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Table 1 Summary of themes with illustrative quotes

From: Canadian after-school care providers’ perceived role promoting healthy lifestyles: a focused ethnography

Theme 1: Enhanced awareness

Re-prioritizing HE and PA

… it was School’s Out Let’s Move that got us in the direction of talking about it more openly because I think individually we all thought those things … But we didn’t sit and talk about it and School’s Out got us to the point of sitting and talking about it and, “Okay, so we’re doing this. What else could we offer? What else could we do? … it [SOLMo] made us talk about it more.

Research as an Implementation Tool

… telling them [the children] what it’s [SOLMo] about … Showing them the resources we were given. Just keeping a mindset that is geared towards really emphasizing the physical activity and nutrition part of it.

Theme 2: Improved programming

Knowledge

I was really honing on the … vigorous. So we started to do a little bit more baseball. Now, baseball is obviously a slow game, but I was changing it up, getting them to do different things with it. So what was happening was I was just taking a regular activity, not reinventing the wheel, just making sure it had a little bit more … vigorous activity

Resources

… incorporating [HE and PA] into our planning more, because now … there’s actually something that we have right there in front of us now instead of thinking, ‘Okay, well, I’m going to look this up. Or I’m going to research it,’ or whatever. No, it’s actually right there. So we can just do it.

Theme 3: Strong relationships

Unique role as ASC providers

… we benefit because a teacher has a child from September until June and then for lack of better words, they’re done with that child. We get them for years. Years. Like I’ve worked with some of the children since they were 1-years-old to now 9. So, I have years to become that incredibly important person to them … like we have a very special situation.

Role modeling

I think participating in the activities make a difference … If you’re excited about it they’re more likely to be excited about it. If you’re participating and encouraging them to continue trying they’re more likely to … keep trying versus giving up. So, I think that there’s a lot to be done by staff in terms of role modelling to encourage positive choices.

Theme 4: Collaborative approach

School Partnerships

… we’re lucky in that we’re in this classroom and we’re in this setting, and we have access to whatever it is we need … [I’ve] asked what is it we can take outside as far as equipment, because kids of course want to take things … [and] the school’s really flexible with that.

Community Support

… sometimes we will have a day where it’s two staff, like we’re short-staffed … so our volunteers are very important, especially at the gym, because they’re able to be with those kids who have a little bit more difficult time participating.

Theme 5: Role tensiona

… people just think all you do is play battleship and you know, that you’re actually overpaid … Because we don’t have all that stuff that we have … to adhere to, with all the measurable outcomes. Well, clearly our job is easier. But you know … This one actually makes it harder … Because it’s like draining. It’s love. And it’s compassion, and it’s all these things. It’s not just doo doo doo … write A, B, C, D … Here’s the answer key and whatever …

  1. aNo subthemes were identified for this theme