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. 2025 Mar 4;25(1):855.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22075-x.

Strategies and barriers to implementing physically active teaching in universities from the perspective of lecturers: a qualitative study

Robert Rupp  1 , Birgit Wallmann-Sperlich  2 , Jens Bucksch  3
Affiliations

Strategies and barriers to implementing physically active teaching in universities from the perspective of lecturers: a qualitative study

Robert Rupp et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: University students accumulate lots of sedentary time without interrupting and comprehensive approaches to reduce time spent sedentary are lacking. The implementation of physically active university teaching needs practicable approaches and the support by lecturers. However, there is little research on which physically activating strategies lecturers actually use and what barriers they become aware to implement these. This exploratory, qualitative study aims to identify physically activating strategies as well as barriers for reducing sitting time and physically active university teaching from the perspective of lecturers.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 lecturers to explore potential physically activating strategies in university teaching, assess their degree of utilization, and identify barriers to implementation. The data were analysed by a structured content analysis of the interview transcripts using MAXQDA 2020 software.

Results: Physically activating strategies are hardly known among university lecturers and are seldomly used on a regular and conscious basis. We identified two types of strategies with physically activating measures and teaching methods. Lecturers highlighted two specific types of physically activating measures: physical activity breaks and the use of physically activating furniture. All together, we identified 18 distinct teaching methods (e.g. group work, gallery walk) that integrate learning processes with physical activity in a pedagogical-didactic manner. The main barriers to implementation identified were lack of space, lack of time, students' unwillingness to move; organizational social norms, and lecturers' uncertainty about how to implement these strategies effectively.

Conclusions: University lecturers are generally unfamiliar with and rarely use physically activating strategies to reduce sedentary behavior in students. However, lecturers identified 18 potential teaching methods that integrate physical activity with pedagogical-didactic principles, offering a new approach to physically active university teaching. These methods present an untapped potential for the low-threshold integration of physical activity and breaks from sitting into university teaching, aligning with "stealth health" strategies that incidentally promote health while assuring a "high-quality education" as the core concern of higher education teaching. Understanding and addressing the barriers to implementation, such as lack of space, time, social and organizational norms, is crucial for the effective planning and implementation of interventions.

Keywords: Active learning; Higher education; Pedagogy; Physically active learning (PAL); Sedentary behavior; Sitting; Stealth intervention; Teaching methods; University students; University teaching.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study complies with ethical and legal data protection regulations and was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Sport Science of the University of Würzburg (EV2024/2–2305). All research methods in this study have been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Prior to participation in the study, all participants were provided with written and verbal information about the study, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants to participate in the study. The study ensured that quotes were anonymized and no conclusions could be drawn about the respondents. We affirm that the interview guide was developed for this study and that the results of the study presented have not been published elsewhere. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Heidelberg model of physically active teaching — modified according to [6], reproduced with permission from SNCSC
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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