Description of the school environment related to physical education classes, recess, extracurricular activities and physical spaces in the city of Pelotas, RS, Brazil

The aim of the present study was to describe the school environment of public and private primary schools from the city of Pelotas, RS, Southern Brazil, according to the availability of Physical Education (PE) classes, breaks, extracurricular activities and physical spaces. A cross-sectional study...

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Main Authors: Alan Knuth, Inácio Silva, Pedro Hallal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde 2015-09-01
Series:Revista Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde
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Online Access:https://rbafs.org.br/RBAFS/article/view/6146
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author Alan Knuth
Inácio Silva
Pedro Hallal
author_facet Alan Knuth
Inácio Silva
Pedro Hallal
author_sort Alan Knuth
collection DOAJ
description The aim of the present study was to describe the school environment of public and private primary schools from the city of Pelotas, RS, Southern Brazil, according to the availability of Physical Education (PE) classes, breaks, extracurricular activities and physical spaces. A cross-sectional study was conducted, including both public and private schools. In each school, the principal or a PE teacher was interviewed to assess PE classes, recess and extracurricular activities, while a checklist was carried out to evaluate the quality and availability of physical spaces.  A total of 71.9% of the 99 schools had PE classes for grades 1 to 4. Extracurricular projects were available in 59.6% of the schools and 71.2% offered free activities to students. The most common activities are dancing and “futsal”. There was a gym in 10.1% of schools (40.0% of private and 4.8% of public schools). Higher availability and quality of outdoor courts, indoor rooms, multimedia rooms and green areas were more consistently found among private schools than public schools. Our findings indicated a low coverage of PE classes in grades 1 to 4, and insufficient availability and quality of physical structures in the public schools, compared to private ones. Many environmental features should be used in order to improve students’ health and well-being.
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spelling doaj-art-fcd7c44e2ccb457687b1506d6e4f88142025-01-02T03:55:55ZengSociedade Brasileira de Atividade Física e SaúdeRevista Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde1413-34822317-16342015-09-0120510.12820/rbafs.v.20n5p524Description of the school environment related to physical education classes, recess, extracurricular activities and physical spaces in the city of Pelotas, RS, BrazilAlan Knuth0Inácio SilvaPedro HallalFURG The aim of the present study was to describe the school environment of public and private primary schools from the city of Pelotas, RS, Southern Brazil, according to the availability of Physical Education (PE) classes, breaks, extracurricular activities and physical spaces. A cross-sectional study was conducted, including both public and private schools. In each school, the principal or a PE teacher was interviewed to assess PE classes, recess and extracurricular activities, while a checklist was carried out to evaluate the quality and availability of physical spaces.  A total of 71.9% of the 99 schools had PE classes for grades 1 to 4. Extracurricular projects were available in 59.6% of the schools and 71.2% offered free activities to students. The most common activities are dancing and “futsal”. There was a gym in 10.1% of schools (40.0% of private and 4.8% of public schools). Higher availability and quality of outdoor courts, indoor rooms, multimedia rooms and green areas were more consistently found among private schools than public schools. Our findings indicated a low coverage of PE classes in grades 1 to 4, and insufficient availability and quality of physical structures in the public schools, compared to private ones. Many environmental features should be used in order to improve students’ health and well-being. https://rbafs.org.br/RBAFS/article/view/6146SchoolsPhysical ActivityEnvironment and Public Health
spellingShingle Alan Knuth
Inácio Silva
Pedro Hallal
Description of the school environment related to physical education classes, recess, extracurricular activities and physical spaces in the city of Pelotas, RS, Brazil
Revista Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde
Schools
Physical Activity
Environment and Public Health
title Description of the school environment related to physical education classes, recess, extracurricular activities and physical spaces in the city of Pelotas, RS, Brazil
title_full Description of the school environment related to physical education classes, recess, extracurricular activities and physical spaces in the city of Pelotas, RS, Brazil
title_fullStr Description of the school environment related to physical education classes, recess, extracurricular activities and physical spaces in the city of Pelotas, RS, Brazil
title_full_unstemmed Description of the school environment related to physical education classes, recess, extracurricular activities and physical spaces in the city of Pelotas, RS, Brazil
title_short Description of the school environment related to physical education classes, recess, extracurricular activities and physical spaces in the city of Pelotas, RS, Brazil
title_sort description of the school environment related to physical education classes recess extracurricular activities and physical spaces in the city of pelotas rs brazil
topic Schools
Physical Activity
Environment and Public Health
url https://rbafs.org.br/RBAFS/article/view/6146
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AT inaciosilva descriptionoftheschoolenvironmentrelatedtophysicaleducationclassesrecessextracurricularactivitiesandphysicalspacesinthecityofpelotasrsbrazil
AT pedrohallal descriptionoftheschoolenvironmentrelatedtophysicaleducationclassesrecessextracurricularactivitiesandphysicalspacesinthecityofpelotasrsbrazil