Children's literature as a motivational factor for physical activities through the example of Jaroslav Foglar

JIRÁSEK, Ivo, Richard MACKŮ and Jiří NĚMEC. Children's literature as a motivational factor for physical activities through the example of Jaroslav Foglar. Children & Society. Wiley, 2024, vol. 38, No 2, p. 658-672. ISSN 0951-0605. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/chso.12746.

Basic information

• Original name: Children's literature as a motivational factor for physical activities through the example of Jaroslav Foglar
• Authors: JIRÁSEK, Ivo, Richard MACKŮ and Jiří NĚMEC.
• Edition: Children & Society, Wiley, 2024, 0951-0605.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Article in a journal
• Field of Study: 50301 Education, general; including training, pedagogy, didactics [and education systems]
• Country of publisher: United States of America
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: URL
• Impact factor: Impact factor: 1.700 in 2022
• Organization unit: Faculty of Education
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/chso.12746
• UT WoS: 000986423400001
• Keywords in English: ethics; fiction; healthy lifestyle; holistic development
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

Despite many philosophical and scientific appeals, phys- ical inactivity, especially in children and young people, remains one of the most serious problems of contempo- rary civilisation. In our sub-study of wider research, we focus on the use of Czech fiction and comics by Jaroslav Foglar as a motivational factor to increase readers' physi- cal activity. The respondents (n=1174) were mostly adults who had spent their childhood or adolescence reading the works of Jaroslav Foglar. These people val- ued exercise (70%) in this reading, with a high correla- tion (0.73) to a healthy lifestyle (abstinence from alcohol and smoking). For 57% of the respondents, these values from reading also become an inspiration for application in life (there is a causal link between the degree of aware- ness of being influenced by the work and the actual ap- plication of the physical activity), with even higher values recorded for camping and being in a natural envi- ronment, as well as moral behaviour, ethical principles, and helping others. Thus, we can confirm that the in- spiration of the fictional world of literature can become a motivational impulse to increase physical activity in the real world, moreover in the context of a very strong awareness of ethical values and moral behaviour.