WHO INFORMATION SERIES ON SCHOOL HEALTH ... - PAHO/WHO

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Promoting Physical Activity in Schools
5.7 Training teachers and other school personnel
While teachers are crucial to the implementation of physical activity in schools, they do not necessarily possess
adequate knowledge and skills to enable them to deliver the programmes effectively.
Adequate, regular and appropriate training should be provided not only to the physical education or activity
teachers but also to other staff who may have responsibility for making decisions about physical activity or
engaging students in physical activities, such as health service staff, teachers of other subjects, and voluntary
coaches. Not all countries have adequate resources for specialised teachers for physical and health
education. In such situation providing training to other school personnel and staff is very important to ensure
safety and quality of physical activities.
Teachers should be trained to:
• Involve parents and family members to promote physical activity among their children.
• Emphasise activities that can be enjoyed over a lifetime.
• Avoid injury and apply safety precautions during physical activity, e.g. by practising stretching
exercises before sports and games and providing students with protective clothing and equipment.
• Encourage girls to participate in physical activity, e.g. by offering activities such as dancing,
yoga or aerobic.
• Encourage physically and cognitively impaired children to participate in physical activity, e.g. by
asking another student to give extra assistance, adapting rules or equipment (e.g. racquets with
shorter handles for better control; sponge balls for better grip).
• Collaborate with the community members to maximise before-and-after-school physical activity.
• Create an environment for physical activity during recess, before and after school.
• Give less emphasis to competitive sports but rather promote non-competitive sports.
• Prepare fact sheets and flyers with information on benefits of physical activity for parents, family and
community members.
• Assess reasons for young people not to engage in regular physical activity and try to overcome
common barriers to physical activity.
• Recognise the different needs and interests of :
- Elementary and middle school students
- Boys and girls
- Physically/ cognitively impaired students
Trained staff and teachers are likely to appreciate the value and benefits of physical activity for physical, mental
and social health as well as for growth and maturation. They are also likely to understand the quality and
quantity of physical activity that are necessary for young people to benefit their health, skills and performance.
As a result of training, the teachers and staff will be able to provide a variety of developmentally appropriate
physical activities for children and adolescents.
WHO Information Series on School Health