Teacher-Level Factors, Classroom Physical Activity Opportunities, and Children's Physical Activity Levels

Classroom-based physical activity (CBPA) breaks are a cost-effective strategy to promote physical activity (PA) at school. Despite teachers' critical roles in sustained implementation of CBPA breaks, few studies examined the association of teacher-level factors with student PA levels, and none focused on rural schools.

We monitored children's PA levels over 4 consecutive school days at 6 rural Oregon elementary schools with Walk4Life pedometers. During the same week, teachers recorded all student PA opportunities (recess, PE, and CBPA breaks) and answered a 26-item questionnaire about factors influencing their use of CBPA breaks. Mixed-effects models were used to associate teacher-level factors and PA opportunities with children's moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA; in minutes per day), controlling for child-level covariates.

When teachers valued PA, students accumulated more MVPA (1.07 min/d; P < .01) than students of teachers reporting low PA value. Students did more MVPA (1 min/d; P < .001) when teachers agreed the school operating conditions posed barriers to providing PA than when teachers disagreed that barriers existed. PE classes contributed significantly to student's PA levels.

Provision of PE, increasing teacher value for PA, and further investigation of how teacher-level factors relate to students' MVPA levels during CBPA breaks at rural elementary schools are warranted.