Parents’ Perceptions of Physical and Health Education in the Experimental All-Day School Program in the Republic of Croatia

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine parents’ attitudes toward the effects of the experimental all-day school (CDŠ) program on children’s physical activity and psychosocial well-being, and to evaluate satisfaction with Physical and Health Education (TZK) taught by a master’s-level kinesiologist in classroom teaching. The sample included N = 67 parents, and data were collected via an online questionnaire (Likert 1–5). Measures of central tendency and dispersion, scale reliability (Cronbach α), thematic components (principal components method), and one-sample t-tests relative to the neutral scale value (3) were analyzed. The results show high mean values for all items (M = 4.49–4.67) with negative skewness of the distributions, indicating an extremely positive parental perception. The subscales showed good to excellent internal consistency (α = .78–.84), while the total scale had α = .89. One-sample t-tests show that the means of all items are statistically significantly higher than the neutral value (p < .001), with large effects (Cohen d = 2.39–3.34). In the discussion, the findings are interpreted in relation to existing knowledge about the importance of school-based physical activity for health, mental well-being, and school functioning. In conclusion, parents strongly support CDŠ and the role of the kinesiologist in early school age, with the note that future research should include objective measures of physical activity and a longitudinal design.