In the last decade over 20 million people in the United States have been affected by natural disasters (CRED, 2012). The purpose of this study was to examine instructors’ perceptions of leading a physical activity after-school program for children affected by a natural disaster. Somatic (positive self-talk and group sharing) and physiological (deep breathing and relaxation) stress and anxiety reducing techniques were introduced within a physical activity setting.
Method:
Four instructors (PE teachers and graduate sport pedagogy students) led an eight week after-school program that consisted of 16 one hour sessions. 40 elementary aged children affected by a series of F-4 tornadoes participated in a program. Each session in a program included the initial period of physical activity (20 min.) followed by group sharing or drawing session (20 min.) and twenty more minutes of physical activity. Data were collected from individual interviews (prior and after the program), stimulated recall interviews, informal interviews throughout the program, and critical incident reflections that followed each session.
Analysis/Results:
Thematic analysis was used to analyze data. The following themes relative to instructors’ perceptions were identified: (a) ‘do no harm’ – a priori apprehension, (b) ‘if not me, then who?’ - reasons for program participation (eagerness, guilt, a sense of giving back to community), (c) ‘becoming more than a teacher’ – (instructional strategies and class atmosphere).
Conclusions:
The results of this study suggest that the instructors recognized the importance of not just instructing the students in an after-school program but dealing with the psycho-emotional concerns of those who were affected by the tornado. The instructors faced serious trepidations leading up to the initiation of the program, largely due to their limited experience teaching the somatic and physiological stress reducing techniques. They were eager to participate in a program aimed at helping elementary students because they felt a sense of giving back to the community. Similar to previous research on post-traumatic stress, instructors in this study, despite being negatively affected by the tornado themselves, expressed feelings of guilt of not suffering as much as others. In addition, participation in a program allowed the instructors to improve their teaching, devise effective teaching strategies for somatic and physiological stress reducing techniques, and develop an emotionally safe environment within an after-school physical activity program.