1. health and fitness

Rapporter
IDROTTSVETENSKAP
2013
Nr. 2
GÖTEBORGS UNIVERSITET
Institutionen för kost- och idrottsvetenskap
Physical literacy in Greek
children and adolescents
A study within the Active
Lifestyles project
Konstantin Kougioumtzis
Physical literacy in Greek children and adolescents
A study within the Active Lifestyles project
Konstantin Kougioumtzis
November 2012
Contents
1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Definitions................................................................................................. 3 2 Physical Activity, sedentariness and overweight/obesity............................. 6 2.1 General trends and comparisons with other countries .............................. 6 2.2 Opportunities for PA and physically inactive subgroups ........................... 7 3 Theoretical background and the aims of the study .......................................... 9 4. Methods ........................................................................................................ 11 4.1 Sampling ................................................................................................. 11 4.2 Interviews ................................................................................................ 12 4.3 Analysis ................................................................................................... 12 5. Results .......................................................................................................... 14 5.1 Motivation ................................................................................................ 14 5.2 Competence ............................................................................................ 17 5.3 Environment ............................................................................................ 20 5.4 Sense of the self ...................................................................................... 22 5.5 Self-expression and communication with others ..................................... 24 5.6 Knowledge and understanding ................................................................ 25 5.7 The ABCDEF of physical literacy ............................................................ 27 6. Discussion ..................................................................................................... 28 6.1 Ethnicity, gender and age ........................................................................ 28 6.2 Physical literacy in a risk group ............................................................... 29 6.3 Conclusion and recommendations .......................................................... 30 Appendix ........................................................................................................... 32 References ........................................................................................................ 34 2
1 Introduction
The four main non-communicable diseases1 (NCD's) are connected to the
60% of deaths each year globally (WHO, 2008). A sedentary lifestyle, a
poor nutrition and smoking are linked to the leading causes of NCD’s and
premature death, while lack of physical activity (PA) aggravates the situation (Mihas et al., 2009). The protective effects of PA have been reported in
people of all ages. However, physical inactivity remains a major public
health concern. Moreover, health risks are not affecting all people equally
due to socioeconomic and gender inequalities (WHO, 2010). It can be argued that health behavior during childhood and adolescence influence
adult behavior and health (Jiménez-Pavón et al., 2011). There is a compelling evidence that PA is associated with health benefits during childhood
and adolescence (Ruiz et al., 2011). Additionally the prevalence of sedentary behavior and inactivity seem to be higher in a “risk group” of children
and adolescents. This risk group regards mainly individuals from families
with low socioeconomic status (SES) and immigrant background.
The present report highlights physical activity (PA) and lifestyles among
risk group children and adolescents in Greece. The study is part of a bigger
project focusing children and adolescents with a physically inactive lifestyle
in Belgium, England, Germany, Greece, Italy and Sweden.
The overall aims of the project are:
•
•
To analyze the reasons and processes behind the inactive lifestyle of
young people in Europe, characterized by low family SES or an immigrant background.
To develop recommendations and counteractions for tackling the problem of inactivity of youngsters within the risk group.
The first two chapters of this report focuses definitions and a brief review of
PA and lifestyles in children and adolescents in Greece. In chapters three
and four, the theoretical framework will be presented as well as the specific
aim and the methodology of the study. Finally, the results are outlined and
discussed in chapters five and six.
1.1 Definitions
Physical activity (PA) is a complex set of behaviors that encompass any
bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles and result in elevated energy expenditure (Armstrong & Welsman, 2006). More specifically, PA is “any
activity that increases your heart rate and makes you get out of breath some of
the time. Physical activity can be done in sports, school activities, playing with
friends, or walking to school. Some examples of PA are running, brisk walking,
rollerblading, biking, dancing, skateboarding, swimming, soccer, basketball,
football and surfing” (Roberts, Tynjälä, & Alexander, 2004, p. 91).
1
2
Cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes
Rolling, crawling, walking, grasping, lifting, waving and clapping
3
Simple, such as balance, coordination and flexibility; combined such as poise (which requires balance
3
Obesity is defined as “the disease in which excess body fat has accumulated to
such an extent that health may be adversely affected” (WHO, 2000, p. 6).
Overweight and obesity can be regarded mainly as the result of the imbalance
between energy intake and expenditure. Some researchers suggest that energy intake is the primary source, while others propose that the modern inactive lifestyle is at least as important as diet (Rey-López, VicenteRodríguez, Bueno, & Moreno, 2011). According to Rodríguez and Moreno
(2006) there is not enough evidence that excessive dietary intake causes childhood and adolescence overweight and obesity. “Perhaps more than the increase in energy intake, a reduction in energy expenditure might be considered
as the main determinant of the obesity “epidemic” (Rodríguez & Moreno, 2006,
p. 299).
A sedentary behavior is the major reducer of total energy expenditure and it
can also be associated with physical inactivity and is thus a complement
to measures of PA. However, the findings are rather contradictory as highlevel users of electronic media are more physically active than low-level
users (Todd & Currie, 2004). During recent years the interest for the study
of sedentary behaviors is increasing especially in individuals not meeting
criteria for PA (Rey-López et al., 2011). Sedentary behavior is commonly
addressed as screen-based inactivity in terms of TV watching and computer use (Tokmakidis, Kasambalis, & Christodoulos, 2006).
Sedentary behavior is nowadays addressed in terms of displacing PA and
obesogenic effect. Regarding displacement of PA, Rey-López et al (2011)
argue that: “it could happen that even if young people meet the current recommendations of screen time, the diverse sedentary behavior of young people
(studying, talking with friends, passive transportation …) could equally produce
a low daily total energy expenditure and weight gain to adulthood” (p. 370). Additionally, sedentary behavior is correlated to unhealthy food habits and
country specific connections between TV watching and consumption of
sweets (Vereecken, Todd, Roberts, Mulvihill, & Maes, 2006).
Health inequality regards differences in health experience and outcomes between different groups according to socioeconomic status (SES), geographical
area, age, disability, gender or ethnic group (Whitehead & Dahlgren, 2006). The
traditional pattern with a low SES connected to inadequate energy intake is still
evident in many developing countries (UNFAO, 2009). However, in most developed countries obesity in both boys and girls correlates negatively with SES
(Johnson, Pratt, & Wardle, 2011). It seems that “higher SES individuals have
better knowledge of nutrition, more positive attitudes towards healthy lifestyles
and are more likely to live in environments in which healthy choices are easier”
(Johnson et al., 2011, p. 385). Regarding assessment of SES, parental education is accepted to be the most consistent association with child overweight and
obesity, indicating that economic factors are not the primary causes of the SESobesity relation (Johnson et al., 2011).
During the past decades several environmental changes have influenced PA
and sedentary behavior on one hand and eating habits, dietary preferences and
food supplies on the other (Huybrechts, Bourdeaudhuij, & Henauw, 2011). The
most important factors related to children’s and adolescent’s lifestyle are connected to technological advances (e.g. remote controllers), schools (e.g. intellectual education), sedentary pastimes (e.g. video game), safety (e.g. traffic),
4
walkability (e.g. outdoor playing), modern transportation (e.g. less walking) and
access to sport activities (Huybrechts et al., 2011). Regarding eating, diet and
food the impact of fast food meals, unhealthy school environments (e.g. school
lunches), advertisements and supermarkets (e.g. pricing of healthy food) are
evident (Huybrechts et al., 2011).
Health inequality by gender can be connected to outcomes and behaviors. A
principal outcome is the consistent differences in which boys are more likely to
be overweight and obese than girls. However, girls are more likely than boys to
report negative body image. Furthermore, boys are more likely to engage in PA
and also more likely to exceed guidelines for TV watching (Currie et al., 2008).
Inequalities on the basis of age during childhood and adolescence are striking
as older youngsters report more frequently overweight and obesity, lower PA
and higher sedentary behavior and unhealthy food consumption (Currie et al.,
2008). Regarding SES inequalities, children and adolescents from less affluent
families are more likely to be overweight and obese as well as to report lower
levels of PA and higher levels of sedentary behavior. This pattern seem to be
stronger in the western and northern European countries (Currie et al., 2008).
The relationship between adolescent health and family SES is complex. However, it seems that there is an association between SES and PA (Currie et al.,
2008). Geographical inequalities can be outlined as the highest rates of overweight and obesity are reported in North America, while Eastern European girls
are less likely to be overweight or obese (Currie et al., 2008).
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2 Physical Activity, sedentariness and overweight/obesity
Within this chapter the literature review is outlined in brief (for a more
comprehensive account see Kougioumtzis, 2011).
2.1 General trends and comparisons with other countries
The majority of the general population in Greece is physically inactive according
to a systematic review of 36 studies (Tzormpatzakis & Sleap, 2007). According
to this review the prevalence of sedentary behaviors is rather high. In general,
Greek women are more sedentary than men. Significant associations between
PA and educational level, annual income or SES were not found in the area of
Athens. However, age, gender, type of work, marital status, residence and educational background factors are considered as critical.
Childhood and adult obesity can be considered as an epidemic in Greece during the last two decades according to a systematic review of 17 studies (Roditis,
Parlapani, Tzotzas, Hassapidou, & Krassas, 2009). It seems that parental obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are the main childhood and adolescence obesity
predisposing factors. Furthermore, both men and women with a lower SES are
more likely to be overweight and obese. In children there is a negative correlation between parental education and obesity. Regarding ethnicity, data indicated that abdominal obesity affected Greek males more than immigrant males.
Although the energy intake was higher in immigrants than in Greeks, the former
exercised more than the later. A possible explanation might be the fact that first
generation immigrants are less affected by the so-called Western-type lifestyle
and the associated dietary patterns.
The percentage of Greek young people meeting WHO recommendations on PA
is lower that the average in the Health-Behavior in School-Aged Children
(HBSC) 2005/2006 survey (Currie et al., 2008). This is evident per age and
gender in all age and gender groups. Furthermore, Greek girls meet the recommendations less than boys. Additionally, a significant association between
daily PA and the family socioeconomic status is evident only in the case of girls.
In aspect of TV watching, more boys than girls are watching TV for two hours or
more daily. However, no significant association between TV watching and the
socioeconomic status of the family could be established. Overweight and obesity rates per age and gender group in Greece are in general higher than the
HBSC average. Within the country, gender differences are significant for all age
groups. However, none significant association was found between family affluence and overweight/obesity.
Karademas, Peppa, Fotiou and Kokkevi (2008) published the preliminary findings of the Greek part of the HBSC 2005/2006 survey targeting the role of family and school in young people’s subjective health. According to the results, a
small decrease in self-reported health and satisfaction with life is indicated as
well as an increase in health complaints with age. Furthermore, the hypothesis
that family (communication with parents, parental support) and school factors
(satisfaction, pressure) interplay with perceived health and wellbeing is rather
validated. Similar findings in relation to Greece can be found in the Healthy
Lifestyles in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescents Cross-Sectional Study
(HELENA-CSS, Jiménez-Pavón et al., 2010).
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2.2 Opportunities for PA and physically inactive subgroups
Within this section, the opportunities for PA will be focused. Furthermore physically inactive subgroups will be highlighted.
2.2.1 PA opportunities for Greek children and adolescents
The opportunities for PA regard schools and physical education (PE), sport
clubs, family and community, informal sports, peers and build environment. Furthermore PA enhancing policies and strategies will be discussed.
It can be argued that school and PE classes are connected to possibilities
for PA for all children. PE in Greece concern two 45 min lessons weekly
from year one to year 12 with the exception of year 7 and 8 with three 45
min lessons per week. It seems that participation in PE during primary
schooling is rather high as 99.7% of boys and 98.9% of girls are engaging
for more than 1 hour per week (Antonogeorgos, Papadimitriou,
Panagiotakos, Priftis, & Nicolaidou, 2011). However, normal weight primary
school pupils reported greater satisfaction from PE than overweight and obese
pupils did (Digelidis, Kamtsios, & Theodorakis, 2007). Furthermore, the average time on vigorous PA during PE is higher in boys than girls in primary
schools (Tzetzis, Goudas, & Kyratsou, 2005).
Regarding sport clubs, the mass sport movement in Greece is rather underdeveloped. Only half of primary school pupils participate regularly in
sport clubs (Digelidis et al., 2007). Furthermore, only half of boys and one
third of girls are involved in out of school sport activities (Antonogeorgos et
al., 2011). These numbers decrease further in adolescence as one third are
taking part in extra curricular sport activities (Damianidis, Kouthouris, &
Alexandris, 2007). The participation of overweight and obese children is
even lower as nine out of ten overweight and obese children are not connected to sports clubs (Digelidis et al., 2007).
Concerning community in urban areas, only one third of children commute
regularly by walking or cycling (Antonogeorgos et al., 2011), while adolescents reported playtime or walk for approximately two and a half hours per
week (Mihas et al., 2009). Additionally, three quarters of the children reported at least one weekly leisure activity with family (Lioumpi, Georgiadis, &
Mountakis, 2010). In relation to rural areas, it is difficult to draw any conclusion
due to lack of studies. The importance of peers for common extra curricular
sport activities during adolescence is highlighted (Damianidis et al., 2007) and
in childhood (Lioumpi et al., 2010). However, most of overweight and obese
children in both rural and semi-urban areas, do not participate in informal sport
or leisure physical activity with peers (Digelidis et al., 2007). In adolescence,
problematic access to facilities constrains severely participation in extra
curricular sport activities (Damianidis et al., 2007). Regarding the build environment, it seem that living in urban or rural landscape do no have a clear
impact on physical fitness and activity (Tsimeas, Tsiokanos, Koutedakis,
Tsigilis, & Kellis, 2005).
Unfortunately no national policy documents on PA and health promotion can
be identified (Daugbjerg et al., 2009). It seems that PA in Greece depends solely on school PE and research initiated interventions. PE targets sport specific
competencies to promote familiarity with certain events. This acquaintance is
7
expected to develop sustainable physically active lifestyles. The whole idea
could have been fruitful if mass sport movement was developed to a higher degree. However, more clearly connections between school PE and health promotion should be stated. Furthermore, PA and health promotion national policies
and strategies are needed urgently.
2.2.2 Physically inactive subgroups in childhood and adolescence
Within this section the less inactive subgroups among children and adolescence will be discuss with gender, SES, age and ethnicity as starting points.
In Greece, numerous studies support that gender is a significant determinant for PA as males are more physically active than females in both childhood and adolescence (Antonogeorgos et al., 2011). Furthermore boys are
more physically active than girls during PE lessons (Tzetzis et al., 2005). Moreover, screen-based inactivity is higher in boys than girls in childhood (Lagiou &
Parava, 2008). Findings on gender differences connected to overweight and
obesity are contradictory. Some studies suggest that overweight and obesity
rates during childhood and adolescence are significantly higher in boys than
girls (Tzotzas et al., 2011). The opposite can also be supported (Smpokos,
Linardakis, Papadaki, & Kafatos, 2011). Other studies found no significant differences (Nevill, Tsiotra, Tsimeas, & Koutedakis, 2009).
The impact of SES on PA is rather difficult to establish. In adolescence,
parent´s age and mothers smoking correlates negatively with offspring
healthy lifestyle (Mihas et al., 2009). Moreover parents’ educational level
correlates negatively with smoking, while smoking correlates negatively
with physical activity (Arvanitidou et al., 2008). In childhood, a positive association between paternal education and overweight could be established
(Lagiou & Parava, 2008), while children´s PA is positively associated with
mothers’ PA (Petraki, Derri, Gaintatzis, & Aggeloussis, 2006).
It seems that age is a significant determinant connected to PA. More specifically, during adolescence, age correlates negatively with extra curricular
sport activities (Damianidis et al., 2007). In childhood, age correlates positively with PA (Petraki et al., 2006). Overweight and obesity rates seem to be
lower in adolescence than in childhood (Georgiadis & Nassis, 2007). The opposite direction can also be supported (Psarra, Nassis, & Sidossis, 2006). However, the negative association between age and overweight/obesity is stronger in
females than in males (Georgiadis & Nassis, 2007).
Regarding ethnicity, a remarkable trend seems to be evident in Greece as native children are more overweight and obese than immigrant children
(Hassapidou, Papadopoulou, Frossinis, Kaklamanos, & Tzotzas, 2009; Tzotzas
et al., 2011). Furthermore, native children exercise less than immigrant children
(Hassapidou, Fotiadou, Maglara, & Papadopoulou, 2006). However, immigrant
children intake more calories and show higher screen-based inactivity than native children (Hassapidou et al., 2009). Overall, immigrant children are less exposed to unhealthy lifestyles than native children do (Lagiou & Parava, 2008).
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3 Theoretical background and the aims of the study
“Contemporary Greek children and adolescents demonstrate diminished
physical activity patterns, increased screen-based inactivity, but similar energy intake, compared with age-related peers from other countries“
(Tokmakidis et al., 2006, p. 872). In addition, the case seems to be even
more problematic in specific subgroups e.g. girls and individuals with a low
socioeconomic family background. With these in mind, the aim of this study
is to describe the lifestyles of children and adolescents in Greece with a
special focus on physical activity patterns within physically inactive groups.
The theoretical background of the study is based on the concept of physical
literacy as proposed by Margaret Whitehead (2010). According to Whitehead,
physical literacy can be depicted utilizing six dimensions, A. Motivation, B.
Competence, C. Environment, D. Sense of the self, E. Expression and interaction as well as F. Knowledge and understanding (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The concept of Physical Literacy
A. Motivation B. Competence C. Environment D. Sense of the self E. Expression & Interaction F. Knowledge and Understanding A1. A desire to be active B1. Movement vocabulary C1. Reading everyday settings D1. Enjoyment than competition E1. Fluent self expression F1. Identify & articulate PA A2. To persist with an activity B2. Movement capacities C2. Responding to everyday settings D2. Positive experience E2. Perceptive & empathetic interaction with others F2. Identify & articulate the own engagement A3. To improve physical competence B3. Movement patterns C3. Reading structured PA D3. Effective involvement E3. Sensitivity to F3. Propositional knowledge A4. To try new activities B4. Particular activities C4. Responding to structured PA D4. Participation as person not object E4. Awareness of F4. Involving language A5. Damaged motivation F5. Understanding of the beneOits towards life quality As it can be seen in figure 1, motivation regards aspects arising from a desire to
be active (A1), to persist with an activity (A2), to improve physical competence
(A3) and to try new activities (A4). A fifth motivation attribute can be connected
to the so-called damaged motivation (A5) during previous experiences. Competence is associated with the movement vocabulary2 (B1), movement capacities3
(B2), movement patterns4 (B3) and particular activities5 (B4). Environment concerns everyday movement settings as well as structured physical activity mi-
2
Rolling, crawling, walking, grasping, lifting, waving and clapping
Simple, such as balance, coordination and flexibility; combined such as poise (which requires balance
and core stability) and agility (which combines flexibility, balance and coordination); complex, involving
further combinations of capacities; such as hand–eye coordination needing orientation in space, agility and
dexterity.
4
General patterns (e.g. striking); refined patterns (e.g. development of striking as batting)
5
The final stage: contextually designed patterns that are called for in particular activity settings.
3
9
lieus. Walking, window cleaning and climbing a tree signifies everyday activities, while forms of dance, skating etc. are matters of structured physical activity. Within the theoretical framework of Whitehead both everyday movement settings and structured physical activities incorporate a “reading” and a “responding” dimension. Reading means that a person recognizes relevant practices,
while responding signifies realization in terms of doing relevant practices. In
relation to the “sense of the self”, a physical literate person understands that
exercise should be more about enjoyment rather than competition (D1), has
positive previous experiences related to physical activity and exercise (D2), as
well as an effective involvement (D3) and participates as a person not as an
objectified body (D4). Expression and interaction deal with issues of a fluent
self-expression about and through physical activity (E1) while a physically literate person participates perceptive and empathetic with others in physical
movement settings (E2). Furthermore, the physically literate person is not only
sensitive to (E3) but also aware of (E4) other “embodied” persons in a reciprocal way. Finally, knowledge and understanding is connected to an ability to
identify and articulate physical activity cultures and settings (F1), as well as
one´s own engagement within cultures and settings (F2), to access a propositional knowledge (F3) with a corresponding involving language (F4) and a clear
understanding of the benefits of physical movement towards life quality (F5).
Propositional knowledge incorporates both a pre-reflective and a reflective
phase.
With the theoretical background in mind the scientific questions of this study
can be specified as follows:
1. To describe physically inactive groups lifestyles in terms of physical literacy that is motivation, competence, environment, sense of the self, expression and interaction as well knowledge and understanding.
2. To reveal ethnicity, gender and age specific patterns.
3. To highlight facilitators that might enhance physical activity.
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4. Methods
To answer the scientific questions, an interview study has been utilized with
focus group and individual interviews with 12-14 year old children and 15-17
year old adolescents respectively. The organizational steps followed the guidelines of the project “Active Lifestyles – Physical Literacy as a way to promote
Physical Activity in Inactive Groups” (Brandl-Bredenbeck & Biermann, 2012).
Within this section the sampling strategy, the process of conducting the interviews and the data analysis procedure will be presented.
4.1 Sampling
Four schools located in Western Athens have been sampled with pupils´ socioeconomic and ethnic background in mind. Within this study, the four schools
have been given fictitious names. All schools were lower secondary units
(“gymnasio”) with pupils from grade 7 (13-14 years of age) to grade 9 (15-16
years of age). The ratio of pupils with an immigrant background varied from 8%
- 40 % (see table 1). The population of the study concerned both grade 7 (focus
group interviews) and grade 9 pupils (individual interviews).
AVA-school6 had 228 pupils (68 in grade 7; 75 in grade 9) and is located in one
of the Athenian suburbs with the most disadvantaged socio-economic circumstances (31 thousand inhabitants, population density: 15.000/sq. km). PRSschool had 327 pupils (109 in grade 7; 127 in grade 9) and is located in a suburb with 137 thousand inhabitants (population density: 13.000/sq. km). PTLschool had 262 pupils (85 in grade 7; 79 in grade 9) and is located in a suburb
with 48 thousand inhabitants (population density: 7.000/ sq. km. Finally, CHDschool had 174 pupils (56 in grade 7; 68 in grade 9) and is located in the
wealthiest, among the four, suburbs with a population of 46 thousand inhabitants (population density: 3000/sq. km)
All grade 7 and grade 9 pupils within the four schools answered the Greek version of a special constructed Active Lifestyles project questionnaire (BrandlBredenbeck & Biermann, 2012) to obtain information on pupils´ family and socioeconomic background (see Appendix). The Greek version was slightly modified in relation to the standard project questionnaire. More specifically, questions related to pupils´ PA during their leisure time was added. The final sample
of the study have been obtain on the basis of pupils´ answers to the specific
questionnaire as well as discussion between physical education teachers at
school and the principal researcher. Furthermore, the parents of the pupils received information about the study and gave permission or did not. Only in two
cases did the parents not give permission. These two pupils are not included in
the final sample. Sample details are given in table 1 (see also Appendix):
6
School names are fictitious.
11
Table 1. The sample (Pupils with an immigrant background in parenthesis)
School
Grade
Sample
Name Pupils Immigrants Name Pupils Boys
CHD
174
8%
7th
56
6
9th
68
2
th
PTL
262
11%
7
85
8(3)
th
9
79
1
PRS
327
17%
7th
109
6(3)
9th
127
1(1)
AVA
228
40%
7th
68
10(3)
9th
75
1
35(10)
Girls
7(2)
2
7
2
5(1)
1
8(4)
2(1)
34(8)
Interview
Type
Focus
Individual
Focus
Individual
Focus
Individual
Focus
Individual
As it can be seen in table 1, the final sample consisted of 69 pupils (57 grade 7;
12 grade 9). 30 of them were boys and 27 girls, while 18 pupils (26%) have an
immigrant family background. The national average of immigrant pupils in
Greece is estimated to 7% according to statistics from the Ministry of Education
(www.minedu.gr).
4.2 Interviews
The procedure of conducting the interviews began with the engagement of two
postgraduate students (a female and a male) from the School of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Athens. The two postgraduates conducted all the interviews according to the project guidelines (Brandl-Bredenbeck
& Biermann, 2012). All the interview material, the letter to head teachers and
the invitation letters to individuals have been translated from English to Greek
by the principal investigator in collaboration with the two postgraduates. All
three investigators participated initially in a conversation with PE teachers to
gain detailed information on key features of the identifying features of the pupils
e.g. not interested in PE lessons, “benchwarmer”, underdeveloped motor skills
etc. A pre-meeting with the participants has been used to answer the pre-task
assignments in terms of pupils´ weekly schedule, community map, and parents’
perceived opinion about selected issues. During the interviews, the interviewers
focused issues of leisure time, environment and parents with the respective assignment as the starting point. Furthermore, a fourth interview theme connected
to pupils´ experiences from physical activity were facilitated showing various
pictures to the interviewees. The pictures were adapted to the cultural and educational specific circumstances in Greece.
4.3 Analysis
All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed to a word processor (449 pages,
Calibri 11, line spacing 1.15). For the analysis of the interviews both texts and
audio have been brought into a Nvivo 10 file to facilitate the coding procedure
using predefined nodes (Bazelay, 2007; Richards, 2009).
During the first phase of analysis a theory-driven and a data-based approach
have been used to code the interview material. The theory-driven approach regarded predefined nodes with the concept of physical literacy in mind. Example
given, a node was named A1 and concerned issues of a desire to be active
(Motivation, see figure 1). The data-based analysis was connected to catego-
12
ries of description that emerged in a previous project network meeting in Padua.
More specifically, various node categories ware established especially in the
Belgian part of the project on the basis of the data without considering the concept of physical literacy in advance. This kind of a grounded theory approach
has been tested in the Greek data and facilitated so called “In Vivo” coding categories (Bazelay, 2007) such as positive experience from PE, positive experience from PE etc. However, adopting the data-based approach in Greece resulted in approximately 60 nodes that were found to be too complex to handle.
Therefore the theory-driven approach and the predefined nodes utilizing the
concept of physical literacy have been used for the coding procedure in the interview study in Greece. However, some data-based categories have been
used as complementary to the theory-driven analysis.
The trustworthiness of the study can be argued in terms of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability (Shenton, 2004). To establish credibility
(internal validity) the interviewees was chosen with their familiarity of the culture
of participation in mind. Furthermore, the random sampling of schools within a
given area of lower socioeconomic status as well as the selection of all individuals within each school due to an objective procedure (questionnaire) plus discussions with the PE teachers give signs of an elevated credibility. Furthermore,
utilizing both individual and focus groups interviews might be seen in the light of
a triangulation. The transferability (external validity) of the findings can be argued on the basis of the sampling procedure that is the fact that the specific
pupils have been sampled representing a broader group of individuals with a
family background of a low socioeconomic status. The dependability (reliability)
of the findings is based on the research design and the detailed instruction given to interviewees. Furthermore, the principal investigator listened to all the audiotapes addressing that was done in the field. In terms of confirmability (objectivity), the study was connected to a more theoretical “audit trail” (Shenton,
2004) than a data-oriented one. The principal investigator of this study has coded all the interviews utilizing Nvivo 10. However, the two post-graduates have
coded manually half of the material each using the predefined categories. In 3
of 4 cases the coding between investigators matched. Within cases with differences the investigators discussed the issues and found the best solution on the
basis of the various definitions within the theory of Physical Literacy and pupils´
use of language.
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5. Results
The presentation of the results is based on the six domains of Physical Literacy.
Within each domain an overview of the relevant finding is presented first to describe general trends of nodes per group. The four groups of this study regard
younger boys (YB, n=30), younger girls (YG, n=27), older boys (OB, n=5) and
older girls (OG, n=7). Each domain is introduced with a diagram showing the
standardized number of nodes coded within each one of the four groups. The
standardizing regards a division of the total number of nodes per group with the
number of individuals per group (n). Selected quotes follow the introductory
overview. These quotes are thought to be representative for the description of
the relevant phenomenon in Greece.
The younger pupils will be sometimes called as male or female children, while
the older pupils will be named male or female adolescents in some occasions.
5.1 Motivation
Whitehead (2010) presented four dimensions related to motivation. Furthermore, she discussed the issue of damaged motivation. Coding the Greek data
utilizing the four motivation dimensions was rather unproblematic. However,
issues of damaged motivation (a fifth subdomain) might be a cultural specific
phenomenon that will be discussed later. Furthermore, screen-based inactivity
(A6) has been coded as a sixth data-based subdomain of motivation as it is disturbing pupils’ desire to be physically active. Nevertheless, screen-based inactivity could be included in the environment domain as well.
Diagram 1 represents the standardized number of nodes related to motivation.
Diagram 1. Motivation (standardized nodes per group) 2 1,8 1,6 1,4 1,2 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0,2 0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 YB 0,67 0,2 0,03 0 0,4 1,07 YG 0,59 0,11 0,04 0 1,19 0,33 OB 1,6 0,4 0 0 1,8 0,8 OG 1,14 0,71 0 0 1,71 0 As depicted in Diagram 1, the desire to be active (A1) was articulated in all
groups and especially in the older boys and girls. Next follows a representative
quote in relation to a desire to be active:
14
INTERVIEWER: Do you like physical activity in general? Would you
like to be physically active?
VASILIS7 (1FB3, see appendix): Yes.
INTERVIEWER: Are you sure?
VASILIS: Definitely yes!
The desire to be active is often connected to specific activities. It seems that
ball games are boys´ favorite, while girls refer to several other activities such as
dance, swimming etc.
While the desire to be active is articulated to a certain degree, it seems that
children and adolescents of both genders have difficulties to persist with an activity (A2, Diagram 1). However, younger boys and older girls seem to have
adopted some effective strategies to persist with an activity. The quote that follows comes from an interview with a male young pupil (3FB1, see appendix).
TINOS: I am used to playing football.
INTERVIEWER: Nice. Is there any team you are training with or you
go to a specific place to do this?
TINOS: I go to the schoolyard almost every evening and play.
INTERVIEWER: Is school open every evening?
TINOS: I go to the school, I jump over the fence and then we can play
football.
INTERVIEWER: Good. Are there any friends with you?
TINOS: Yes. It is (name) and (name). And we all play football.
It seems that even older boys and some younger girls adopt the same strategy
to facilitate playing. However, the younger girls play volleyball instead. Establishing physical activity jumping fences that is an almost “illegal” and a rather
dangerous action is not a good idea of how it should work. The issue of the lack
of facilities will be discussed in a following section.
Older girls that persist with an activity have other patterns. According to the data, female adolescents who manage to persist with an activity are usually connected to a dance or a fitness club. Kiki (4IG1) explained that: “I like dance. And
I dance twice a week as far as my schedule allows it. You know, I have a lot of
homework and I feel a lot of pressure.”
Quotes related to the improvement of physical performance (A3, see Diagram
1) are few and related only to the younger individuals. Two relevant quotes can
be located in the interviews with some boys…
THANASIS (2FB7): I like Judo because exercise makes me stronger.
… and some girls.
ESTER (2FG5): I like jogging very much because … we need to exercise our
body.
7
All names are fictitious.
15
Nodes related to a willingness to try new activities (A4, see Diagram 1) are totally absent.
When analyzing pupils´ schedule (see interview tasks), a significant lack of time
is evident and severe issues of screen-based inactivity can be raised. As both
issues might damage pupils´ motivation, these have been included in the domain of motivation in terms of damaged motivation (A5). According to the analysis of the data, pupils have a schedule loaded with school combined with the
so-called “frontistirio” during the evening. Frontistirio are the private lessons at
home or elsewhere that almost every Greek family arranges for their own children during the school-free time. These private lessons cannot be connected to
an index of socio-economic wealth but are merely a cultural phenomenon. As
most of the parents grew up in a context of low educability they spend even the
few money they have on children´s education. For example Giorgos (2FB5) is
having private lesson in German and English as well as in other school subjects.
GIORGOS: I do not like “frontistirio” because it occupies almost all the
school-free time I have. And having “frontistirio” in many different subjects destroys all my plans during my free time. German language during one evening, English language during the other and so on. The
only god thing with my schedule is during the weekend when I have
some time to meet my friends.
Jim (2FB8) puts it in a similar way.
JIM: I like to go out with my friends, to listen to music but I do not have
any leisure time because I have a lot of homework and “frontistirio”.
INTERVIEWER: How many hours do you spend on these?
JIM: Well, when I return from school I do first my homework and then I
go to frontistirio at 7 o´clock and I stay there until 11 o´clock in the
night.
The problem of the lack of time becomes even more serious as pupils choose
to play computer games or watch TV during the restricted leisure time they have
at the end of the day (Diagram 1, A6). According to this study the problem of
screen-based inactivity is more serious in boys who seem to play games and/or
watch TV every day. In some cases, pupils spend five hours daily playing
games and/or watch TV. In my opinion, screen-based inactivity as well as workload “damages” pupils’ motivation to do other things as for example physical
activity.
Diagram 2 depicts issues of motivation utilizing a data-based approach. The In
Vivo nodes that emerged in relation to motivation was attitudes towards a specific sport (A7), negative experiences during school PE (A8), negative experiences in sport during leisure time (A9) and perceptions that sport and physical
activity is tiring/boring (A10).
16
Diagram 2. Motivation -­‐ In vivo (standardized nodes per group) 1,4 1,2 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0,2 0 A7 A8 A9 A10 YB 0,43 0,03 0,3 0,13 YG 0,07 0,04 0,07 0,07 OB 1,2 0,2 0,2 0 OG 1 0,14 0,14 0,29 As it can be seen in diagram 2, the most nodes are related to “attitudes towards
specific sports” (A7). Pupils’ quotes in this case are in general positive. However, some negative experiences related physical education (A8) and sports (A9)
were evident. The following quote gives an expression of a younger boy´s
negative experience from sports:
AGIS (4FB9): I do not like sports.
INTERVIEWER: Is it tiring or boring?
AGIS: Mostly boring. Once I tried to be part of a volleyball team. A
coach came to school and invited us. I went there. During the first
training I was very tired but he could not understand it and he shouted
at me: Keep going… keep going. But I could not.
INTERVIEWER: Was it a bad experience for you?
AGIS: Yes. And he shouted. Do this and do that!
INTERVIEWER: Did the coach yielded at you?
AGIS: Yes. He told me. What are you doing? Why are you staying
still? I was tired, sweaty and felt helpless… Anyway I may try another
club next year.
According to diagram 2, negative experiences occurred more frequently during
sports at leisure time than physical education. Additionally nodes connected to
“sport is tiring” were rather few.
5.2 Competence
Whitehead (2010) discusses competence in terms of the capability or ability that
individuals have to participate effectively in various sports and physical activities. Claiming a comprehensive analysis of pupils’ competence utilizing a qualitative study would be remarkable. However, competence as perceived by pupils
might facilitate a more comprehensive mapping of physical inactivity than merely objective measurements.
17
Diagram 3 gives an overview of the number of nodes connected to the four dimensions of competence that is movement vocabulary (B1), movement capacities (B2), movement patterns (B3) and particular activity (B4). The columns in
different colors represent the younger boys (YB) and girls (YG) as well as the
older boys (OB) and girls (OG).
Diagram 3. Competence (standardized nodes per group) 1 0,9 0,8 0,7 0,6 0,5 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0 B1 B2 B3 B4 YB 0,17 0,27 0,4 0,27 YG 0,04 0,11 0,11 0,11 OB 0 0,4 0,8 0,2 OG 0 0,29 0,57 0,86 As it can be seen in diagram 3, pupils discuss more frequently issues of movement patterns (B3) and particular activities (B4). This was expected as issues of
movement vocabulary (B1) and movement capacities (B2) are connected to the
basic competences that might be more relevant to pupils in grade 1 to 4 as an
example. Regarding basic physical competence as movement vocabulary and
capacities it seems that there is a problem of getting tired easily when sporting
(B1, B2).
DIMITRIS (1FB2): The most tiring is football while table tennis requires not so much efforts.
INTERVIEWER: Why do you believe that football is tiring?
DIMITRIS: You have to run up and down.
INTERVIEWER: While table tennis…
DIMITRIS: Playing table tennis you can just stand still and move your
arms.
In relation to movement patterns (B3) it seems that most of the pupils had been
previously involved in sports to a higher or lesser degree. For example Jim
(2FB8), a younger boy, stated that: “I was a member of a football and a basketball team for a while. But I like athletics more. I use to participate in regional
athletic games with my school”. It should be noted that Jim is not participating
actively in sports anymore.
However, a lot of pupils stated problems with movement patterns (B3):
18
ARTEMIS (4FG1): I cannot target the volleyball. Sometimes I send it
to the left side, other times to the right side. The last time I played volleyball I sent the ball outside school.
In relation to particular activities (B4) it becomes obvious that pupils are not
completely unfamiliar with the sporting and physical activity culture. Most of
them are familiar with and participated to some degree in football, basketball,
volleyball, athletics, swimming, dance etc. However, almost all of them dropped
off the structured sport and physical activity, while some of them are still engaged with sports and PA on an everyday basis e.g. with friends at
schoolyards.
A data-based In Vivo category that emerged during analysis was connected to
issues of a perceived lack competence. This category could be included in
Whitehead´s domain of competence.
As it can be seen in diagram 4, older girls refer more frequently to the own lack
of competence than the other three groups did.
Diagram 4. Competence -­‐ In vivo (standardized nodes per group) 0,35 0,3 0,25 0,2 0,15 0,1 0,05 0 B5 YB 0,13 YG 0,07 OB 0 OG 0,29 Next follows an example of a relevant quote from Dimitra (2IG2):
DIMITRA: During PE, we play basketball, volleyball, boys play football.
Occasionally we play with that strange ball (Interviewer´s note: she
showed badminton at the picture)…
INTERVIEWER: You mean that you do all these here at school?
DIMITRA: Yes. We actually do all these things. I played with my PE
teacher once. I sent away the badminton ball during the game and I
was nervous in case that someone was injured.
INTERVIEWER: Why were you nervous? Badminton ball is not so
heavy.
DIMITRA: I was not nervous… I was nervous on how to hit it. I didn´t
know how to do this.
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5.3 Environment
Whitehead (2010) discusses environment utilizing an “everyday setting” dimension and a “structured physical activity setting” dimension (e.g. formal sports).
Furthermore, she approaches the two dimensions in terms of reading and responding, that is the individual recognizing attributes in the environment and
responding realizing certain behaviors.
Diagram 5 highlights the number of nodes per group connected to pupils´
quotes about the environment (C1: reading every day settings, C2: responding
to every day settings, C3: reading structured PA settings, C4: responding to
structured PA settings).
Diagram 5. Environment (standardized nodes per group) 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0 C1 C2 C3 C4 YB 1 0,37 0,7 0,07 YG 1,37 0,67 0,41 0 OB 3,2 1,2 2 0 OG 2,57 1,86 2,14 0 As diagram 5 shows pupils recognize everyday settings more frequently than
they recognize structured physical activity settings. A certain “blindness” related to structured physical activity is therefore obvious. Furthermore, pupils respond to a certain degree to everyday settings, while responses to structured
physical activity settings are almost none.
Analyzing quotes related to “reading” everyday settings, the first thing that becomes strikingly obvious is parents´ perceptions of leisure time and their physical inactivity. An illustrative example from the interview with the younger boys in
CHD-school is following:
INTERVIEWER: Nice! I would like you to find the paper that you completed previously and is about your parents. Well… What do your parents do when they come home from work?
TINOS (3FB1): They do not do anything special when they come
home. They first rest, and then they get up. My mother does the
housework while my father watches TV.
KOSTAS (3FB2): My parents do approximately the same as Tinos
parents do. … Yes… Sometimes they go out with the dog.
20
GUS (3FB3): My parents stay at home as well. They watch TV and my
mother does the housework. They do not go anywhere.
KEVIN (3FB4): My parents stay also at home and they rarely go out.
They sit indoors and watch TV.
ERIS (3FB7): My parents do the same. They do not do anything different from the other parents. Indoors … not doing some different …
INTERVIEWER: Angelos? I hope that you can say something else!
ANGELOS (3FB5): I do not think so! My parents are in line with the
others.
The second pattern manifested in the quotes is that pupils are to a rather good
degree aware of environmental possibilities about where to play, walk, bicycle
etc. that is schoolyards, parks, squares, minor roads with no traffic8 etc. However, they express more possibilities of playing, walking, bicycling etc. than actual playing, walking, bicycling etc. Screen-based inactivity as well as other priorities (see “frontistirio”) discussed in the motivation chapter might explain this
discrepancy to a certain degree. However, it seems that public areas for walking, playing, bicycling etc. are few. Maria (3FG2), a younger girl living in a suburb with rather plenty of free space, puts it as follows:
MARIA: There used to be a nice park in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the municipal authorities rearranged it somehow. Some pupils
in my age are not willing to use slides that are meant for kindergarten
children. Municipalities just care for the smaller children. Why can they
not arrange a place where older children can play?
Another sad story is the fact that Greece has a significant number of deaths
attributed to drowning every year. But according to Dimitris (1FB2), a younger
boy living in a suburb which is one of the most densely populated areas in
Greece, with no public swimming pool facilities:
DIMITRIS: I like swimming very much. However it is very difficult to
find a public swimming pool. Likely enough, I swim a lot during summer vacations.
A third aspect of reading and responding to every day physical activity settings
is the relation between parents engagement in sports and PA and children´s
behavior, which seems to be rather contradictory. Some pupil´s follow their parents when engaging in PA, while some others don´t.
VLADIMIR (4FB1): Yes. My father goes jogging.
INTERVIEWER: Where does he do that?
VLADIMIR: At the park of … (Name of an area)
INTERVIEWER: How often does your father go jogging?
VLADIMIR: Not so often. It depends on his available free time.
8
Children playing football etc. in the middle of a road with low traffic is not unusual in Athens as
the lack of free areas is significant. Especially during vacations one can see such activities in a
lot of suburbs in western Athens.
21
INTERVIEWER: Do you follow him?
VLADIMIR: No. It is so boring and tiresome.
Pupils´ reading of structured sports and physical activity settings is also complicated. The lack of facilities is combined with an underdeveloped structured
sport movement. Furthermore, as the volunteer sport coach culture in Greece is
also underdeveloped, the few existing clubs need to get payment from the
members.
INTERVIEWER: OK. I would like you to point at the map of the area,
places that you can exercise at.
YIANNIS (3IB1): Without paying? Do you mean sport clubs?
INTERVIEWER: Tell me about both places and clubs. Do you know
any?
YIANNIS: Few! Very few!
Discussing issues of structured sports and physical activity pupils referred often
to issues of doping. During an interview, Kevin (3FB4), a younger boy, commented the pictures of well-trained athletes as follows:
INTERVIEWER: Exercising can lead to having such a body.
KEVIN: No chance!
INTERVIEWER: Why are you saying this?
KEVIN: Most of them use drugs (means: steroids). Various types of
drugs.
It seems that connection between exercising and steroids can be regarded as a
stereotype among the pupils in this study. This stereotype is more obvious than
gender as a stereotype. However gender will be analyzed in the next section as
a dimension of the sense of the self.
In terms of reading structured physical in relation to activity parent´s perceptions
of physical activity and sports it seems that most of the parents have a positive
attitude towards sports despite the fact that they are physical inactive themselves.
5.4 Sense of the self
Issues of the sense of the same incorporate aspects of positive attitudes (D1)
and experiences (D2) in sports and physical activity as well as the effectiveness
of the involvement (D3) and the participation of the individual as a person and
not a mechanical object (D4). Diagram 6 shows the number of nodes related to
the four aspects of the sense of the self as proposed by Whitehead (2010). Furthermore, issues of gender have been included in this domain (D5).
22
Diagram 6. Sense of the self (standardized nodes per group) 0,7 0,6 0,5 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 YB 0,57 0,1 0 0 0 YG 0,48 0,04 0 0 0 OB 0,2 0,2 0 0 0,6 OG 0 0 0 0 0 According to diagram 6, there are no nodes related to an effective involvement
or a holistic personal engagement. Eventually, this was expected due to the
sample targeting pupils with low or none involvement.
The dimensions of D1 and D2 are in line with In vivo categories such as for example anxiety and the fear of failure. However, the quotes of pupils are not in
terms of black and white. In the quote that follows Gus (3FB3) describes a picture of some pupils playing volleyball.
GUS: I believe that they feel both happy and nervous. Happy because they do something they like. But if they play a game they may
be nervous. They have to do it right in order to win. Otherwise they get
unhappy and nervous.
Enjoyment, anxiety and performance are blurred in the perceptions of the specific child and the balance might be a delicate balance. It can be argued that
Gus might be the type of a person that could be able to move towards happiness or anxiety depending on environmental factors. Within a supportive environment stressing the importance of enjoyment, Gus might be able to discover
more clearly the benefits of being happy participating in sports and PA. However, the results indicate a lot of negative experiences connected mostly to formal
sport engagement and not to school PE. The quote that follows comes from a
younger boy. Giorgos (2FB5) is commenting on the pictures of other children
exercising or playing games.
GIORGOS: I have tried most of these activities. It is only volleyball
and the jumping rope that I have not tried. I like table tennis… I use to
exercise in a football team. During a period I was playing in a basketball team. But I did not like their “ALL OR NOTHING” (note: the pupil
said this phrase in English). This means that you play to win or you do
not play at all.
A statement like this (from a 13 year old boy) indicates the problems that formal
sports have to deal with. However, the prospects are not good as the economic
23
crisis in Greece make it more difficult for sport clubs to employ pedagogically
competent coaches.
An older boy raised gender issues. More specifically, Alex (2IB1) stated during
the interview that: “Some girls use the jumping rope. I have not seen any boy do
that”. During the same interview Alex pointed out that girls should play football
saying that: ”Some girls should participate to show men that they are not superior in sports”. In general, gender related issues have not been raised frequently
in the Greek data. It seems that hegemonic masculine identities are so strongly
established diminishing the questioning of the established order. It was obvious
even in the way that girls commented on pictures of well-trained men and women and reacting only to the “masculine” character of the female bodies. A woman should do specific things and look out in a specific way. Sports and exercise
seem to disturb this stereotype.
5.5 Self-expression and communication with others
Exercise and sport as means of self-expression and communication with others
might be the essence of physical activity as a social and cultural phenomenon.
Diagram 7 depicts the number of nodes connected to issues of self-expression
and communication with others (E1: Fluent self-expression, E2: perceptive &
empathetic interaction, E3 sensitivity to, E4: awareness of).
Diagram 7. Self expression and interaction (standardized nodes per group) 0,35 0,3 0,25 0,2 0,15 0,1 0,05 0 E1 E2 E3 E4 YB 0,03 0,03 0,03 0,07 YG 0,07 0,04 0 0 OB 0,2 0 0 0 OG 0,29 0,14 0 0 It is obvious that the pupils in this study show a rather low level of selfexpression and communication with others utilizing PA activity as well as sports
structures and cultures. As expected pupils have no familiarity with formal sport
cultures and functions. The following example illustrates the perceptive and
empathetic interaction of Athena (3FG7), a female children, who describes family gatherings playing games.
ATHENA: The whole family gathers during the weekends and some
family friends come too. I am the youngest. And we always play vol-
24
leyball. Of course they play better than me. But I am trying. I really enjoy our play and I have a great time.
Christine (3IG2) is sensitive to other persons´ feelings during physical activity.
Additionally she shows an awareness of the relaxing benefits of´ sports. In the
quote that follows Christine is commenting on some pictures with physically active children.
CHRISTINE: They feel happy because they do something creative
during their free time. It is a break from homework. They try! They
compete with the others because they give their best. Of course they
might fight sometimes because they want to win. If they lose they may
be jealous…
An In vivo category might be very fruitful in the domain of self-expression and
interaction in terms of “group constitution”. As most of the pupils’ parents are
physically inactive it is almost solely peer group that can be regarded as a facilitator of physical activity for these pupils:
INTERVIEWER: How do you spend your free time?
DINO (4FB6): I play football together with my friends.
INTERVIEWER: Do you play in a football team or only with your
friends?
DINO: Only with my friends.
STELIOS (4FB10): Me too! Only with my friends!
INTERVIEWER: Alex! What do you like mostly during your free time?
ALEXANDER (4FB7): Playing football.
INTERVIEWER: You told me previously that you bicycled and played
football.
ALEX: I play football in the stadium and with my friends at school. I bicycle with other friends. They are six. But they do not live near school.
DINO: My friends and I like to play football here and we have been doing this for a long time.
5.6 Knowledge and understanding
Quotes related to the sense of the self as well as self-expression and communication with others were few. However, this is not the case in matters of
knowledge and understanding. Diagram 8 gives an overview of the number of
nodes related to issues of knowledge and communication per group (F1: Identify & articulate PA, F2: Identify & articulate their own engagement, F3 Propositional knowledge, F4 Involving language, F5 Understanding of the benefits towards life quality).
25
Diagram 8. Knowledge and understanding (standardized nodes per group) 1,4 1,2 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0,2 0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 YB 0,1 0,1 0,2 0,1 0,23 YG 0,33 0,33 0 0 0,04 OB 0,4 0,6 0,8 0 0,2 OG 1,29 1,14 0,29 0 0 As indicated in diagram 8, it is mostly girls that identify and articulate physical
activity (F1). However, this identification and articulation is usually associated
with an unwillingness to maintain a physically active lifestyle.
INTERVIEWER: Do you go jogging?
GIOTA (2FG3): No. I used to dance but I stopped it.
INTERVIEWER: Why did you stop?
GIOTA: Nothing specific. I just chose to stop.
Identifying and articulating own engagement, as not willing to participate in a
physical activity without a specific reason is obvious even in Helen´s (2FG1)
words.
INTERVIEWER: You told me that you used to play basketball but you
stopped.
HELEN: Yes. This is correct.
INTERVIEWER: You do not like it anymore.
HELEN: I do not like it anymore.
INTERVIEWER: Were there any specific reasons?
HELEN: No! I just do not want to be part of it anymore.
Regarding knowledge and understanding of the benefits of a physically active
lifestyle towards life quality (F5) it seems that younger boys show a better level
than the other three groups.
INTERVIEWER: You told me that you like these pictures with the welltrained athletes. And that exercise helps us gain a good-looking body.
SAMSON (1FB4): And a good life as well!
INTERVIEWER: What do you mean by good life, Sampson?
26
SAMSON: Not smoking, drinking no alcohol, taking care of the diet.
5.7 The ABCDEF of physical literacy
Diagram 9 shows an overview of the aggregated number of the standardized
nodes within each domain that is A: Motivation, B: Competence, C: Environment, D: Sense of the self, E: Self-expression & interaction and F: Knowledge
and understanding.
Diagram 9. The ABCDEF of physical literacy (standardized nodes per group) 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 A B C D E F YB 2,37 1,1 2,13 0,67 0,17 0,73 YG 2,26 0,37 2,44 0,52 0,11 0,7 OB 4,6 1,4 6,2 1 0,2 0,8 OG 3,57 1,57 6,57 0 0,43 2,57 As it can be seen in the diagram, older boys and girls refer more frequently to
issues of motivation and environment. Motivation issues have been connected
to a desire to be active, a failure to persist with an activity, no will to improve
physical performance, a lack of interest to try new activities and a damaged motivation. Environment issues regarded difficulties to respond to settings on an
everyday basis and especially in relation to physical activity. To put it more
clearly, facilities appropriate for everyday physical activity (e.g. walking) and
structured sports are missing. Additionally, parents’ lifestyle in general does not
propagate for a physically active lifestyle.
Regarding competence, it is mostly the younger girls that give signs of lack of
competence. Furthermore, nodes connected to sense of the self are totally
missing in the older boys group, while nodes related to expression and interaction are very few in all groups. Even “knowledge & understanding” nodes are
few. Older girls seem to identify and articulate physical activity as well as show
a certain understanding of the benefits towards life quality. However, the own
engagement is problematic.
27
6. Discussion
Within this chapter the results will be discuss in relation to ethnicity, gender and
age. Furthermore, the physical literacy in the risk group of the study will be focused. Finally, barriers and facilitators connected to a physically active lifestyle
will be highlighted.
6.1 Ethnicity, gender and age
The systematic review in Greece revealed three patterns in relation to ethnicity,
gender and age.
•
•
•
Ethnicity: Immigrants exercise more than Greeks. This might be due to the lifestyle of first generation immigrants that is less affected by the so-called Western-type lifestyle.
Gender: Boys adopt a more sedentary lifestyle in comparison to girls. However,
boys devote more time to sport activities and play than girls do.
Age: The gender specific pattern increases with age
Within this study, 18 of the 69 participants had an immigrant background. This
corresponds to 26% of the sample, while the national average is 7%. However,
no differences could be established on the basis of the interview data. It seems
that the physical literacy of second generation immigrants in physically inactive
groups does not differ from the physical literacy of native children and
adolescents.
In relation to gender, diagram 10 shows the standardized nodes.
Diagram 10. Physical literacy (standardized nodes per gender) 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0 A B C D E F Boys 2,69 1,14 2,71 0,71 0,17 0,91 Gilrs 2,53 0,62 3,29 0,41 0,18 1,09 According to diagram 1, the data of this study is in line with previous research
regarding the general pattern (Diagram 10). However, this study points out the
qualitative dimension of the problem. Nodes related to motivation (A) where
more frequent in boys, while nodes related to competence where more frequent
in girls. To put it more clearly, the motivation of boys seem to be damaged
mainly due to the absence of appropriate facilities for physical activity and
movement, while girls face obstacles due to a lack of competence to establish
28
and maintain a physically active lifestyle within the current physical activity
culture. More specifically, the contemporary PA culture in Greece is dominated
by ball games and might fail to provide alternatives that do not require specific
competences as for example walking paths appropriate for physical activity.
Diagram 10 depicts the standardized nodes per age group.
Diagram 10. Physically literacy (standardized nodes per age group) 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Children Adolescents A B C D E F 2,31 0,75 2,28 0,6 0,14 0,72 4 1,5 6,42 0,42 0,33 2,33 In relation to age, the results of this study are inline with previous research regarding the general pattern, as it is obvious that the older pupils face more challenges particularly in relation to the environment. However, this study highlights
some qualitative aspects of the problem. According to the data, issues of motivation (e.g. a desire to be active) as well as knowledge and understanding of
the benefits of a physically active lifestyle are articulated to a higher degree by
adolescents that by children (see also diagram 1). To put it more clearly, the
problem of physical inactivity might be serious in adolescents. However, this
group has a desire to be active and a certain knowledge and understanding of
the benefits of a physical active lifestyle.
6.2 Physical literacy in a risk group
Diagram 11 shows the standardized nodes for the whole group (a risk group) of
inactive pupils in Greece.
29
Diagram 11. Physically literacy (standardized nodes) 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0 The whole group A B C D E F 2,61 0,88 3 0,57 0,17 1 According to diagram 11, issues of motivation and environment are articulated
more often that other issues. These issues regard a desire to be active on the
one hand and a damaged motivation on the other hand. In addition, a supportive environment is absent due to lack of facilities and support from the family.
The group of physically inactive pupils in Greece face severe restrictions regarding the benefits of an active lifestyle in relation to self-expression and interaction
6.3 Conclusion and recommendations
Motivation, competence and the environment are crucial factors to start and
maintain a physically active lifestyle. These three factors seem to have an impact on the sense of the self, the self-expression and communication with others as well as on the knowledge and understanding in connection to physical
activity and sports. All six dimensions are developed in a physically literate individual (see figure 2) according to the framework of Whitehead (2010).
Figure 2. The physically literate person
ABC DEF Environment Knowledge & understanding Competence Expression & Interaction Motivation Sense of the self 30
According to this study, children and adolescents in a risk group face restrictions mainly due to motivation and environment. These restrictions seem to
have an impact on their sense of the self, expression and interaction as well as
knowledge and understanding of the benefits of an active lifestyle. Figure 3
illustrates these restrictions due to problematic motivation and the environment.
Figure 3. Physical literacy in the risk group
ABC DEF Knowledge & understanding Expression & Interaction Competence Sense of the self In the current era of economic crisis, it is less probable than the Greek state will
be able to invest in facilities appropriate for physical activity. However, the
Greek state has a lot of money to save if citizens are healthy. It is well documented that physically activity contributes to a healthier life. Spending a reasonable amount of money on rearranging the few public areas of western Athens suburbs, might give proportionally a lot of opportunities for people to try
walking, cycling, jogging etc. Schools can contribute to pupils´ physically active
lifestyle, though schoolyards are closed in the evenings. The model of the learning community and the school as a hub of the local community might give extra
possibilities for children to engage in physical activity.
A formal physical activity and sport for all strategy is lacking in Greece. It is urgent that relevant policies are established. Such strategies should incorporate
information campaigns targeting not only children and adolescents but their
parents as well. In addition, partnerships should be established with local municipalities, schools and sport clubs for an effective use of the few facilities
available. However, the current economical situation as well as the lack of
know-how in local communities and public schools related to the establishment
of physical active cultures and lifestyles may make the whole project as less
probable to proceed without know-how and financial support.
Beside these systemic efforts to enhance physical activity, individual oriented
strategies should be established as well. According to this study, the peer group
in boys and fitness clubs in girls seem to be two facilitators. These facilitators
are very important taking into account the fact that this study focused a group of
youngsters with low physical activity levels and from families with low socioeconomic status. The promotion of physical activity targeting peer groups might be
facilitated through campaigns and events, which might help youngsters to establish physically active peer groups. In addition, schools and especially physical education teachers should help pupils to get in contact with local fitness
clubs.
31
Greek
Greek
Romanian
Russia
South Africa
Greek
Greek
Albanian
Greek
Greek
Greek
Albanian
Greek
Greek
Albanian
Greek
Greek
Greek
Albanian
Bulgarian
Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Albanian
Greek
Greek
Albanian
Greek
Greek
Greek
Albanian
Greek
Albanian
Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Bulgarian
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Both parents
Both parents
Only mother
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Only mother
Both parents
Both parents
Only mother
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Only mother
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Only mother
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Only mother
Only mother
Only mother
Only mother
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Only mother
Both parents
Only mother
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Only mother
Only mother
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
Both parents
1 sibling
1 sibling
1 sibling
3 siblings
2 siblings
1 sibling
1 sibling
2 siblings
1 sibling
1 sibling
3 siblings
1 sibling
1 sibling
2 siblings
1 sibling
1 sibling
1 sibling
1 sibling
1 sibling
1 sibling
2 siblings
3 siblings
3 siblings
1 sibling
1 sibling
1 sibling
2 siblings
1 sibling
2 siblings
1 sibling
1 sibling
1 sibling
1 sibling
1 sibling
1 sibling
1 sibling
Own room
Car
Vacations
Computer
FAS INDEX
1999
1999
1998
1998
2000
1999
1999
1999
1999
1999
1999
1997
1997
1999
1998
1999
1999
1999
1999
1999
1999
1998
1999
1999
1999
1999
1999
1999
1997
1997
1997
2000
2000
1999
1999
1999
1999
1999
1999
1999
1999
1999
1998
1998
1998
1997
1997
1997
1999
1 sibling
PA during free
time
Parents
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
9th
9th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
9th
9th
9th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
9th
9th
9th
9th
7th
Nationality
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Boy
Girl
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Boy
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Girl
Girl
Boy
Year of birth
Vangelis
Dimitris
Vasilis
Samson
Matthew
George
Vasiliki
Melpo
Marina
Stella
Myrto
Chris
Venetia
Achilles
Fotis
Andreas
Elias
Giorgos
Eriglen
Thanasis
Jim
Helen
Katerina
Giota
Fotini
Ester
Iustina
Kypriani
Alex
Anastasia
Dimitra
Vicky
Maria
Stavrola
Antuela
Dorothea
Demetra
Athena
Tinos
Kostas
Gus
Kevin
Angelos
Eris
Yannis
Christos
Popi
Christine
Vladimir
Grade
Gender
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Individual
Individual
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Individual
Individual
Individual
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Individual
Individual
Individual
Individual
Focus Group
Fictive Name
School
Interview type
PRS-school
PTL-school
A
V
A
s
c
h
o
o
l
1FB1
1FB2
1FB3
1FB4
1FB5
1FB6
1FG1
1FG2
1FG3
1FG4
1FG5
1IB1
1IG1
2FB1
2FB2
2FB3
2FB4
2FB5
2FB6
2FB7
2FB8
2FG1
2FG2
2FG3
2FG4
2FG5
2FG6
2FG7
2IB1
2IG1
2IG2
3FG1
3FG2
3FG3
3FG4
3FG5
3FG6
3FG7
3FB1
3FB2
3FB3
3FB4
3FB5
3FB7
3IB1
3IB2
3IG1
3IG2
4FB1
CHD-school
ID
Appendix
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
0
2
1
1
3
3
1
3
3
0
1
1
1
3
2
2
1
2
2
0
0
2
2
2
3
2
2
0
1
3
3
1
2
1
2
3
3
2
3
3
3
3
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
3
1
2
2
1
2
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
2
2
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
2
3
2
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
2
1
1
2
1
32
7
4
3
3
5
4
4
4
6
7
3
7
5
3
4
5
5
9
4
6
4
5
4
1
1
4
4
4
6
6
5
2
3
6
7
5
4
3
5
7
6
5
5
7
6
6
4
6
4
4FB2
4FB3
4FB4
4FB5
4FB6
4FB7
4FB8
4FB9
4FB10
4FG1
4FG2
4FG3
4FG4
4FG5
4FG6
4FG7
4FG8
4IB1
4IG1
4IG2
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Focus Group
Individual
Individual
Individual
Emil
Artiteo
Demetrios
Harry
Dino
Alexander
Lefteris
Agis
Stelios
Artemis
Mary
Nicol
Vasso
Dina
Irini
Eirene
Marinne
Peter
Kiki
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Boy
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Girl
Boy
Girl
Konstantina Girl
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
7th
9th
9th
9th
1999
Greek
No Both parents
1997 Albanian No Only mother
1999 Albanian No Both parents
1999
Greek
No Both parents
1999
Greek
No Both parents
1999
Greek
No Both parents
1998
Greek
No Only father
2000
Greek
No Both parents
1999
Greek
No Only mother
1999
Greek
No Only mother
1999
Greek
No Only father
1999
Greek
No Both parents
1998 Albanian No Only mother
1999
Greek
No Both parents
1999
Greek
No Only mother
1998
Greek
No Only mother
1999 Albanian No Both parents
1996 Romanian Yes Only mother
1997
Greek
Yes Both parents
1997
Greek
No Both parents
1 sibling
1
0
1 sibling 0
1 sibling 0
1 sibling 0
1 sibling 0
2 siblings 1
1 sibling 0
1 sibling 1
1
1 sibling 0
2 siblings 0
2 siblings 1
1 sibling 0
1
1 sibling 0
1
1 sibling 0
1 sibling 1
1 sibling 0
2
1
1
2
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
2
0
2
1
0
2
2
2
2
2
0
2
2
2
3
2
0
1
1
3
0
1
3
1
0
0
2
1
1
2
2
2
1
1
2
2
3
2
1
33
7
3
2
7
3
1
3
5
4
5
5
3
5
4
5
5
6
3
5
3
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36
Idrottsvetenskapliga rapporter –
Institutionen för kost- och idrottsvetenskap
Göteborgs universitet
Adress:
Box 100
405 30 Göteborg
Redaktör: Owe Stråhlman
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förnyelse av idrottsverksamhet” - en utvärdering av projektverksamhet som fått medel ur
Allmänna arvsfonden. Göteborgs universitet: Idrottshögskolan.
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case of Sweden and Denmark. Göteborgs universitet: Idrottshögskolan.
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athletes. Göteborgs universitet: Idrottshögskolan.
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9. Annerstedt, C., Annerud, E. & Stråhlman, O. (2009). Hälsoform: en analys av ett
hälsofrämjande koncept. Institutionen för pedagogik och didaktik, Göteborgs universitet.
I samband med omorganisationen av verksamheten vid UFN år 2010 påbörjades ny
indexering:
2012:
1. Patriksson, G., Stråhlman, O. & Eriksson, S. (2012). Blev Idrottslyftet ett lyft? Analys och
utvärdering av Riksidrottsförbundet, Akademiska Idrottsförbundet, Flygsportförbundet och
Korpen – Svenska Motionsidrottsförbundet. Göteborgs universitet: Institutionen för Kostoch Idrottsvetenskap.
2. Patriksson, G., (2012). Swedish young peoples´ lifestyles with focus on physical (in)activity
and overweight/obesity - a review of the research literature. Göteborgs universitet:
Institutionen för Kost- och Idrottsvetenskap.
3. Kougioumtzis, K (2012). Greek young peoples´ lifestyles with focus on physical
(in)activity and overweight/obesity - a review of the research literature. Göteborgs
universitet: Institutionen för Kost- och Idrottsvetenskap.
4. Backman, J. (2012). I skuggan av NHL: En organisationsstudie av svensk och finsk
elitishockey. Göteborgs universitet, Institutionen för Kost- och idrottsvetenskap
(licentiatuppsats).
2013:
1. Patriksson, G. & Persson, C. (2013). Physical literacy among inactive Swedish young
people - An interview study of a neglected group in sport science research. University
of Gothenburg: Department of Food, Nutrition and Sport Science.
2. Kougioumtzis, K. (2013). Physical literacy in Greek children and adolescents. A study
within the Active Lifestyles project. University of Gothenburg: Department of Food,
Nutrition and Sport Science.
Reports in Sport Science
Department of Food, Nutrition and Sport Science
University of Gothenburg
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