From leadership research to district action: Feasibility and acceptability of an implementation strategy to enhance use of classroom-based physical activity approaches in elementary schools: a mixed methods study

AI-assisted editorial implementation guide. Proposed district actions are separate from the original authors’ findings and recommendations. Independent peer review of this guide is not asserted.

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Evidence and transfer

Education-related source: verify which participants, institutions and outcomes were actually studied before district adoption. Source publication type: research-article. License and identity checks do not establish study quality or causality.

Original authors’ abstract, reproduced under the source license:

Abstract Background Classroom-based approaches are an evidence-based way to improve children’s physical activity; however, they are inconsistently implemented in schools. We developed MAGIC (Movement for Academic Growth In Classrooms), a multifaceted implementation strategy that consists of leadership training, teacher training, and a monthly newsletter to improve use of classroom-based physical activity approaches. The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of MAGIC among elementary school teachers and leaders. Methods We used an embedded, convergent mixed methods design. We provided the MAGIC implementation strategy to a partner elementary school. We then administered surveys to teachers to quantitatively examine feasibility and acceptability. The surveys included questions about training attendance, receipt of newsletters, and acceptability based on a theoretical framework of acceptability. We used descriptive statistics to understand feasibility and acceptability trends. We also conducted semi-structured group and individual interviews with teachers and school leaders to understand perspectives about MAGIC components. We used rapid assessment procedures to analyze qualitative data, and multiple integration strategies, including joint displays, to compare quantitative and qualitative findings. Results A total of 35 teachers (kindergarten-5th grade) completed study surveys and 27 teachers and school leaders participated in interviews. As an indicator of feasibility, all leaders attended leadership training sessions 1 (n = 13/13), 2 (n = 13/13), and 4 (n = 7/7); and 57% attended session 3 (n = 7/13); 93% (n = 28/30) of teachers attended training session 1, 90% (n = 27/20) attended session 2, and 87.5% (n = 21/24) attended session 3; and 67–75% of teachers received respective newsletters. The trainings and newsletters had high acceptability levels as indicated by survey results and interview data. Trainings included flexible scheduling integrated into existing meetings, which participants reported helped improve feasibility. Participants also highlighted the importance of incorporating classroom-based approaches into trainings and the simplicity of the newsletter, which contributed to their acceptability. Conclusions This study provides evidence supporting the feasibility and acceptability of the MAGIC implementation strategy among elementary school teachers and leaders. Future research should test MAGIC among more elementary schools to examine its impact on teacher implementation outcomes and students’ physical activity levels. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05048433, registered 9/8/2021, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05048433 Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-25333-0. Keywords: Classroom-based physical activity, Implementation strategy, Feasibility, Acceptability, Teacher training, Leadership training, Mixed methods

Study methods

This study was part of a larger parent study that developed the MAGIC implementation strategy using Implementation Mapping, and examined MAGIC’s preliminary impact on teacher implementation fidelity of classroom-based approaches [38]. The parent study worked with two elementary schools: one receiving the MAGIC implementation strategy and the other serving as a control. As part of the parent study, teachers completed surveys at baseline (fall of 2023), follow-up 1 (spring 2024), and follow-up 2 (fall 2024). Teachers and school leaders (principal, assistant principal, and instructional coaches) also participated in interviews in the spring of 2024 and spring of 2025.

Limitations

There are study limitations to consider. First, the feasibility and acceptability testing were conducted with one elementary school. Given the variation among schools, additional testing is necessary. This study also used self-report surveys to examine the different aspects of acceptability. The use of self-report surveys may lead to recall and/or social desirability bias. Further, the surveys were limited to classroom teachers. While classroom teachers were the intended population for the teacher training, all staff (including leaders) within the school participated in trainings. Thus, obtaining survey feedback from all school staff (e.g., school leaders, library, art, music, physical education teachers) could have been helpful to better understand perspectives beyond the teachers of focus. Additionally, obtaining survey data from school leaders could have enhanced our understanding of acceptability of leadership training sessions. Lastly, we did not collect other background variables such as teacher’s attitudes and participation in physical activity, which could provide valuable context to findings.

A 90-day district inquiry

Days 1–15 · Appraise. Read the source methods, recruitment, comparator, outcomes and limitations. Record how the study setting differs from your district and which claim the design can support.
Days 16–30 · Design. Choose one school improvement question with teachers. Protect a short shared planning cycle, agree an instructional change and use a common rubric for examining student work. Agree participation, privacy protections, baseline and stopping rules before starting.
Days 31–60 · Observe. Collect the pre-agreed measures, keep a log of implementation changes and invite confidential voluntary feedback. Preserve existing support for staff and learners.
Days 61–90 · Decide. Review implementation fidelity, teacher time and independently scored student work against a recorded baseline. Examine access differences and competing explanations before attributing changes to leadership. Make a dated decision to stop, revise or extend the inquiry.

Board decision brief

Present the local problem, source setting, evidence limits, intervention, responsible owner, total cost, measured changes and uncertainty. Separate staff perceptions, implementation measures and student learning outcomes.

Attribution and reuse

Timothy J Walker; Derek W Craig; Christopher D Pfledderer; Matthew Lee; Kempson Onadeko; Emma E Saving; John B Bartholomew; Maria E Fernández. Feasibility and acceptability of an implementation strategy to enhance use of classroom-based physical activity approaches in elementary schools: a mixed methods study. BMC Public Health (2025-11-27). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-25333-0

Prepared 2026-11-07. Source authorship and DOI are preserved. The abstract and source passages are attributed extracts; this editorial guide is offered under the same CC BY 4.0 license.