2377 - What Contributes to High Rates of Active School Travel? Perspectives of Exemplar Schools in New Zealand

Abstract

Background There are considerable benefits of active school travel (e.g., walking or cycling to school); ranging from increases in children's physical activity and independent mobility, to broader population benefits of reduced traffic congestion and carbon emissions. In industrialized nations, active school travel has declined in the last 20 years, particularly in terms of cycling, and many countries are grappling with how to reverse this trend through a combination of built environment, education, and marketing interventions. In contrast to this general decline in active school travel, in New Zealand there are ‘exemplar’ schools that have high rates of active school travel. This study investigated the experience and context of these exemplar schools, through the lens of a socio-ecological model, to identify and understand success factors. Methods Urban exemplar schools were identified through local government contacts across New Zealand. Selected schools had reported active school travel rates that were considerably higher than the New Zealand national average of 31%, or high rates for a particular mode (e.g. cycling >11%). Semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with one or two school representatives. Interviews explored: school culture, policies, and practices; local culture and norms; and perceptions of the school street environment. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, followed by inductive and deductive thematic coding in NVivo 10 to generate themes around facilitators for active school travel. Results Seven schools agreed to participate (of 12 approached) - three primary, three intermediate, and one junior high school. Interview data suggest an interaction between: local community culture and values; school culture, policies, and practices; and the built environment, whereby these factors continually reinforce each other to contribute to higher rates of active travel. A local culture of physical activity was perceived to naturally flow into more active school travel. Similarly, the promotion of active school travel in multiple schools in the same community was a theme. For schools, the rationale for supporting active school travel was that being physically active supported student learning; however, this support was conditional on a traffic safety threshold being met. Conclusions Findings suggest that in addition to developing safer active travel routes to schools, a thorough understanding of local culture and values, and school policies and priorities are needed. This will enable the design of a context-specific mix of interventions to increase active school travel.