Movement and physical activity experiences of early childhood teachers: Practices and contexts

Previous research highlights the vital role of early childhood teachers in promoting movement and physical activity (MOPA) in early childhood programmes. Using bioecological theory, this study examined the MOPA practices and contexts of 25 teachers from both public and private early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres in the Philippines. Through in-depth semistructured interviews, we inquired about the daily experiences on MOPA of the ECEC teachers, and their answers from the interviews were subjected to reflexive thematic analysis, which led to the identification of three main themes. Based on these themes, ECEC teachers’ practices are typically characterized by the actors with corresponding roles, the schedule and spaces for MOPA, and various MOPA strategies that they employ in their learning programmes. Within these practices, ECEC teachers also shared opportunities and challenges with the MOPA that reflected their social-cultural, socioeconomic, environmental, organizational and temporal contexts. Future research is recommended to design MOPAs in ECEC settings that consider the unique contexts of ECEC teachers and the children under their care. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s).