Service Learning Lessons from a Before School Physical Activity Program

Background/Purpose: Teaching pre-service physical education teachers in the classroom is important, but often the most powerful lessons come from hands-on learning experiences in the field. As the landscape of school-based physical activity (PA) promotion changes, physical education teacher education (PETE) programs must consider providing teacher candidates with a variety of experiences that prepare them for the leadership roles they are likely to assume in schools. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine student reflections on a service-learning experience in a before-school physical activity program (BSPAP).

Method: PETE students (N=19) from a midsized University in the US Rocky Mountain region completed a required service-learning experience in a BSPAP. The program offered primarily Hispanic (70%), low socioeconomic, elementary students with PA opportunities before school. The grant-funded program was administered by graduate students at the same university. PETE students electronically responded to four writing prompts regarding their service-learning experience within 48 hours of completion. Responses were downloaded, de-identified, and analyzed for general themes, followed by breaking down the general themes into subthemes using an inductive approach.

Analysis/Results: Analyses revealed three broad themes: a) Seeing it Work, b) Watching it Work, and c) Making it Work. Seeing it Work referred to PETE students’ responses related to the positive impacts that BSPAP programs can have on participants. Two subthemes, “As a Physical Educator” and “Impacts of BSPAP Programs”, were identified. The theme, Watching it Work, encapsulated PETE students’ responses associated with the program’s potential positive influence on students’ health. Three subthemes presented themselves within this broader theme: “Wake up the Mind”, “Nutritional Knowledge” and “Increased PA”. “Building Relationships”, “Management/Organization Practices”, and “Instructional Considerations”, constituted the third theme, Making it Work. This theme was related to logistical lessons that PETE students learned related to program implementation.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that much can be learned from service-learning experiences in BSPAP for PETE students. Evidence from the present study indicated that first-hand exposure to BSPAP provided students with real-world experiences that have the potential to inspire and empower future PE teachers to expand their defined role as physical educators to include school-based PA opportunities. Based on this study, provision of service-learning experiences is invaluable to PETE and the future of CSPAP. Future research should consider how service-learning experiences are built into the PETE curriculum as well as what CSPAPs look like and how, and by whom, they are run.