Exploring the Physical Activity and Screen Viewing-Related Knowledge, Training, and Self-Efficacy of Early Childhood Education Candidates
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.