European Physical Activity Label for Schools
Introduction
The main goal of the EU-PALS project at operational level is to develop a label that is evaluating the schools’ relation towards sport and physical activity, and which is applicable in all EU countries.
This label should involve indicators from three neighbouring fields (hereinafter also referred to as “dimensions”):
- Physical education in schools (educational course, part of the curriculum),
- Extracurricular physical activity programs with focus on health-enhancing physical activity – hereinafter: HEPA - organised in or by the schools themselves and
- School sport (competitive and non-competitive sport activities and events).
Previously EUPEA sent out a questionnaire the aim of which was to get all the necessary information about member countries’ educational systems, school physical education characteristics, and if relevant all the best practices of existing labels related to this topic.
The aim of the meta-analysis is analysation of the related regulation and policies in those EUPEA countries which have filled the questionnaire. Mainstream, whether indicators of such labels are reflecting on the HEPA indicators (or HEPA-related policies) as detailed in the Council Recommendation on promoting HEPA across sectors, conclusions to be drawn from HEPA indicators into public education. Recognizing best practices for future integration in the EU-PALS label.
Methods
The questionnaire was designed previously at the first EU-PALS workshop in London. After some modifications by the partners the questionnaire was sent out by EUPEA to the member states. In the first part of the questionnaire we asked the member countries about already existing labels and quality mark systems. The second part of the questions concentrated on school physical education systems, HEPA and school sport dimension. N=10 countries sent back the filled surveys.
