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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2009 Mar 1;100(2):125–129. doi: 10.1007/BF03405521

Ontario’s Daily Physical Activity Policy for Elementary Schools: Is Everything in Place for Success?

Jennifer E Robertson-Wilson 114,✉, Lucie Lévesque 214
PMCID: PMC6974152  PMID: 19839289

Abstract

Objectives

The development, implementation, and evaluation of policies may play an important role in promoting health behaviours such as physical activity. The Ontario Ministry of Education (OME) recently mandated Memorandum No. 138 requiring daily physical activity (DPA) for Ontario elementary students in grades one through eight. The purpose of this paper is to examine implementation strategies.

Methods

Hogwood and Gunn’s 10 preconditions for “perfect implementation” are used to examine publicly available Ministry DPA policy documents to assess whether these implementation strategies have been considered in the policy documents.

Results

Several preconditions (e.g., allocation of resources, task specification) appear to have been considered, however a number of preconditions (e.g., the sustainability of resources, extent to which the policy is valued, and evaluation plans) thought to be important require additional attention to ensure optimal DPA implementation.

Conclusions

Additional reflection upon Hogwood and Gunn’s implementation preconditions would, in our opinion, assist in facilitating optimal DPA implementation as per Memorandum No. 138.

Key words: School, exercise, physical activity, public policy

Footnotes

Acknowledgements: This paper was drafted while Jennifer Robertson-Wilson was a doctoral student in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University and under a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada doctoral fellowship (# 752-2003-1338). The authors also acknowledge the helpful comments of Robert Wilson, Jessica Fraser-Thomas, Charles Ungerleider, and Kim Bergeron, and two anonymous reviewers on an earlier draft.

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