Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Education

Advisor

Carla Lane-Johnson

Abstract

Research of middle school health/physical education teachers’ perceptions regarding using technology in educational settings to help prevent and reduce the incidence of childhood overweight and obesity is lacking. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into those perceptions because that insight could be used to encourage teacher promotion of technology-based childhood obesity prevention initiatives in educational settings. Ajzen and Fishbein’s theory of planned behavior was used to support the conceptual framework. The research questions for this study were focused on teachers’ perceptions regarding using technology in educational settings to help prevent and reduce the incidence of childhood overweight and the extent to which teachers are using technology for those purposes. In this generic qualitative study, data were collected from 10 middle school health/physical education teachers using individual interviews. Initial and pattern coding was used to conduct thematic analysis of the data using the constant comparative method. Data relevant to the research questions showed that although some health/physical education teachers do not use technology with their students, in classrooms, other teachers do. Teachers perceive technology can be used in health/physical education settings and are willing to do so although challenges, such as lack of training, do exist. Distance education for health and physical fitness was not successful during the COVID-19 pandemic. If teacher promotion of obesity prevention initiatives can be improved for students in and out of school settings, rates of student obesity could be reduced, which could drive social change in the form of improved mental, emotional, and physical health for children.

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