarding interference with the primary task of schools, which is education.

This Special Issues aims to bring together practical approaches to physical activity promotion that address children via the school environment and the context they are situated in (e.g., neighbourhoods and communities), providing information on their effectiveness, as well as facilitators and barriers for physical activity promotion. The interventions of interest do not necessarily take place in the school itself: we are also interested in interventions that make use of the school to reach school-aged or pre-school-aged children in order to enhance physical activity in other settings. For example, this could include interventions addressing the physical activity of families and utilizing schools to reach the families. Reports on interventions that attempt to place physical activity promotion among children in the broader context of ecological sustainability and climate change are also welcome. Therefore, we kindly invite all papers that address physical activity promotion in and via the school environment. Papers using new approaches for pragmatic/realistic evaluations to determine effectiveness are highly welcome.

Dr. Mirko Brandes
Dr. Karim Abu-Omar
Guest Editors

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• physical activity promotion
• children and adolescents
• effectiveness
• evaluation
• health skills
• social environment
• school ethos/policy
• physical environment
• community
• families