Possibilities of development of model of Promotion of Physical Activity for students at the Secondary Schools

The aim the research was to evaluate the model of students‘ physical activity in Lithuanian secondary schools and to introduce new ways of improvement, which can be implemented in the physical activity. Methods. The survey was conducted in two stages at two secondary schools in Kaunas city. During the 1st stage of investigation, 153 students from 5-6 and 10-11 grades filled in a questionnaire forms. At the 2nd stage, 8 experts from the secondary schools (2 males and 6 females) participated in the focus group discussion. SPSS 15.0 for Windows software package was used for the statistical analysis of data. Results: The research showed that after school both elder and younger students attend sports clubs at the same frequency (p = 0,101). It was established that higher percentage of boys attends sports clubs in comparison with girls. It was not found any relation between students’ intentions to take part in physical education lessons and school sport facilities (equipment, gym/sports stadium and cloakroom/locker room) evaluation (p = 0,895). Majority of students have rated the physical education lessons as satisfactory (63,8%), the rest of students rated it as good (34,9%). Respondents were satisfied with the school sport equipment (51%), some of them rated it as satisfactory (45,7%). Students have rated gym/sports stadium facilities as good (68,3%) and satisfactory (31,4%). The locker rooms were evaluated as satisfactory (63,8%) and good (25%). It was also established that the more the subjects students discuss with their parents about the physical activity and its benefits to health, the more often they choose physical activity during their leisure time (p = 0,003). The focus group discussion showed that physical activity at the schools is organized in not modern and efficient way. As children spend the majority of their time at school, the school must provide more opportunities for physical activity. Therefore, teachers of physical education lessons should pay more attention for engaging the students in variety of sports, physical activities and encouraging them to be more physically active during their leisure time. Conclusions. This study has established that both elder and younger students are equally engaged in physical activity. However, engagement in physical activity of boys and girls differs: boys after school more often attend sports clubs than girls; boys like physical education lessons more than girls. The discussion with the expert teachers showed that model of promotion of physical activity at schools is not efficient. Schools should organize more various activities relevant to young people and engage them into these activities. The teachers should increase their role in promotion of physical activity, they should encourage pupils to be physically active, to take care of their health and develop their healthy lifestyle skills. Practical recommendations. It is recommended that the model of promotion of physical activity should be improved by upgrading sports facilities at schools, organizing more local sports events and competitions, and by providing a possibility for students to attend sports at school after lessons, organizing activities which are popular among pupils, as well as promoting various sports