Improving behaviour through physical activity

Abstract

This study aims to explore how an effective educational practice involving physical activity and sport helps in creating a positive learning experience for students with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBO) within the mainstream school setting. Research, in the form of semi-structured interviews, has been carried out with 8 mainstream teachers, 4 PE teachers and 4 heads of school. Inquiring into the experiences of these educational professionals showed how physical activity (PA) and sport during recess and other allocated times can make students feel happier at school. Suggestions were forwarded on how through inclusion of more PA in the curriculum, students with SEBO can improve their self-esteem, behaviour, academic performance and social competencies among other important aspects of development. Having more scholastic sporting events and extra-curricular activities would help students having SEBO to improve their self-worthiness. Teachers need specialised training to understand how to include more PA in their planning and parents need to be involved in supporting their children. Practical ideas are also suggested on how to integrate better PA in the daily school life. The work is split into three main sections. The first includes the Preamble, Introduction and Literature Review and provides us with the main framework that fashioned this research. The second part includes the Methodology in depth, together with the analysis of data. Finally, the last part of the study deals with different practical issues in order to improve the situation of both teachers and students facing SEBO through including more PA at school.