TABLE 5.

Specific barriers identified by the principals who responded that there are barriers to increasing time for physical education and physical activity

Barriers	Barriers to increasing time for physical education, %	Barriers to increasing time for physical activity, %
Lack of space	50.0	38.7
Lack of time in the curriculum	68.4	54.8
Lack of funding for a physical education teacher	47.4	12.9
Lack of student or parent interest	2.6	6.5
Other*	15.8	64.5

The survey contained preset answers and an ‘other’ category; participants were allowed to give more than one answer.

^*Other barriers to increasing time for physical education included the following responses: lack of funding for equipment; challenging to get insurance to take kids to an outside facility for physical education; parents complain that the kids will be too tired if physical education time is increased and have to choose between hiring a music teacher or a physical education teacher. Other barriers to increasing time for physical activity included the following responses: unable to offer before or after school activities to bused students; don’t have staff to run before and after school activities; lack of funding to purchase equipment; physical activity is not culturally accepted; unable to offer after school activities in the winter because it gets dark early; it is a challenge to properly educate teachers on what quality daily physical activity is; temperature is too cold in the winter to get the children outside; children have other activities planned after school; hard to get kids to get up early to come for before school activities; parental attitudes – can’t even get parents to drop their kids off one block away to walk an extra block and families aren’t promoting physical activity