Movement and Physical Activity in Early Childhood Education and Care Policies of Five Nordic Countries

Sollerhed, Ann-Christin; Olesen, Line Grønholt; Fröberg, Karsten; Soini, Anne; Sääkslahti, Arja; Kristjánsdóttir, Guðrún; Vilhjálmsson, Rúnar; Fjørtoft, Ingunn; Larsen, Robert; Ekberg, Jan-Eric

doi:10.3390/ijerph182413226

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…The educators perceived that MoPA was insufficiently and vaguely mentioned in the curriculum, and they wished for more explicit guidance through the curriculum. MoPA was shown to be of low priority in the ECEC curricula ( Sollerhed et al, 2021 ), which strengthened the educators’ reflections.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The policy documents regulate ECEC activities and should guide educators in their work. MoPA was shown to be of low priority in the ECEC policies, and the governmental guidance provided to educators and stakeholders therein is inexplicit ( Sollerhed et al, 2021 ), which can increase the impact from the educator’s attitudes, perceived competence and habitus. The importance of educators’ behaviors toward children’s MoPA, including positive or negative prompts and modeling, has been shown to be vital ( Brown et al, 2009b ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The responsibility to organize pedagogical activities to promote the principles stated in the curriculum lies with the educators, yet specific pedagogical methods are not identified in the curriculum ( Einarsdottir et al, 2015 ). MoPA was found to have a low priority, to varying degrees, in the ECEC policies enacted by Nordic countries, and the guidance provided to educators and stakeholders therein was inexplicit ( Sollerhed et al, 2021 ), which may mean that educators do not implement MoPA for young children in ECEC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors associated with implemented teacher-led movement and physical activity in early childhood education and care

Sollerhed

2023

Front. Psychol.

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Movement and physical activity (MoPA) is critical for children’s development and health. This study aimed to explore early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators’ reported frequency of implemented gross motor and physical activities (MoPA) among children in ECEC, as well as the educators’ reported personal physical activity (PA) levels in leisure time. A cross-sectional survey was performed in 68 preschools in southern Sweden. Data were obtained from questionnaires completed by 359 ECEC educators. The participation rate was 61%. About two thirds offered MoPA once a week or more seldom, while one quarter offered MoPA at least every other day. Educators who reported personal PA three times or more per week, offered MoPA for the children at least every other day to a higher extent (37%) compared to colleagues who reported personal PA once or twice a week (26%) or colleagues who reported that they were never or seldom active (18%) (p = 0.034). The results from multiple logistic regression analysis showed that reported implemented MoPA among children in ECEC was significantly associated with the educators’ perceptions that free play improved children’s gross motor skills (OR 2.7), the educators’ perceptions of needed curricular guidelines for MoPA (OR 2.1), the educators’ own leisure PA level (OR 2.0) and the educators’ perceptions that adequate gross motor skills were not learned at home (OR 0.4). Teacher-led MoPA occurs sparingly during the preschool day and the teachers believe that the children get sufficient MoPA in free play. The children are expected to develop their motor skills to a sufficient extent during the short moments of offered outdoor play. Teachers who are physically active in their leisure-time seem to offer gross motor training for the children to a higher extent than less active or inactive colleagues.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors associated with implemented teacher-led movement and physical activity in early childhood education and care

Sollerhed

2023

Front. Psychol.

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“…They preferred to teach more sedentary activities such as language, science or drawing, which is in line with other studies ( 4 ). Findings from a recent study indicated that MoPA, is a low-priority value, to varying degrees, in the ECEC curricula enacted by Nordic countries, especially in Sweden where the guidance provided to educators and stakeholders was inexplicit ( 38 ). The educators seldom or never taught structured MoPA and relied on the children's free play for physical and motor skill development.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived insufficient pedagogical content knowledge in teaching movement and physical activity. Experiences from an action-oriented study among educators in early childhood education and care

Sollerhed

2023

Front. Sports Act. Living

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Movement and physical activity (MoPA) are critical to children's health and development. Many children aged 1–5 years are enrolled in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Sweden, and high expectations are placed on educators to deliver education of sufficient quality to support children's development. The aim of the 18-month-long action-based study was to investigate how 88 ECEC educators in five preschools perceived and experienced the priority and teaching of MoPA. The educators planned and implemented MoPA sessions among children. They filmed sequences from the sessions, which were shown in the focus groups and were the starting point for the collegial discussions. Content analysis of the focus group discussions revealed three themes: Teaching aspects; Educational aspects; Structural aspects, with associated subthemes. During the project with the trial-and-error MoPA teaching, the educators detected insufficient PCK to teach MoPA and that teaching was often replaced with free play. Increased metacognition made the educators aware of children's different MoPA levels and that free play did not always increase all children's skills. The perceived insufficient pedagogical content knowledge to teach MoPA was perceived as a troublesome barrier for promoting MoPA. During the project, the educators' metacognition about MoPA increased, which made the educators aware of children's different MoPA levels and that free play did not always increase all children's skills. Despite of increased metacognition, most of the educators were not ready to leave their comfort zones and were not open to extra work or effort when it came to MoPA. However, the educators demonstrated the need for improved education in MoPA in early childhood teacher education, as well as the need for continuous education for working educators in ECEC to enhance the pedagogic content knowledge for adequate teaching in MoPA, which is important for children's present development and future health.

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“…In the last decades, there has been a development towards more "education" and a more robust political prioritization of formal learning and evaluation in ECEC (8,13,14). Previous research analyzing the values of MoPA using government policy documents (e.g., laws and curricula) on ECEC shows that MoPA in the ECEC policy documents is to varying degrees of a lowpriority value in the Nordic ECEC law documents and guidelines (15). Recently, a Swedish study found limited teaching competencies for MoPA in ECEC teachers and highlighted the need for improved education and competence development ( 16), which has also been found in other countries (17).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative analysis of movement and physical activity in early childhood teacher education policy in five Nordic countries

Christiansen,

Ekberg,

Soini

et al. 2024

Front. Sports Act. Living

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IntroductionThe aim of this study is to investigate the integration of movement and physical activity (MoPA) within Early Childhood Teacher Education (ECTE) policies across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. This knowledge can inform the development of ECTE policies and practices that promote MoPA in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Nordic countries and other countries worldwide.MethodsIn this study, a Nordic cross-national network of researchers collaborated in investigating policy documents at the national and university levels, which govern the education of ECEC teachers. This study was inspired by the Non-affirmative Theory of Education, which provides a framework for understanding the various influences on curricular development in higher education. Based on this, a four-step comparative analytical process of national and university documents across the Nordic countries was conducted. It included keyword search for MoPA related courses and a qualitative description of MoPA in ECTE. Thus, a combination of investigations of policy documents at the national and university level and expert knowledge set a solid foundation for international comparison.ResultsThe comparative analysis of MoPA in ECTE reveals diverse approaches influenced by national and university policies. A central theme is the variability in MoPA integration across these nations. Finland and Norway prioritize MoPA with independent mandatory courses. In Iceland, compulsory MoPA courses exist at one of two universities, and in Sweden at three out of 19. All university colleges in Denmark offer an elective course. Furthermore, learning objectives related to MoPA are, to varying degrees, part of the internships in the countries, with Sweden being an exception. In the participating countries, the teachers decide the content of the MoPA courses with little guidance, support, and agreement on essential MoPA content within and across the ECTE's. Norway has established guidelines, and in Finland, there is a network of ECTE Physical Education (PE) educators, which, to some degree, increases the consistency and quality of MoPA in education.DiscussionThe Nordic countries present diverse MoPA integration approaches rooted in national policies and educational traditions. The findings emphasize the necessity of independent and mandatory MoPA courses, integration of MoPA into internships and promoting networks across the educational and academic sectors to equip future early childhood educators with competencies for fostering physical activity, motor development and children's well-being.

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Movement and Physical Activity in Early Childhood Education and Care Policies of Five Nordic Countries

Cited by 7 publications

References 53 publications

Factors associated with implemented teacher-led movement and physical activity in early childhood education and care

Factors associated with implemented teacher-led movement and physical activity in early childhood education and care

Perceived insufficient pedagogical content knowledge in teaching movement and physical activity. Experiences from an action-oriented study among educators in early childhood education and care

A comparative analysis of movement and physical activity in early childhood teacher education policy in five Nordic countries

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