‘Maybe add something to it?’: building on The Daily Mile to enhance enjoyment and engagement

Abstract

The focus of this study is to investigate if a physical activity initiaitive (The Daily Mile) centred on running could be adapted to enhance primary school children’s enjoyment of and engagement with physical activity. An intervention took place over a 4-week period consisting of two components: The Daily Mile and an adapted component, The Extra Mile. The Extra Mile involved providing additional activities to the Daily Mile underpinned by self-determination theory [Deci, Edward L., and Richard M. Ryan. 1985. Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York, NY: Plenum. http://lib.ugent.be/catalog/rug01:001363062] and achievement goal theory [Nicholls, John G. 1989. The Competitive Ethos and Democratic Education. The Competitive Ethos and Democratic Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press]. A qualitative research approach was applied, using focus group interviews with children, children’s diary entries and teacher-researcher observation checklists to determine children’s engagement and enjoyment levels. Findings revealed that providing additional activities (within The Extra Mile) was important in increasing children’s enjoyment of and engagement with The Daily Mile. Finding the balance between each of the components to meet the needs and preferences of children is recommended.