Enhancing university practicum students' roles in implementing the Ontario Daily Physical Activity (DPA) policy

Abstract

In Canada, the Ontario Daily Physical Activity (DPA) policy promotes comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAP) by mandating 20 minutes of daily physical activity in schools. As community and teacher involvement is a key component of the CSPAP framework, developing partnerships to implement CSPAPs is worth exploring to facilitate meaningful and relevant engagement of partners. One understudied role is that of university Physical Education practicum students who intern in the CSPAP context. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore university practicum students' perceptions of DPA engagement and identify strategies to enhance their roles in implementing DPA. Using abductive reasoning to create meaningful and practical findings for CSPAP partners, we analysed the experiences of nine practicum students before and after DPA implementation using the CSPAP framework. We contextualized the findings using the CSPAP and community-based participatory research literature. Three themes provided insight into how to prepare practicum students for and enhance their roles in DPA: (1) building relationships to enhance DPA and facilitate school partners' engagement, (2) maximizing use of resources, and (3) co-learning implementation knowledge and skills. The main contributions of this study include the application of co-learning and mutual capacity-building strategies to the DPA and CSPAP context, and reflective questions to facilitate building relationships, maximizing use of resources, and co-learning between partners. Methodologically, this study is an example of creating practical DPA partnership findings using the CSPAP framework and provides support for further use of abductive reasoning methodologies to explore DPA and CSPAP programs and partnerships.

Acknowledgments: This research was partially supported by an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC Grant # 435-2014-0038)