In order for children to achieve an appropriate universal development, a minimum of one hour of high to medium intensity of physical activity is required. This is one of their fundamental needs, as it allows them to discover their surroundings, engage in interactions with other children, test their abilities and benefit from the positive effects of physical activity on health, well-being, behaviour and learning success. On the other hand, daily routine of long-term sitting, encouraged by modern lifestyle, may lead to backbone-related problems, whereas lack of movement alongside other unhealthy habits is accompanied by skeletal issues, obesity, high blood pressure and cholesterol, leading to increased risk of various other health conditions. By applying regular movement habits into children’s daily routine we care not only for their current well-being and health, but also educate them in leading a healthy lifestyle, thus indirectly taking care of their future health. As much of the sitting occurs during school hours, experts warn that additional physical activities may be added during this very time, implemented in the form of sports lessons and active breaks or by enriching regular lessons with physical activities and creating a movement-encouraging physical environment. It has been discovered that an addition of certain portable or fixed accessories or colouring the floor may increase the time and intensity of pupils’ physical activity, and so does playing in natural environment with trees and rocks et cetera. One of the approaches used to decrease time of sitting is an application of such furniture or accessories that allow either for work in standing position or movement during sitting. The objective of this Master’s thesis was to determine the degree to which the movement is encouraged by learning environment among Slovenian elementary school pupils from the first to fifth year. An online survey has been carried out with 157 teachers of first to fifth year pupils. We have discovered that the versatility of accessories varies greatly among different schools. Children from the classrooms with somewhat more diverse inventory of accessories have mostly proven to be more likely to move during lessons and breaks, compared to children from less equipped classrooms. And what is more, teachers of these very classes have also been found to include physical activities into lessons more frequently. The teachers attribute a great importance to pupils’ movement during lessons and breaks, as well as they find their behaviour and well-being consequently improved.
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