Genetics and Epigenetics from Physical Activity: Ghana Active Schools’ Programme and Ambidextrous Organisational Practices

Aim: In this paper, we examine how ambidextrous organisational practices can be used to advance the management of public basic schools in accepting behaviours that can improve physical activities of children.

Methodology: Drawing on extant literature and desk review of policy documents including school reports, we examine physical activities in public basic schools in Ghana and then explore three key developmental systems – managerial responsiveness, healthcare variation and educational development and highlight four areas from these systems; organisational processes, infrastructure development, human resource improvements, and stakeholder collaboration where policy makers can focus their efforts to improving physical activity in school children in Ghana.

Findings: The findings demonstrate a seeming absence of structures for physical activity in public basic schools in Ghana - presenting severe consequences, especially for the healthy growth of children, proper integration of children into society, learning processes, and developing talents for future sporting activities in general. Again, the analysis shows that the Ghana Education Service’s implementation guidelines for physical activity in public basic schools are not yielding the needed results - thus provoking policy dialogues in managerial practices for effective implementation of those guidelines. Next, we propose the promotion of physical activity in public basic schools in Ghana through sustainable and pragmatic approaches drawing from ambidextrous managerial practices to strengthen organisational capacity in the schools for improvements in movement behaviours, lifestyle changes, active learning, and physical activity levels of school children.

Conclusion: Practical approaches are needed to enhance the physical activity for children and this requires the initiation of active schools’ programme in public basic schools – and clearly learning from best practices in the last decades, examples from other countries provide a really useful approach in the years ahead.