E-prime

We want to find out to which extent the professionalisation programme we developed is useful for teachers and will lead to the desired outcomes for pupils. We will focus on what works, for whom and under which circumstances. In order to be able to answer these questions we will make use of questionnaires and focus groups with PE-teachers in the Netherlands, Austria and Portugal.

With this project we aim to help teachers improve the quality of their physical education, in order to contribute to a healthy and active lifestyle for children throughout Europe. We hope to achieve this through the development of a professionalisation programme which focusses on the improvement of motor skills and the psychosocial development of children.

• First, we will develop a professionalisation programme for PE-teachers. Learning modules in this programme will be concrete activities for the development of motor skills and the prevention of injuries, as well as improving children’s psychosocial development. This will be done in a hybrid programme which includes online modules (videos and a handbook) and additional practical activities.
• Second, we will develop practical sources for teachers in order to ensure a greater involvement of children, parents, sports coaches and other stakeholders in achieving their targets.
• Third, we will set up a mentoring/buddy-system, which will give teachers additional support for teaching the programme and making use of the newly-learned skills.

With this project we wish to contribute to the improvement of the quality of physical education in Europe, in order to stimulate an active and healthy lifestyle in children from a young age. With the outcomes of the research we aim to help primary schools to improve the quality of their physical education. We aim to do this by helping teachers to develop their personal and professional skills, so they can focus their lessons on stimulating their pupil’s motor skills and their psychosocial development. From a wider social perspective this will be an important contribution to achieving health related targets, greater inclusivity, equality and social cohesion.

The project and the final outcomes will be shared through the website, flyers, press releases, newsletters and social media. We will also give presentations at international congresses and publish the outcomes in specialised publications for science, professionals, parents and the wider audience. By doing this we connect with initiatives aimed at the promotion of education of good quality, inclusivity, health and wellbeing organised in the United States. Project-specific activities such as trainings and meetings will be announced, streamed and shared through our various channels. For all these activities we will be making use of the consortium’s network.