The stimuli of the school environment for the practice of physical activity among adolescents

Abstract

This study analyzed and compared the physical, social and political stimuli of the school environment for the physical activity (PA) and the practice of PA for adolescents of both sexes in two secondary schools with different physical education (PE) programs. Four managers and 624 adolescents (326 boys) participated, aged between 14 and 17 years. Mixed methods were used, through interviews with managers, document analysis and questionnaires applied to students. The physical, social and school policies for PE were evaluated. After the analysis, it was found that there was no significant difference regarding the practice of PA between schools, with the majority of students being insufficiently active. One of the schools had more favorable conditions for PA compared to the others, obtaining the best scores regarding the perceived environment for PA, the only significant difference being observed. It was concluded that schools did not offer enough stimuli to influence students’ active behavior.