Comparing the impact of the Sport Education model on student motivation in Kuwaiti and American students.

Background: Sport Education (SE) stands as the most researched pedagogical model in physical education. While researchers have consistently underscored its capacity to improve student motivation in physical education, a gap remains concerning its implications in Arab nations. Moreover, no studies have been identified comparing the outcomes of SE between the U.S., where the model originated, and other countries. Purpose: This study was conducted to (1) determine the impact of SE on Kuwaiti students' motivation, (2) determine any differential effects of SE on Kuwaiti and American students' motivation, and (3) explore students' perceptions of SE in both countries. Methods: A replicated mixed methods quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test design was used. Participants were 33 secondary school students (nine girls and 24 boys; ages 11-12) from two classes in southwestern US, and 37 secondary school students (12 girls and 25 boys; ages 10-11) from two classes in Kuwait. Both sets of classes across the two countries were instructed by the same teacher who was trained in teaching SE. Student interest/enjoyment, perceived competence, effort/importance, and pressure/tension were measured using the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory instrument (IMI). Student perceptions of SE were assessed using a group Semi-structured interview. Quantitative data were analyzed using repeated measures and mixed ANOVAs followed by t-tests. Qualitative data were analyzed using a thematic analysis technique. Results: Kuwaiti students' perceived interest/enjoyment, perceived competence, effort/importance, and pressure/tension scores significantly improved in the group that taught using SE only. Comparing the impact of the SE on students' motivation between the two countries showed no significant differences. The interview data reflected further support for the IMI results. Conclusion: SE can be effective in increasing Kuwaiti students' motivation in physical education. This motivating effect of SE was observed consistently across both Kuwaiti and American students.

High School Athletes' Use and Knowledge of (Safe) Nutritional Supplement Use: An Exploratory Study.

The use of nutritional supplements can lead to doping risk and no data exist on high school athletes' use of certified third-party tested supplements. A cross-sectional cohort design was developed using an anonymous survey. Descriptive data for supplement use, use of third-party tested supplements, and knowledge in high school athletes were reported. A total of 225 high school athletes, ranging from 14-19 years of age, from a private high school in the western US, were included in the analysis of the results. A total of 94% (n=211) of athletes reported nutritional supplement use within the past year with an average of six (interquartile range: 3-9) individual supplements, ranging from 0-20 supplements per person. Most frequently reported were sports drinks (72%), vitamins (65%), sports bars (60%), protein powder (58%), caffeine (37%, as part of normal beverages, or 13% as a supplement), followed by creatine (23%). A total of 24% claimed to know for sure that all their supplements were third-party tested. In addition, the recognition of third-party testing organization icons was low (46% in supplement users vs. 14% in nonusers). Athletes also scored low in reporting how to find (22%) and how to order (25%) third-party tested supplements. In conclusion, almost all athletes in this study reported the use of multiple nutritional supplements annually. Only one-fourth of the athletes reported consistently using third-party tested supplements. Knowledge of where and how tested supplements could be purchased was limited in this high school athlete population.

The Development and Efficacy of a High School Athlete Education Program for Safe Nutritional Supplement Use.

Many high school athletes report using nutritional supplements. Due to a lack of education at the high school level, the use of safe for sports third-party tested nutritional supplements may be limited. To determine the impact of a short online nutritional supplement education program on safe dietary supplement behavior a cross-sectional repeated measures design was used. Therefore, a convenience sample of 106 high school athletes (14-19 years old) was recruited to measure pre-post education difference for nutritional supplement use and third-party tested (TPT) supplements. Additionally, it was analyzed if nutritional supplement related Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) constructs were associated with athlete choices. The most popular supplements included protein powder (65%), caffeine from beverages (45%), and different types of vitamins (ranging from 38-44%). Consistent use of (safe) third-party tested individual supplements was low, ranging from 35-77% for the most frequently reported supplements. The combined TPB determinants explained 26% of the variance of the intention to use safe supplements (F3, 102 = 13.03, p < 0.001, Adj R2 = 0.26). The self-reported intention to use third-party tested supplements increased significantly (+7%-36% per individual supplement) after following the education program (Z = -3.288, p = 0.001) resulting in an intentional use of 54-94% TPT supplements. In conclusion, education resulted in more high school athletes reporting future third-party tested supplements use, and TPB construct scores did not change over time but could explain a substantial part of the variance of safe supplement use intentions.

Fishing Downstream: Does CSPAP Promotion During PETE Transfer to Teaching Practice by K-12 Physical Educators?

Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) training has the potential to influence graduates' decisions as physical educators. Utilizing themes from Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations and Lawson's Occupational Socialization theories, we focused on graduates from a single PETE program which, beginning in 2007, began integrating content, expectations, and experiences relating to an expanded role of the physical educator such as in comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine transfer in terms of university training leading to teaching practices in expanded physical activity programming. Method: An electronic questionnaire was sent to 335 graduates from May 2000 through May 2019. Sixty-seven graduates' questionnaires were investigated looking at perceptions of CSPAP as an innovation, current expanded physical activity (PA) offerings, and memories of PETE. Additionally, 13 participants participated in a school visit and interview which acted as a fidelity check for self-reported levels of expanded PA programming reported in the questionnaire. Results: All 67 graduates included some amount of expanded PA programming. Positive correlations were found with perception of CSPAP as an innovation, for both year of graduation and memory of PETE programming, thus students exposed to CSPAP programming during PETE were implementing components at their schools at higher levels. Conclusion: There is positive potential for professional socialization to influence graduates' practices. Perceptions of CSPAP as an innovation were positive and support the promotion of triability and starting small when PETE programs encourage expanded PA programming.

Off-Hours Facility Use in Public High Schools: Physical Activity Potential vs. Reality.

Purpose: Public high school campuses in the United States are generally built with multiple dedicated physical activity facilities from soccer fields to swimming pools. When viewed from a community health standpoint, these campuses hold great potential (if accessible) in providing community members spaces where they can engage in physical activity during non-school hours. Guided by the Social-Ecological Model (SEM) the purpose of this study was to assess access to and use of all physical activity areas on public high school campuses during non-school hours on weekdays and weekend days. Method: Direct observation using the SOPARC instrument was used to assess 19 public high schools across four districts in the Western U.S., by completing 3959 physical activity area sweeps. Results: Facilities were accessible about half of the time (53.4%), but empty 91% of the time. Public high school campuses are an underused resource for community physical activity during non-school hours. Discussion: Increased use of joint-use agreements would enable school districts to increase both the use of campus-based physical activity facilities and physical activity levels of community members who themselves fund the construction and maintenance of schools and school grounds through local taxes. This would help increase the schools' caloric footprint and contribute to improving public health.

2021 Charles H. McCloy Lecture: "You're Not in Kansas Anymore" by Charles H. McCloy.

In this article I envision how Charles H. McCloy might assess the current state of kinesiology in relation to how it evolved from its parent profession of physical education into a field comprised of the scientific enterprise of kinesiology, as well as the related professions and professional preparation programs. I use my interpretation of his scholarship years ago to imagine how he would respond to important developments and advances in the scientific basis of human movement. Overall, despite many advances in the profession, I suspect that he, like I, would opine that the field is at a tipping point. I use his voice to illustrate five key themes that the field must address if it seeks to impact professional practice and the health status of all citizens.

Essential Components of Physical Education: Policy and Environment.

Purpose: Physical education policies provide guidance and accountability to develop quality programs that increase physical literacy. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of physical education policy research to explore its effects on the school environment and programming as an essential component of physical education. Methods: Using the PRISMA guidelines of identify, screen, determine eligibility, and include, studies were extracted from four different databases, using search terms related to the essential physical education component of policy and environment. Of the 225 publications identified, 42 studies met the inclusion criteria for this investigation. Each paper was coded, and emergent themes were identified. Results: The policy research was predominantly descriptive and focused on: (a) minutes in physical education (83%), (b) moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA; 31%), (c) certified/qualified teachers (24%), (d) exemptions (17%), and (e) student-teacher ratio (12%). Emergent themes of adherence, policy strength, and implementation accountability were identified as influential physical education policy aspects. Conclusions: Policy research over the last 20 years was focused on the regulatory mandate of time. Policy research did not directly address disciplinary process variables of learning activities or outcomes of physical education. The effects of policy exemptions and class size were underrepresented. Themes may explain the lack of reporting student performance as the primary outcome. Further research is needed to examine the downstream effects of physical education policy and determine whether well-written policies increase the number of physically literate individuals.

Rationale for the Essential Components of Physical Education.

Purpose: This introductory article provides the context and rationale for conducting systematic literature reviews on each of the essential components of physical education, including policy and environment, curriculum, appropriate instruction, and student assessment. Methods: Four research teams from Doctoral Physical Education Teacher Education programs (D-PETE) conducted these systematic reviews using the PRISMA guidelines process. Results: This article explains the role of the national framework for increasing physical education and physical activity (i.e., Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program) in supporting the essential components of physical education. It also highlights the expectations for physical education and provides a brief history of these components. Lastly, this article highlights each of the articles presented in the special feature. Conclusion: Understanding the implementation of these components may be important for improving the physical education experience for all students and creating a foundation for lifelong physical activity and health.

Physical Education Preservice Teachers' Perceptions About Preparation for Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs.

PURPOSE: Physical educators may be the responsible people for implementing comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs) in schools. However, it is unclear whether physical education teacher education (PETE) programs provide the relevant learning opportunities to preservice teachers for CSPAP implementation. The purpose of this study was to understand preservice teachers' perspectives and experiences of CSPAP preparation in their PETE programs. METHOD: Fourteen PETE students from 6 different universities participated and shared their experiences in PETE programs. Data were collected through a short survey, 1 formal interview, field images, document gathering, and an additional survey to follow up the interview. Descriptive statistics, constant comparison, and analytic induction techniques were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Participants' familiarity with CSPAPs was related to positive opinions about the role of physical educators in CSPAPs. Three common themes were revealed: (a) introducing CSPAP via courses, (b) the lack of programwide hands-on experiences for CSPAP, and (c) limited preparation for social skills with stakeholders. Participants' perceptions of the role of physical educators as physical activity leaders had been expanded during their training. CONCLUSION: The participating PETE programs integrated CSPAP components in the existing courses to introduce CSPAP, while there was a lack of sufficient practical opportunities to learn how to implement (aspects of) a CSPAP. Participants felt they were insufficiently prepared to promote and implement expanded physical activity programming beyond physical education classes in schools. The majority of the PETE preservice teachers wanted more practical CSPAP experiences in their programs.

Developing the System for Observing Behavioral Ecology for Youth in Schools Instrument.

BACKGROUND: Behavioral support may be effective in increasing physical activity (PA) in school settings. However, there are no data collection systems to concurrently record PA and behavioral support. This paper describes the development and validation of the System for Observing Behavioral Ecology for Youth in Schools (SOBEYS)-an instrument used with existing observation systems to record PA within a behavioral ecological context. METHODS: In 2013, experts created a set of behavioral categories to record prompting and reinforcement of PA during a recreational school activity program. The school provided supervision and equipment for lunchtime PA, making it possible to assess both PA and behavioral support. The system was implemented in spring semester 2014 at 1 suburban junior high school (N = 1452; 48% girls, 74% Caucasian) in the western Unites States. RESULTS: Following multiple field trials, the SOBEYS instrument recorded behavioral categories of visual and verbal prompting, verbal, and nonreinforcement by adults and peers, and token reinforcement. Construct validity and acceptable interobserver agreement (>90%; kappa between 0.22 and 0.94) resulted. CONCLUSION: Trained SOBEYS users can accurately and reliably record the presence of behavioral support aimed at prompting and reinforcing PA in conjunction with established systematic observation instruments to record PA context and quantity.

Environmental and Behavioral Influences of Physical Activity in Junior High School Students.

BACKGROUND: Increasing access and opportunity for physical activity (PA) in schools are effective; however, not everyone experiences the same effects. Prompting and reinforcement may encourage more frequent participation in recreational PA during the school day. The purpose of this study was to investigate a lunchtime PA intervention on whole school PA participation and whether behavioral support enhanced these effects. METHODS: A modified reversal design compared an environmental and an environmental plus behavioral support intervention on lunchtime PA participation versus baseline levels in a suburban junior high school in the western United States (N = 1452). PA and related contextual data were collected using systematic observation. RESULTS: Significantly more girls and boys were observed in PA during the interventions compared with baseline phases (F2,1173 = 13.52, P < .0001, η2 = .023; F2,1173 = 20.14, P < .0001, η2 = .033, for girls and boys, respectively). There were no significant differences between the environmental phase and the environment plus behavioral support phase. CONCLUSION: Providing access and opportunity significantly increased the number of girls and boys observed in PA during a lunchtime program, with no additive effects of behavioral support. Further research into providing the individual-level contingencies at an institutional level is needed.

Step Counts on Weekdays, Weekends, and During Physical Education of Navajo High School Students.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the physical activity patterns of youth is important for the implementation and evaluation of programming and interventions designed to change behavior. To date, little is known about the objectively measured physical activity patterns of Native American youth. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the step counts of Navajo youth during weekdays, weekend days, and physical education classes. METHODS: Participants included 63 high school students (mean age = 15.14 ± 1.37 years). Youth wore a pedometer (Walk-4-Life 2505) for seven consecutive days. Means and standard deviations were calculated for weekdays, weekend days, and physical education. RESULTS: Boys averaged 11,078 ± 4400 steps/weekday compared to 6493 ± 5651 on weekend days. Girls averaged 7567 ± 5614 on weekdays compared to 7589 ± 7712 on weekend days. Both boys (20 %) and girls (26 %) accumulated a large percentage of their weekday step counts from physical education classes. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the importance of additional physical activity opportunities in the community. Youth are falling well short of recommended levels of physical activity with physical education being an important source of physical activity.

Before-School Running/Walking Club and Student Physical Activity Levels: An Efficacy Study.

PURPOSE: Before-school programs, one of the least studied student-related comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) components, may be a promising strategy to help youth meet the physical activity (PA) guidelines. This study's purpose was to examine: (a) how much PA children accrued during a before-school running/walking club and during the school day, (b) whether children compensated for the PA accumulated in the before-school program by decreasing their school-day PA, and (c) potential sex and body mass index (BMI) differences. METHOD: An alternating treatments design with a baseline phase was first conducted at a private school (School A) and was subsequently replicated at a public school (School B). Participants (N = 88) were 3rd- and 4th-grade children. The before-school program involved a running/walking club that met twice per week (School A: 20 min; School B: 15 min). PA was measured using the NL-1000 pedometer. Data analysis included multilevel modeling and visual analysis. RESULTS: Children accumulated substantial amounts of PA in the before-school programs (School A: 1,731 steps, 10:02 moderate-to-vigorous PA minutes or 50% of program duration; School B: 1,502 steps, 8:30 moderate-to-vigorous PA minutes or 57% of program duration). Additionally, children did not compensate by decreasing their school-day PA on days they attended the before-school program. Sex differences were found in before-school program PA only for School B and in school-day PA for both schools. No BMI differences were found. CONCLUSIONS: Before-school programs, as part of CSPAPs, can help children increase their PA without resulting in decreased school-day PA and without taking time away from academics.

Before-school running/walking club: Effects on student on-task behavior.

Before-school programs provide a good opportunity for children to engage in physical activity (PA) as well as improve their readiness to learn. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a before-school running/walking club on elementary school children's on-task behavior. The study employed a two-phase experimental design with an initial baseline phase followed by an alternating treatments phase, and was first conducted at a private school (School A) and subsequently replicated at a public school (School B). Participants were third and fourth grade children from two schools in the Southwestern U.S. who participated in a before-school running/walking club that met two times each week (School A: 20 min; School B: 15 min) during the 2013/2014 academic year. Participation in the program was monitored using pedometers and on-task behavior was assessed through direct observation. Data analyses included visual analysis, Tau-U index, and multilevel modeling. Results from all analyses indicated that on-task behavior was significantly higher on days the children attended the before-school program than on days they did not. According to multilevel modeling results, mean differences and effect sizes were: School A = 15.78%, pseudo-R (2) = .34 [strong effect]; School B = 14.26%, pseudo-R (2) = .22 [moderate effect]. Results provide evidence for the positive impact of before-school PA programs on children's classroom behavior and readiness to learn. Such programs do not take time away from academics and may be an attractive option for schools. Results also have implications for the structure of children's school day and the scheduling of PA opportunities.

Top 10 research questions related to assessing physical activity and its contexts using systematic observation.

Numerous methods are available to assess physical activity (PA) but systematic observation (SO) excels in being able to provide contextually rich data on the setting in which the activity occurs. As SO is particularly useful for determining how activity is influenced by the immediate physical and social environments, its use is becoming more popular. Observation tools have the advantages of flexibility, high internal validity, low inference, and low participant burden, while their disadvantages include the need for careful observer training and recalibration, inaccessibility to certain environments, and potential participant reactivity. There is a need for both scientists and practitioners to have additional information on observation techniques and systems relative to making environmental and policy decisions about PA, and in this article, we describe concepts and identify questions related to using SO in researching PA behavior. We present 10 general questions in 3 sections, including those related to: (a) ensuring data accuracy through the selection of the most appropriate methodological protocols; (b) investigating PA in school settings, including physical education, recess, and other programs; and (c) investigating PA in community settings (e.g., parks, recreation centers, youth and adult sport programs) and homes.

The ambiguous role of the paraeducator in the general physical education environment.

The use of paraeducators has increased as a main mechanism to include more students with disabilities in the public schools in the U.S. Although the utilization of paraeducators is intended to be a supportive service delivery option, many concerns and challenges have resulted. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the paraeducator in the general physical education environment from the perspectives of special education, physical education, and adapted physical education teachers and paraeducators. Data were collected from a phenomenological approach using questionnaires, interviews, and observations. Results indicate concerns about the clarity of the role of the paraeducator in physical education. Emerging themes include elastic definitions of student protection and teacher backup, contradictory expectations and mixed acceptance, and paraeducators' role ambiguity. Findings regarding the role of the paraeducator are essential in determining both best practice and legal policy for the appropriate utilization of paraeducators in physical education.