Females and Stages of Physical Activity in Schools

It helps to teach students how to appropriately interact with their peers, how to develop their motor skills and how to learn the basic skills associated with most sports and games (Bennett, 2008). As young people spend the majority of their time in the school environment, it holds great potential in reinforcing health promotion (Hills, King and Byrne (2007). Sutherland et al (2003) conducted a study, looking at the views of 31 school staff, 170 parents and 40 health care workers. It explored the way schools should support students and if they should play a major role in the promotion of health and physical activity. Results suggested that, other than the home environment, no other place has such continuous contact. However, Gidlow et al (2008) suggested that only 30% of physical activity levels come from in-school activities but a further 50% was through travelling to school as well as extra-curricular activities. McKenna and Riddoch (2003) looked at physical activity in schools from a socio-economic perspective and explain that school is one of the few settings where full range of socio-economic groups will be represented. .
             The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (2014) conducted some research to gain an insight into women's ideas and attitudes about sport and physical activity. They found there were 3 main barriers to participation - emotional barriers, capability barriers and opportunity barriers. Tinsley (2013), the Insight and Innovation manager of Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation, looked into these areas in more detail and discovered the following determinants: .
             • Sporting reasons to include team members, coach, risk of injury, competition.
             • Lifestyle reasons to include friends, relationships, parental support, money, work/school.
             • Personal reasons to include laziness, lack of fitness, embarrassment and not being good at the sport. .
             Likewise, Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation (2012) carried out research using just over 1,500 boys and girls in the UK (341 from primary school and 1166 from secondary school) who completed questionnaires looking into why girls avoid being physically active.