An Eroding Social Justice Agenda: The Case of Physical Education and Health Edu-Business in Schools.

In this article, we draw on current research to explore notions of socially just health and physical education (HPE) programs, in light of claims that a neoliberal globalization promotes markets over the states and a new individualism that privileges self-interest over the collective good. We also invite readers to consider the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's ambition for physical education in light of preliminary findings from an Australian-led research project exploring national and international patterns of outsourcing HPE curricula. Data were sourced from this international research project through a mixed-methods approach. Each external provider engaged in 4 phases of research activity: (a) Web audits, (b) interviews with external providers, (c) network diagrams, and (d) school partner interviews and observations. We then used these data to pose what we believe to be three emerging lines of inquiry and challenge for a socially just school HPE in neoliberal times. In particular, our data indicate that the marketization of school HPE is strengthening an emphasis on individual responsibility for personal health, thereby elevating expectations that schools and teachers will "fill the welfare gap" and, finally, influencing the nature and purchase of educative HPE programs in schools. The apparent proliferation of external providers of health work and HPE resources and services reflects the rise and pervasiveness of neoliberalism in education. We conclude that this global HPE landscape warrants attention to investigate the extent to which external providers' resources are compatible with schooling's educative and inclusive mandates.

Results from Australia's 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

BACKGROUND: Like many other countries, Australia is facing an inactivity epidemic. The purpose of the Australian 2014 Physical Activity Report Card initiative was to assess the behaviors, settings, and sources of influences and strategies and investments associated with the physical activity levels of Australian children and youth. METHODS: A Research Working Group (RWG) drawn from experts around Australia collaborated to determine key indicators, assess available datasets, and the metrics which should be used to inform grades for each indicator and factors to consider when weighting the data. The RWG then met to evaluate the synthesized data to assign a grade to each indicator. RESULTS: Overall Physical Activity Levels were assigned a grade of D-. Other physical activity behaviors were also graded as less than average (D to D-), while Organized Sport and Physical Activity Participation was assigned a grade of B-. The nation performed better for settings and sources of influence and Government Strategies and Investments (A- to a C). Four incompletes were assigned due to a lack of representative quality data. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence suggests that physical activity levels of Australian children remain very low, despite moderately supportive social, environmental and regulatory environments. There are clear gaps in the research which need to be filled and consistent data collection methods need to be put into place.

Indigenous Austalians and physical activity: using a social-ecological model to review the literature.

This paper aims to present what is currently known about Indigenous Australians and their engagement in physical activity and to then challenge some of the 'taken-for-granted' ways of thinking about promoting or researching physical activity with Indigenous Australians. Major health, education and sport databases, as well as government websites were searched using the key terms of physical activity, sport, leisure, recreation, Indigenous and Aboriginal/Aborigine. A social-ecological model of health was adapted and used as an organizing framework to synthesize the literature. It is concluded that socioecological models can be valuable tools for understanding and promoting issues related to physical activity engagement for a range of populations but they may require complementary critical insights, including those from Indigenous perspectives. Productive theoretical spaces where Western and Indigenous knowledges come together can assist health educators to consider the complexity and diversity of Indigenous people's lived experiences when planning and implementing programs.

The association between walking to school, daily step counts and meeting step targets in 5- to 17-year-old Australian children.

Objective measurement of daily steps was used to assess whether children (n = 2,076) in Years 1, 5 and 10 who reported walking to or from school were more active and more likely to reach recommended step targets than those who were driven or took public transport to school. Walking to school was associated with higher school-day steps in older children (16,238 vs 15,275 for Year 5 male p < .05, 13,521 vs 12,502 for Year 5 female p < .01, 12,109 vs 11,373 for Year 10 female p < .05). The proportion of children who met recommended step thresholds was higher in those who walked to school compared with those who took motorized transport, and this was significant for Year 5 females (71.7% vs 54.5%, p < .01). This study suggests that walking to school for older children has potential to contribute significantly to daily activity levels and increases the likelihood of attaining recommended step targets. These data should encourage public policy and those concerned with the built environment to provide and support opportunities for walking to school.

Rural young people and physical activity: understanding participation through social theory.

Studies from around the world point to the inadequate participation of young people in physical activity and sport, and the consequences of this on their health. However, very few interventions to increase the levels of physical activity amongst young people have been sustainable. The aim of this paper is to use Bourdieu's notions of the logic of practice along with habitus and capital to theorise young people's participation in physical activities to add to the wealth of empirical material. Data are drawn from a cohort of rural participants in an Australian longitudinal, qualitative research project with young people from diverse social, cultural and geographical backgrounds. It was found that traditional rural gender roles impact on young women's perceptions of legitimate physical activity options and practices. The role of the family in the reproduction of the social order which sustains gendered understandings of physical activity is also explored. This paper demonstrates how Bourdieu's theories can be applied to explain gender distinctions in health behaviours. It is proposed that building bridges between epidemiological and sociological understandings of participation in physical activities will lead to the generation of more equitable and sustainable physical activity and health promotion initiatives.

Physical activity of young people in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Region: an exploratory study.

OBJECTIVE: The present study explored the practices of, and perceived barriers to, physical activity of young people living in remote communities in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area of Far North Queensland. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional survey exploring physical activity practices of children attending primary and secondary schools in two communities in the Torres Strait, Far North Queensland. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 367 primary and secondary school-aged children (aged 9-16 years). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Only 50% of the children reported being active for more than 30 min a day and approximately 25% of both primary and high school children surveyed were 'pretty much active only at week-ends'. The major barriers cited to being active were related to the climate, lack of equipment and child-specific activities and low self-perception of ability. CONCLUSIONS: A large proportion of school students in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area reported low levels of physical activity. The main barriers cited to being active suggest that structural and family-based strategies are required to help young people, especially girls, to engage in more physical activity. There is also a need for skills and confidence-building activities delivered in a non-competitive environment for those who feel that they lack the necessary skills to participate fully.

Physical activity of young children: a two-year follow-up.

Inadequate physical activity in children is a major health concern. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in physical activity of boys and girls, between 6-8 and 8-10 years of age and how activity patterns correlated with selected family, child, and environment factors. The sample included 59 children without motor delays (26 boys and 23 girls) between 8 and 10 years of age. Twenty-two of the children participated in a previous study at 6-8 years of age. Parents completed a questionnaire on their children's non-physical and physical activities. Children wore a pedometer during two weekdays and two weekend days. The results indicate that girls spent more time on homework and reading and on crafts and indoor play than boys. Girls spent more time on musical and cultural activities and boys spent more time on screen-based activities at 8-10 years of age. Children spent significantly less time on physical activity at 8-10 years of age. Boys took more steps per day than girls on weekends. The average number of steps taken per weekday increased for boys, but not girls, at 8-10 years of age. There was an inverse relationship between body mass index and number of steps taken per day (weekdays r = -.28; weekend r = -.32). Socioeconomic status was associated with the number of steps taken by children on weekends (r = .34). The results have implications for physical activities for girls and school and community programs for children.

A place to play: socioeconomic and spatial factors in children's physical activity.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Concerns about physical inactivity in children and growing levels of obesity are expressed by politicians, health economists and those involved with the health and well-being of children. As this has the potential to be a major health issue, the aim of this investigation was to explore any contributing socioenvironmental considerations. METHODS AND RESULTS: Census-matched survey data were analysed from 318 parents of 6- to 7-year-old children, revealing that family socioeconomic status (SES) influenced the places where children engaged in physical activity. Children from low SES backgrounds spent significantly more time playing close to their homes, and their families were less able to afford access to commercial physical-activity facilities, than those from middle and high SES families. Although neighbourhood-based activities are generally associated with more spontaneous free play, such activities may not provide the same opportunities for supervision and physical skill building available through commercial-based activities. CONCLUSIONS: Given that access to 'enriching' physical-activity spaces may be limited by the capacity to pay, these findings have implications for professionals such as occupational therapists who can take on a role in advocating for equity in access and promotion of a more engaging urban design. Dialogue with urban planners is central to this process.

A cross-cultural investigation of the use of teaching styles.

Teacher beliefs are a major influence on teacher actions. Because context influences beliefs, it was the purpose of this study to explore teachers' beliefs about Mosston's Spectrum of Teaching Styles from an international perspective. Over 1,400 teachers from 7 countries completed a survey related to their self-reported use of and beliefs about various teaching styles. Data suggested a shared core of reproduction teaching style use. The use of and beliefs about the production styles of teaching were more varied. Teachers' use of styles was significantly related to their beliefs about the styles.