“ACTIVE VALUES”: An Interdisciplinary Educational Programme to Promote Healthy Lifestyles and Encourage Education in Values—A Rationale and Protocol Study

Abstract

Numerous investigations show the need to intervene with school children and young students in order to mitigate socio-educational difficulties such as social conflict, and public health problems such as sedentary lifestyles and childhood obesity. This study seeks to explain the rationale and protocol of an educational programme called “ACTIVE VALUES” as an intervention strategy for the reduction of sedentary lifestyles and the promotion of education in values in schools. The present research used a mixed methods approach with a quasi-experimental design of repeated measures (pre-test and post-test), with a non-randomised control group (CG) and an experimental group (EG). The sample was composed of approximately 250 students and 30 teachers from different autonomous communities in Spain, divided into EG and CG. The EG implemented a teaching methodology based on the incorporation of Active Breaks (AB) into the structure of the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model, during one academic year, while the CG used conventional teaching based on the direct instruction teaching technique. A specific two-stage professional development procedure was followed: (1) initial training and (2) continuing professional development (CPD). The fidelity of the programme was checked by observational analysis of the sessions which were analysed by two observers with expertise in educational research and active methodologies. Currently, “ACTIVE VALUES” is the first study that examines the effectiveness of an educational programme that integrates into the teaching methodology, elements that foster education in values and promote healthy lifestyle habits through physical-sports activity within the classroom.

Keywords

• active breaks
• teaching personal and social responsibility
• active methodologies
• elementary education
• secondary education
• physical activity