Views of first time implementers physical education and sports teachers on health related fitness report card

Abstract

The Health-Related Fitness Report Card (HRFRC) has been implemented first-time by physical education and sports teachers in the 2016-2017 academic year under the leadership of the Ministry of National Education in Turkey. The purpose of this study was to obtain the views of the physical education and sports teachers on the first time implemented HRFRC and the content of the fitness test. Participants were composed of 10 physical education and sports teachers with seniority between 2 and 30 years and actively working in the middle and high schools. Semi-structured in-depth individual interviews and field notes were chosen as the data collection tools. Collected data were analysed using the content analysis method. Identified themes are (1) Benefits of the Practice, (2) Reasons for Not Achieving the Objective of the Practice, (3) Challenges Experienced with the Practice, and (4) Recommendations for the Practice. Teachers emphasized that improving the quality of HRFRC training provided by the government, using standard materials for measurements, changing the time of the implementation, increasing the integration of stakeholders such as a nutritionist, health experts and families into implementation and providing a more confidential atmosphere in the implementation for increasing participation rate and the quality of the HRFRC.