TITLE:
School-Based Physical Activity and the Implementation Paradox
AUTHORS:
Thomas Skovgaard, Danielle Louise Nørager Johansen
KEYWORDS:
Implementation, Delphi-Study, Management, Primary and Lower Secondary School, Physical Activity
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Physical Education,
Vol.10 No.4,
November
30,
2020
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this article is to explore
core aspects of implementation management and what implementation management
entails within the area of school-based physical activity. The article reports
on a comprehensive national Delphi study identifying factors of key importance
for implementing school-based physical activity. The Delphi study consisted of
four phases: 1) Identifying implementation factors related to school-based
physical activity reported in the scientific and grey literature; 2) Requesting
a total of 65 national area experts to assess and prioritize the identified
factors; 3) Interviewing selected national area experts to examine outlier
responses; 4) Establishing final consensus on the prioritization of
implementation factors identified, ranked and assessed in phase II. In the
Delphi study, School management stands out as the factor that overall is
considered most essential for successful implementation. The broader research
literature on school-based implementation processes confirms the key role that,
not least, first-level management, e.g. in the form of a given school’s local
management, plays in the further deployment of educational policy changes. To
put the findings from the Delphi study into perspective, the article discusses
central issues on management of organizational implementation—including current
knowledge about change and transformation management. In addition, research
specifically dealing with strategic processes related to school-based physical
activity is included. Finally, the article delivers core messages on what it
takes to succeed with implementation management of school-based physical
activity initiatives.