title: Teachers' perspective on barriers to implementing physical activity curriculum guidelines for school children in Toronto.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Teachers in Ontario are expected to implement the physical activity guidelines in the health and physical education (HPE) curriculum document that was introduced in 1998. This study examined Toronto teachers' perspective on barriers to implementing these guidelines.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-five teachers from five Toronto elementary schools in which generalist classroom teachers provide physical education classes participated in focus groups. An experienced moderator facilitated each session. Themes were inductively generated from the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants reported that children were not engaged in moderate or vigorous physical activity daily and for the expected duration. Participants identified three categories of barriers to implementing the curriculum guidelines: lower priority for HPE, lack of performance measures for physical activity, and lack of sufficient infrastructure. First, they reported that the new curriculum expectations for other subjects were demanding, which left little time to focus on physical education. They felt that resource support for the HPE curriculum was not sufficient and that physical education specialists were necessary but unavailable to implement the curriculum. Second, participants felt accountable to both government and parents for high student performance on standardized tests in subjects deemed to be of higher priority. Third, participants reported inadequate facilities and equipment, use of portables for classrooms, cancelling physical education to have events in the gymnasium, and unavailability of teachers to supervise off-school physical activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study suggests that participating teachers perceive physical education to be a low priority in the educational system, making it difficult for them to meet the HPE curriculum expectations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1. dwyer@uoguelph.ca
authors.forename: John J M
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Dwyer
authors.forename: Kenneth R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.forename: Maru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barrera
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Ellie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goldenberg
authors.forename: Marie A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Boutilier
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D012574:Schools; D013663:Teaching