HOW TO LEAD A GROUP - PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES AND EXPERIENCES OF CONDUCTING A PROMOTIONAL GROUP IN HEALTH-RELATED PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY

In this article the different roles and styles of instruction for the leader of a promotional group in physical activity an described. The p romotional group is defined as one in which group dynamics is used to its maximum in order to facilitate permanent change in the members' he alth-related physical activities. Thus e.g., the group forms its own g oals on the basis of its members' individual needs and aspirations and the group members provide feedback, behavioural models and encouragem ent to each other in their pursuit of change. The leader-instructor wo rks in a stepwise fashion from assessment to evaluation to reformulati on of plans made and monitors closely the stages of adoption of physic al activity in his or her group. As the group advances the instructor should be ready to transfer more and more responsibility to the member s. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.