The implementation of a dynamic school day: experiences of Dutch frontrunning primary schools

Background:
Many Dutch primary schools have thus far not succeeded in making their school day more ‘dynamic’ (i.e. a school day that involves regular interruptions of sedentary learning with moments of physical activity). But a small number of Dutch primary schools already successfully implemented a more dynamic school day.

Purpose:
In this qualitative study, we set out to assess the facilitators and barriers that several stakeholders faced during the implementation of the dynamic school day in frontrunning primary schools in the Netherlands.
Methods:
We conducted semi-structured interviews with stakeholders of 3 Dutch primary schools to assess facilitators and barriers for implementation of their local dynamic school day. Data were analyzed using a thematic approach.

Results:
In total, we interviewed 13 stakeholders, including head teachers, physical educators and primary school teachers. The identified facilitators and barriers could be categorized into five overarching themes: the teacher, the pupils, the school, the socio-political environment and practical considerations.

Conclusions:
Frontrunning primary schools with respect to a more dynamic school day have encountered and overcome many barriers and made use of numerous facilitating circumstances in the Dutch context.
Practical implications:
We translated the lessons learned into a set of potential implementation strategies that can serve as a source of inspiration for other Dutch primary schools in their process to develop a dynamic school day for their local context.

Funding: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)