Dr Jim McKenna

Applications of the Stages of Change Model to teaching PE

Jim McKenna, Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Bristol.
jim.mckenna@bristol.ac.uk

This model originated in studying how people initiate and maintain change independent of professional help. It has been widely applied to health promotion behaviours including illegal and legal, socially desirable and undesirable, additive and cessation behaviours.
Particular examples include smoking cessation, contraceptive use, fat reducing diets, car seat belt use, and exercise adoption.
If children in your school want to change these behaviours, then a stage-based approach may be relevant to improving your effectiveness with them.

Interventions based on the model have proved successful compared with traditional interventions.
For example, 5% of subjects in smoking cessation programmes typically achieve success (at 1-year follow-up) compared to 30% with stage-based interventions.
It is now recognised as a powerful tool to help promote behaviour change by many UK and US health promotion agencies.

The sheer range of behaviours where the model has been shown to be effective may make it the mandatory change style for the day-to-day working of PE teachers.
Any teacher may justifiably regard himself or herself in the vanguard of understanding about change if they adopt stage-based styles of working.

What is the model?

Basically change is viewed as dynamic (ie., you've achieved a certain stage) rather than as a trait (ie., you are a changeable person, or not).
Within this five main stages are recognised:
Precontemplation (not even thinking about change),
Contemplation (thinking about change),
Preparation (changing but infrequently),
Action (changed recently) and
Maintenance (sustained change lasting over 6 months).

Each of these stages is characterised by a systematic, unique profile of thinking and behaving (termed processes of change).
Basically the idea is that people in the early stages need to develop will power.
In this way they develop ways of thinking that convinces them that change will be worthwhile, and plan how to go about the first steps of making changes.
Those in the action-based stages need to develop skill-power - to resist the temptations to 'side' back to their old ways.

How is the model operationalised?

The great strength of the model is that it defines and differentiates the specific nature of non-action and offers opportunities for intervention.
The key concept is 'stage-matching'. Helping individuals to become more like the next stage in the continuum (rather than into Action) is the most effective way to fashion sustained change.

To progress, the optimum efficiency requires that the PE teacher matches his/her approach to the stage of the pupil/other staff member etc.
Mis-reading an individuals capacity for change can be problematic.
Proposing the action of change to someone who is in the early stages of change often results in 'resistance'. Doubtless you've met that on a wet Monday morning in the changing rooms!!!!

So a simple example;
urging an individual to do 3 sessions of exercise per week is inappropriate for someone in Contemplation for taking more exercise.
A more appropriate strategy is one that is taken from the next stage forward in the model:
Preparation. In this case encouragement to find opportunities to take 1 session in the week (or add one more session at the weekend) is more appropriate.
Effective support would involve developing willpower (for coping with the likely setbacks) and skill-power to develop the plans for the first steps of becoming more active.
Obviously it's a little more sophisticated than this, but the example illustrates the point.

An example?

What was your New Years' resolution this year? How well placed are you now in terms of that resolution? If it's been a success you'll probably have gone through the stages in much the way described. If it wasn't you might like to re-re-read the 'operationalisation' section to find out why!