Table 6 Contextual factors (barriers and enablers) and CMO links in underprivileged rural and urban settings
CONTEXT | Contextual factors | % of schools | Quotes—CMO links |
|---|---|---|---|
(N rural low SES = 48 | |||
N urban low SES = 87) | |||
Rural underprivileged | Barriers | ||
Staff turnover | Rural: 42% (vs Urban: 23%) | “Staff mobility is one aspect that can have a negative impact. We have new teachers at the school every year. We’ve had good mobilization so far and hope that it continues.” RL-74a | |
“Changing the person in charge of the program each year could compromise the sustainability of changes.” RL-8 | |||
Enablers | |||
Presence of appropriate infrastructure and/or environments | Rural: 40% (vs Urban: 8%) | “Improvements to the school yard that will be made this summer will make it possible to organize recesses for the students and offer a greater variety of outdoor activities.” UL-27 | |
“There are wooded areas nearby, the Parc régional des Appalaches, where we can go hiking.” RL-73 | |||
Presence of partnerships | Rural: 23% (vs Urban: 8%) | “Collaboration with the community encourages the maintenance of projects involving physical activity (access to several municipal facilities, parks, swimming pool, dome, bike path, trails, etc.).” RL-95 | |
“The school’s partnership with the ski program during the winter. We are the first school to have tried this program and will continue this very fruitful partnership.” RL-55 | |||
“The municipality’s financial support is very helpful.” RL-11 | |||
Barriers | |||
Urban underprivileged | Lack of financial resources and the end of funding | Urban: 44% (vs. Rural: 10%) | “Reducing the funding that allows us to allocate time for physical education teachers to get students moving more threatens the sustainability of activities. These activities are the pillars of students’ active time, so if the physical education teachers are not available to help homeroom teachers by providing direction or turnkey activities, it’s clear that active time outside of physical education classes will almost disappear. […] Without the physical education teachers to oversee everything, few changes are introduced to encourage active time.” UL-123 |
“Given that we are in an underprivileged area, as principal I work alone and there are specific issues related to the environment, the support of a project leader is required for the actions to be sustainable.” UL-14 | |||
“In an underprivileged setting, the majority of our resources are used for basic needs, such as snacks, Breakfast Club, school supervision, special education technicians and remedial education. Resources provided under Measure 15,023 truly provide wonderful experiences outside the city where students can get moving and be active in the outdoors. […] The loss of funding will mean no more outdoor field trips.” UL-95 | |||
“One major obstacle is the availability of enough quality winter clothing to hold outdoor activities, especially for grade 5 and 6 students, whose parents cannot always prioritize this type of expense for children who are often in a rapid growth phase.” UL-78 | |||
Lack of time, work overload and competition with other subjects, managing students with special needs | Urban: 9% (vs. Rural: 4%) | “The belief that the program is demanding and that academic learning takes precedence over physical activity are, to some degree, obstacles to maintaining the changes.” UL-39 | |
“There are too many requests to get students moving. At some point, students need to be in class to learn.” UL-17 | |||
“The need to manage poor behaviour during some activities led to a decrease in staff engagement.” UL-20 | |||
Enablers | |||
The presence of a committee | Urban: 14% (vs. Rural: 6%) | “Maintaining a working committee composed of teachers, PE teachers and the principal is what ensures implementation of the program at the school.” UL-34 | |
“The presence and involvement of the committee, without which the project could fail.” UL-85 | |||