Degree
Master of Science
Program
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Supervisor
Patricia Tucker
Abstract
Early childhood educators (ECEs) greatly influence young children’s physical activity (PA) and screen viewing (SV) behaviours. This study explored the PA and SV-related knowledge (i.e., of important PA/SV concepts), training (i.e., PA/SV courses/content received), and self-efficacy (i.e., to facilitate PA and limit SV in childcare) of early childhood education students. A sample of 1,292 students from 61 Canadian colleges/universities completed the online survey. In general, students exhibited the least amount of knowledge regarding the link between SV and health. Further, 67.8% and 73.3% of students had not completed PA or SV courses during their post-secondary training, respectively, and students who completed 1 or more PA/SV courses exhibited greater self-efficacy than those without such training. Findings from this work highlight the potential of supplementary PA/SV content in ECEs’ post-secondary training to benefit their related knowledge and self-efficacy prior to entering a childcare-based profession.
Recommended Citation
Bruijns, Brianne, "Exploring the Physical Activity and Screen Viewing-Related Knowledge, Training, and Self-Efficacy of Early Childhood Education Candidates" (2018). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5697.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5697