Utilizing the Social Learning Theory in the development of a preschool physical activity program

Introduction: Food Friends-Get Movin' with Mighty Moves™ is a physical activity program designed to enhance gross motor development and increase fitness and activity levels in preschoolers. To improve the likelihood of changing the desired behaviors targeted by Mighty Moves™, the Social Learning Theory (SLT) was applied within the social marketing framework.

Program Design/Methodology: Constructs of the SLT were applied throughout the development of Mighty Moves™ lessons and supporting materials as well as to the teacher training and process evaluation instruments. The construct of reciprocal determinism provided the cornerstone in the development of Mighty Moves™ for both the classroom and teacher components. Four process evaluation instruments were developed, tested for validity, and administered with teachers throughout the 18-week intervention to assess various constructs.

Program Evaluation/Results: Process questions were grouped into SLT constructs. Internal consistency greater than 0.70 among groupings was found within four of the six constructs (behavioral capability, reinforcement, self-efficacy and expectations/expectancies) ranging between 0.72-0.97. Several strong associations between questions within constructs were found, including all questions within the behavioral capability and expectations/expectancies constructs.

Discussion: Integrating behavior change theories into social marketing efforts aides in identifying which behavioral constructs to address, and can impact the choice of behavioral, environmental or policy targets for the intervention. By utilizing the SLT in the development and process evaluation of Food Friends Get Movin' with Mighty Moves™, a more comprehensive view of children and teachers' behavioral capabilities, self-efficacy, expectations and expectancies, and the interplay between their individual characteristics, environment, and behavior was obtained.