Promoting girlsʼ physical activity in physical education: Evaluation of the implementation quality of the CReActivity study

Abstract

The promotion of an active and healthy lifestyle is a central mission of the school setting and physical education lessons. Intervention programs in this setting have a high priority in promoting physical activity in children and adolescents. In order to determine the effectiveness of an intervention program, a comprehensive evaluation is essential. The aim of the present study is the qualitative evaluation of the implementation quality of the CReActivity study, which is based on the self-determination theory and aimed to promote girls’ physical activity levels through physical education. For this purpose, guided interviews were carried out with female teachers and students of the intervention classes. Subsequently, interviews were analyzed by means of deductive–inductive thematic analysis to gain insight into how students and teachers experience and interpret the program. The analysis of the teacher interviews revealed eight themes regarding program adherence, frequency of implementation, quality of delivery, participant responsiveness, applicability and acceptance of the intervention. Student interviews provided information regarding quality of delivery and participant responsiveness. Overall, the results indicate a perceived effectiveness of the intervention by the teachers, which indicates a high quality implementation. Nevertheless, the results suggest different levels of implementation quality between teachers, which contribute to an inconsistent picture of the implementation quality.