Primary School Pupils' Perceptions and Experiences of Wearable Technologies

Area of Science:

• Pediatric physical activity
• Educational technology
• Child psychology

Background:

• Wearable technologies present opportunities to combat in-school physical inactivity.
• Children's perspectives are often overlooked in discussions about technology use in schools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore primary school pupils' experiences and perceptions of wearable physical activity monitoring technologies in educational settings.
• To gather insights into children's views on using wearable technology for physical activity tracking within schools.

Main Methods:

• Conducted nine semi-structured focus groups with 41 primary school pupils (Years 5 and 6).
• Involved pupils from five primary schools in the South West of England.
• Analyzed focus group transcripts using a reflective thematic approach.

Main Results:

• Pupils actively contributed to discussions, identifying both benefits and drawbacks of wearable technologies.
• Students desired personal activity visibility and teacher awareness but expressed concerns about potential negative emotions arising from class comparisons.
• Pupils recognized the potential for wearable data to inform teachers about activity levels.

Conclusions:

• Pupil perspectives are crucial for developing effective school-based interventions to address physical inactivity and inequalities.
• Schools should leverage wearable device data for systemic practice improvement rather than individual pupil monitoring.
• Findings inform the design of technology-integrated physical activity programs in primary schools.