Learning environments as an active methodology to promote physical activity in Early Childhood Education. A case study

This research focuses on a case study of an innovative educational practice in Early Childhood Education related to the promotion of physical activity as an enhancer of cognitive development, a concept that represents one of the most debated issues in current educational research. This, together with the essential role of this life period in children's development, and the high rate of inactive youth, makes our topic a priority in many countries; however, a radical change in teaching is required in order to address this topic, including the implementation of active and innovative methodologies. The objective of this paper is to deepen the knowledge of active methodologies that are being implemented in Early Childhood Education and discover how they favor the practice of physical activity among students, contributing to establish more active habits in schools. To do so, we studied an innovative experience based on learning environments, and we investigated the way in which it encourages students' physical activity from an analytical-descriptive perspective, using the case study methodology together with other techniques and tools for collecting and analyzing information. The results show that this methodology requires students to move continuously, both to access the different proposals and to perform them, so it seems appropriate to consider it as an enhancer of physical activity and, therefore, of an optimal development of children's physical and cognitive abilities.