Parents’ perception of promoting sports and physical activity for an active, healthy school

Abstract

Knowledge of parents’ perceptions of their children’s sports and physical activities and the factors that affect participation are important steps for future action and preventive health and physical activity programmes in schools. The Inventory for a Healthy and Active School (IEAHS) was applied to 369 parents at several different schools and showed their perceptions of the problem of the lack of sports and physical activities for their children; no differences was seen in the parents’ evaluations of the IEAHS’ different factors, except when types of schools were considered. The factors taken into account were the awareness of the lack of health-oriented sport and physical activity in schools, the need to reorient physical education as a subject, adolescent drop-outs from participating in sport associated to parental attitude and schools as an element of encouragement.