Exploring young children's enjoyment of physical education using the Write, Draw, and Tell method

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Fitton-Davies, Katie and Ball, Emma and Bardid, Farid and Foweather, Lawrence and Rudd, James R and Knowles, Zoe (2025) Exploring young children's enjoyment of physical education using the Write, Draw, and Tell method. European Physical Education Review. ISSN 1356-336X (https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336X251388626)

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Abstract

Although young children generally enjoy physical education (PE), little is known about what they enjoy and why. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore what 5- to 6-year-old children like and dislike about PE. Seventy-seven children drew pictures of what they both liked and disliked about PE and were then interviewed to explore their reasons. Content analysis of the drawings and reflexive thematic analysis of their transcript data revealed common themes across both positive and negative perspectives, including movement skills, sports, playground-based games, use of equipment, and social interactions. Differences emerged in the sub-themes; for example, under the theme of sport, children expressed liking both individual and team sports, citing fun and perceived benefits, while team sport was only disliked most prevalently due to lack of competency. Children provided explanations of their likes and dislikes in PE, along with the reasons behind them, resulting in five recommendations for practice: (1) clearly and consistently outline the benefits of PE to children, (2) ensure activities provide an optimal level of challenge, (3) foster socially safe environments, (4) incorporate equipment within activities wherever possible, and (5) shift the focus away from sport and knock-out games to more inclusive and fundamental movement skill activities. Children’s voices around their PE experiences revealed perceived facilitators and barriers to their enjoyment. A deeper understanding of young children’s enjoyment in PE offers valuable guidance for researchers and practitioners to design high-quality, meaningful PE programmes that prioritise enjoyment and positive experiences to foster beneficial outcomes.

ORCID iDs

Fitton-Davies, Katie, Ball, Emma, Bardid, Farid ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8591-0596, Foweather, Lawrence, Rudd, James R and Knowles, Zoe;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)