EVALUATION OF THE KINESIOLOGICAL WORKSHOP PROGRAMME FOR INCREASE LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF CHILDREN, PUPILS AND PARENTS

The aim of the research was to evaluate the effects of the kinesiological workshop programme on all participants' physical activity (PA), namely children at an early age, pupils attending primary schools and their parents. The kinesiological workshop is part of the programme conducted by the Centre for the Study of Childhood of the Faculty of Teacher Education of Rijeka. The programme is named Small Steps for a Healthier World and it is based on former scientific achievements linked to intervention programmes which can be conducted in educational institutions and in the life of a family on a daily basis. Its primary purpose is to promote physical exercising through the education of children, their parents and other participants with the aim of acquiring movement as a way of life. There were 113 persons participating in the research and they were 1.5 to 46 years old. PA was evaluated pursuant to the criteria of the World Health Organisation, immediately before and seven days after the kinesiological workshop was carried out. The average results showed an extremely low level of PA for all participants. The results of the Chi-Square test determined a statistically significant (p=0.00) improvement for all participants in their level of PA after the workshop had been conducted. The aforementioned programme was very successful in the raising awareness about the importance of regular physical exercising and the acquisition of movement as a way of life.