Background/Purpose: This study was informed by curricular research on conceptual Physical Education (PE) and the public health literature calling for schools to serve as intervention sites to increase healthy behaviors. No studies were found addressing a new elementary school-wide wellness and physical activity curricular model (using wellness weeks). The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of this new curricular model at one school in the Southwestern USA. Methods: Classroom teachers (N=24; mostly Caucasian) with various years of teaching experience (M=9.75; SD=9.17), parents (N=342) and students (N=449) completed previously validated surveys (Kulinna, et al. 2008) which produced reliable scores in this sample (Alpha=.88). Several school personnel (N = 7) also participated in one-to-three formal interviews.
Analysis/Results: Descriptive results suggested that the stakeholders had moderate to favorable views of the comprehensive curricular model (Mean scores ranged 2.0-3.9 out of 4). Constant comparison (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) was used to analyze qualitative data sources with measures taken to insure the trustworthiness of the data (e.g., data triangulation, peer review, negative case search). The first theme was that “support is needed from stakeholders for successful implementation”, e.g., one female teacher stated “the program has been supported by our administrators”. The second theme was that classroom teachers needed resources and training to teach this content.
Conclusions: This may be the first study addressing the implementation of a comprehensive school-wide wellness and physical activity curricular model. Similar to other studies of teachers and school change, support and resources were critical to success.