Grand Canyon University By Bianca Rimbach
Successfully Defended and Approved by All Dissertation Committee Members November 20, 2023
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how elementary school teachers in Nordrhein Westfalen, Germany described their experience with movement method with respect to students’ mental health and stress levels. The theoretical framework was Ryan and Deci’s (2000) self-determination theory. The two research questions were: How did elementary school teachers describe their experience with movement method with respect to their student’s mental health, and how did elementary school teachers describe their experience with movement method with respect to their student’s stress level? The sample included 20 teachers, 13 of whom participated in the interview and focus group, and were trained in movement method 1 and 2, implemented at least one of the six stages at an elementary school in Germany. Braun and Clarke’s (2021) six step reflective thematic analysis was used to identify five themes: Animal interventions (26 codes), inclusion and autism (61 codes), movement and physical activity (218 codes), mental health (337 codes) and environment (351 codes). Participants reported that movement method was useful for stress reduction, for inclusion, and students’ mental health. These findings from the study should lead to the implementation of movement method as an effective, innovative strategy to improve student stress reduction and mental health. More research is needed on the impact of the individual stages of movement method stages on student well-being as well as the impact on teacher well-being and reduction of burn out.
Keywords: Mental health, stress reduction, movement method, innovative teaching, best practice
Video of Dr. Bianca Rimbach explaining the results
Interview Participant Demographics
| Pseudonym | Age (M = 49.2) | Years of Experience in the Classroom (M = 17.25) | Number of Students in Class (M = 21) |
| Maeve | 58 | 32 | 25 |
| Ezra | 54 | 20 | 10-30 |
| Luna | 56 | 29 | 20 |
| Eloise | 39 | 9 | 25 |
| Ophelia | 28 | 2 | 25 |
| Isla | 50 | 13 | 23 |
| Aurelia | 41 | 13 | 28 |
| Alice | 49 | 17 | 28 |
| Aurora | 53 | 5 | 12 |
| Sadie | 60 | 28 | 22 |
| Charlotte | 56 | 28 | 30 |
| Ava | 46 | 11 | 24 |
| Note. Pseudonyms were chosen from the website https://nameberry.com/popular names | |||
Interview Data
| Variable | Interview Date | Duration | Number of Transcript Pages (Times New Roman, single-spaced, 12-point font) |
| Maeve | 05 May, 2022 | 52 minutes | 20 |
| Ezra | 04 May, 2022 | 50 minutes | 20 |
| Luna | 03 May, 2022 | 53 minutes | 24 |
| Charlotte | 02 May, 2022 | 59 minutes | 17 |
| Ophelia | 15 April, 2022 | 57 minutes | 21 |
| Ava | 14 April, 2022 | 52 minutes | 14 |
| Aurelia | 13 April, 2022 | 43 minutes | 16 |
| Alice | 12 April, 2022 | 61 minutes | 29 |
| Aurora | 11 April, 2022 | 66 minutes | 24 |
| Sadie | 08 April, 2022 | 49 minutes | 18 |
| Mean | N/A | 54.2 minutes | 20.3 |
| Total | N/A | 542 minutes | 203 |
Focus Group Data
| Pseudonym | Participation Length | Contributions | Initial Codes Produced |
| Alice | 59 minutes | 16 | 19 |
| Isla | 59 minutes | 6 | 25 |
| Aurelia | 59 minutes | 11 | 20 |
| Eloise | 59 minutes | 6 | 20 |
| Ophelia | 59 minutes | 13 | 15 |
| Mean Total | 59 minutes 59 minutes | 10.4 52 | 19.8 99 |
| Code Appearances in Data |
Six Step Data Analysis Process
Note. Adapted from Braun and Clarke (2021), Six phases of thematic analysis.
Note. Adapted from “Horse Boy Method 1: Train the Trainer Handbook,” by Isaacson, R., 2019.
Flow chart to explain alignment with theoretical framework, recent scientific references and movement method:
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