Bicycle Education for Children: Evaluation of a Program in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

The promotion of bicycle use by school-aged children is one way to encourage more active lifestyles. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an on- and off-bicycle education program for school-aged children in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to understand how education influences the cycling behavior and attitudes of children and parents. Qualitative measures and descriptive statistics were used to analyze pre- and postprogram survey results from children who participated in the program and their parents. Results showed that children’s knowledge of bicycle safety increased and that participants made significant improvements in their knowledge of bicycle-specific street signs (before = 83%, after = 92%) and hand signals (before = 68%, after = 96%). Children also became more confident. Before the program, 75% of participants stated that to ride a bicycle was not difficult for them. After the program, this percentage increased to 92%. The parents of the participants also reported improvements in their children’s cycling abilities, and 55% stated that they would allow their children to participate in an organized cycle-to-school program. In addition, half of the parents included in the postprogram survey stated that their behavior, attitudes, or both, toward cycling had become more positive as a result of their child’s involvement in the bicycle education program. To encourage cycling in any region, bicycle educators and advocacy groups can develop school-based bicycle education programs as well as cycle-to-school programs. City planners should consider implementation of policies that encourage the development of bicycle infrastructure and traffic calming measures, especially near schools, to encourage parents to allow their children to bicycle to school.