Exploring the physical activity and screen-viewing-related knowledge, training, and self-efficacy of early childhood education candidates

Abstract

BackgroundEarly childhood educators greatly influence young children’s physical activity and screen-viewing behaviours in childcare. However, educators have requested additional training in physical activity programming, and one logical place to provide this education is during their pre-service schooling. This study explored the physical activity and screen-viewing-related knowledge, training, and self-efficacy of early childhood education (ECE) candidates across Canada, to determine their confidence and ability to facilitate physical activity opportunities and limit screen-viewing among young children in childcare.MethodsKey program personnel at 61 (of 110) Canadian colleges/universities offering an ECE program agreed to participate in this cross-sectional study. An online survey (112 items; 9 domains), developed by experts using the Tailored Design Method, was administered via Qualtrics© to a sample of 1292 ECE candidates. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U-tests, and chi-square tests were used to report participant demographics and physical activity and screen-viewing-related knowledge (i.e., of physical activity and screen-viewing concepts), training (i.e., physical activity and screen-viewing courses/content received), and self-efficacy (i.e., to facilitate physical activity and limit screen-viewing in childcare) of candidates.ResultsECE candidates exhibited the least amount of knowledge regarding the impact of screen-viewing on physiological outcomes (i.e., blood pressure) in young children. Further, only 32.2 and 26.7% of candidates reported completing physical activity or screen-viewing courses during their post-secondary training, respectively. Candidates who completed one or more physical activity or screen-viewing courses exhibited significantly greater (p <.05) self-efficacy than those without such training related to ensuring children were engaging in adequate moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Confidence to limit screen time did not differ. Candidates reporting meeting national physical activity recommendations (i.e., 150+ minutes of MVPA/week) exhibited significantly greater (p <.05) physical activity-related self-efficacy than those not meeting these guidelines.ConclusionsFindings from this work highlight both the need for and the potential of supplementary physical activity and screen-viewing content in post-secondary ECE programs to benefit candidates’ knowledge and self-efficacy in these areas. Introducing this content at the post-secondary level will ensure that all early childhood educators are appropriately trained regarding physical activity and screen-viewing before entering a childcare-based profession, where they can positively influence young children’s health behaviours.

Content development for a physical activity and sedentary behaviour e-learning module for early childhood education students: a Delphi study

“…These content areas are essential to include, as ECE students have noted the lack of physical activity and sedentary behaviour-specific training in their program [15]. Bruijns et al (2019) surveyed 1292 ECE students, and while the majority of students reported that their courses covered gross motor development (86.6%), few covered concepts such as physical literacy (46.2%), screen-viewing (47.3%), or sedentary behaviour (41.5%) [15]. Without a proper introduction to these concepts and their importance to consider when programming, it is unlikely that ECE students will be receptive to strategies to promote physical activity and minimize sedentary time [22].…”

“…Six content areas proposed by the experts focused on giving ECE students necessary background information on physical activity and sedentary behaviour, ranging from definitions and benefits/risks of these behaviours to guidelines and current prevalence rates. These content areas are essential to include, as ECE students have noted the lack of physical activity and sedentary behaviour-specific training in their program [ 15 ]. Bruijns et al (2019) surveyed 1292 ECE students, and while the majority of students reported that their courses covered gross motor development (86.6%), few covered concepts such as physical literacy (46.2%), screen-viewing (47.3%), or sedentary behaviour (41.5%) [ 15 ].…”

“…Early childhood educators have acknowledged their limited pre-service training in physical activity and sedentary behaviour, [ 12 , 14 ] and have associated this with their low self-efficacy to promote and lead physical activity opportunities in childcare [ 10 ]. A recent Canadian study found that only 32.2 and 26.7% of Canadian Early Childhood Education (ECE) students reported receiving physical activity and screen-viewing-related training in their post-secondary ECE programs, respectively [ 15 ]. Further, in Canada, only 3 provinces/territories specifically reference physical activity, and 1 references screen-viewing, in their childcare regulation, [ 16 ] and few childcare centres have adopted physical activity (30%) and screen-viewing (29%) policies of their own [ 17 ].…”

“…Given the success of physical activity training programs for early childhood educators, [ 23 , 25 ] and the importance of providing this training to all early childhood educators pre-employment (where physical activity-related education is lacking), [ 15 ] the next step is to narrow down key physical activity and sedentary behaviour content areas to include in training at the pre-service level. Further, there is a need to introduce more educator outcome measures (e.g., physical activity-related knowledge, self-efficacy, and teaching behaviours) in order to find out what content best supports educators’ knowledge acquisition and retention, as well as their development of self-efficacy to lead physical activity and minimize prolonged sedentary time in childcare.…”

Analysis of Gross Motor Development in Children Aged 5-6 Years With the Methods DDST for Student in Kindergarten in Semarang

“…In early childhood every individual experiences a process of growth and development that is very rapid this is applied in daily activities, such as moving activities by running in the yard and how to line up in a room. This is clarified in a study at [2] children who engage in physical activity can determine self-confidence positive responses and facilitate activities that affect their health. This means thatchildren who do physical activity will have a positive impact on psychology and health in their lives.…”