A Kinesiology Conundrum: Physical Activity Requirements in Kinesiology Degree Programs

One of the most long-standing controversies in kinesiology has been that of physical activity requirements (PARs) in corresponding degree programs. Despite a recommendation from the American Kinesiology Association to include “the practice of physical activity” in undergraduate kinesiology degree programs, some programs have PARs, while others do not. The question still remains: should physical activity be required for all kinesiology students? In this article, we build a case for PARs in kinesiology degree programs. First, we highlight the most common theoretical and practical objections to such requirements. The theoretical objections are namely dualism, materialism, and utilitarian pragmatism; the practical objections are cost, the credit crunch, and public perception. Second, and most importantly, we describe why these theoretical and practical objections fail. As unapologetic partisans on this issue, our primary aim is to highlight why PARs belong in every kinesiology degree program, regardless of concentration or area of emphasis.     

Kinesiology: The Label for the Study of Physical Activity in Higher Education

Kinesiology is the study of movement or, more generally, the study of physical activity. The term kinesiology meets all the criteria for labeling the academic physical activity domain and has the useful advantage of being neutral in many of the current debates regarding emphases on the disciplinary, professional, or activity dimensions and subsets thereof. The study of physical activity in higher education should uniformly be called kinesiology at the levels of programmatic core, degree title, field of study, and department title.     

Evaluating Doctoral Education in Physical Activity: Role of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education

This paper summarizes recent events concerning the evaluation of doctoral programs in kinesiology and physical education. An overview is provided of issues related to the evaluation process used by the National Research Council (NRC). The American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education (AAKPE) has developed a proposal to have our field included in the upcoming evaluation of doctoral programs conducted by the NRC currently scheduled for 2007. Also described is an overview of the plan by the AAKPE to conduct its own evaluation of doctoral programs in 2005. Finally, a listing of the 62 identified doctoral programs in our field is presented along with some program characteristics.     

The Internet in Kinesiology and Physical Education

Throughout America the click of computer keys is replacing the scratch of pencils. Properly used, technology increases students' learning opportunities, motivation, and achievement; it helps students acquire skills that are rapidly becoming essential in the workplace; and it breaks the barriers of time and space, enabling students in any community to have access to high-quality instruction.

The Internet is developing at an astounding rate. It will become the primary means of communication in the 21st century. An overview of the Internet, with applications in kinesiologylphysical education, is presented in this paper. The following topics are discussed: (a) What is the Internet; (b) The origin of the Internet; (c) Elements of the Internet; and (d) Emerging technologies.     

Introduction to Technology in Kinesiology and Physical Education

Students in an undergraduate course, entitled “Writing in Sport Management” experienced a service-learning component through an outreach program with local sport organizations. The primary tenet behind implementing this teaching method was that students would garner a better understanding of business writing if they wrote within the context of the private sector. The aim of the study was to make preliminary observations regarding the potential of servicelearning as a means of providing field experiences that could benefit both students and teachers. Class instructors sewed as support staff and evaluated results through student logs, class presentations, student memorandums, product review, and interviews with agency personnel and students. Results indicated that service-learning improves learning and supported the notion that this teaching technique can provide substantive field experiences while allowing the instructor to monitor the process.     

试论中心法则与蛋白感染子的复制

本文综述了中心法则概念的提出及其发展的概况,提出了中心法则的再次例外--"蛋白感染子"的自我复制现象的发现,说明了某些低等生命的遗传物质可能是某种"蛋白质"的观点.     

Skill Acquisition in Physical Education: A Speculative Perspective

How we learn motor skills has always been of interest to physical educators. Contemporary conceptual frameworks about motor skill learning draw from earlier behavioral and cognitive psychology learning theories. As a point of departure this paper foregrounds complexity theorizing, arguing that skill is contingent upon the performer's physical and social context. Drawing on nonlinear dynamics systems theory, ecological psychology (Gibson, 1979), its associated perception/ action coupling (Kugler and Turvey, 1988), an adaption to Gibson's ecological theory (Withagen & van der Kamp, 2010), and the sociological framework of Pierre Bourdieu (1977, 1990, 1998, 2000), it is argued that ecological perspectives and social theories that take account of the complexity of the performance contexts have a part to play in explaining how physical skills are performed and learnt. The relational properties between the learner and the context are essential elements of skill.     

A Developmental Perspective on the Role of Motor Skill Competence in Physical Activity: An Emergent Relationship

Although significant attention has been paid to promoting the importance of physical activity in children, adolescents, and adults, we do not currently understand how to promote sustained physical activity levels throughout the lifespan. We contend that previous research has failed to consider the dynamic and synergistic role that motor skill competence plays in the initiation, maintenance, or decline of physical activity and how this role might change across developmental time. In this article, we present a conceptual model hypothesizing the relationships among physical activity, motor skill competence, perceived motor skill competence, health-related physical fitness, and obesity. We contend that the development of motor skill competence is a primary underlying mechanism that promotes engagement in physical activity.     

Influence of Information Technologies on Kinesiology and Physical Education

The rapid advances made in information technologies over the past few years and the belief that technological change is neither additive nor subtractive to our state of affairs but that it generates total change, suggests that it is timely to consider the implications of these technologies for teaching, research, and professional activity. The task of trying to understand the future influence of information technologies is a challenging one because technology is shaped by an array of forces that includes tradition, politics, economic interests, history, philosophy, and competing technologies. The paper addresses the influence of technology under the following general topics: (a) Promise or peril? Two views on information technology; (b) The difficulty of accurately predicting the future role of information technology; (c) An overview of technological advances and some predictions; and (d) Aspects of special interest—virtual reality, Information Highway, thinking “better” with computers, and devaluation of the body.     

Beyond the Central Dogma: Model-Based Learning of How Genes Determine Phenotypes

In an introductory biology course, we implemented a learner-centered, model-based pedagogy that frequently engaged students in building conceptual models to explain how genes determine phenotypes. Model-building tasks were incorporated within case studies and aimed at eliciting students’ understanding of 1) the origin of variation in a population and 2) how genes/alleles determine phenotypes. Guided by theory on hierarchical development of systems-thinking skills, we scaffolded instruction and assessment so that students would first focus on articulating isolated relationships between pairs of molecular genetics structures and then integrate these relationships into an explanatory network. We analyzed models students generated on two exams to assess whether students’ learning of molecular genetics progressed along the theoretical hierarchical sequence of systems-thinking skills acquisition. With repeated practice, peer discussion, and instructor feedback over the course of the semester, students’ models became more accurate, better contextualized, and more meaningful. At the end of the semester, however, more than 25% of students still struggled to describe phenotype as an output of protein function. We therefore recommend that 1) practices like modeling, which require connecting genes to phenotypes; and 2) well-developed case studies highlighting proteins and their functions, take center stage in molecular genetics instruction.     

Break for Physical Activity: Incorporating Classroom-Based Physical Activity Breaks into Preschools

Engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is essential to lifelong health and wellness. Physical activity behaviors established in early childhood relate to physical activity behaviors in later years. However, research has shown that children are adopting more sedentary behaviors. Incorporating structured and planned physical activity breaks into classroom transition times is an inexpensive and effective technique to increase children’s physical activity during school hours. However, this approach has not been studied in preschool settings. The purpose of this paper is to provide a simple, cost-effective method that incorporates structured physical activity into the preschool curriculum through classroom based physical activity breaks. Results of a case study along with an overview of the implementation of physical activity breaks are discussed.     

Changing Kinesiology and Physical Education by Infusing Information About Individuals With Disabilities

Just as faculty are expected to refer to performance and behavior changes that occur by age, gender, and other factors, an infusion of information about individuals with disabilities requires us to focus on the range of human variability and its relation to physical activity across the life span. This call to infuse information about individuals with disabilities should affect most kinesiology/ physical education undergraduate and graduate curricula in institutions of higher education. Advocacy for this idea has been developing for many years (Hall & Stiehl, 1978; Sherrill, 1988; Stein, 1969). Such infusion could add to and enhance our ability to contribute to the broad goals of society. But for us to assume this role, we must change our curricula to meet our published mission of serving society. This change will help disciplinary and professional preparation programs produce a broader range of scholarly activity and provide leadership that other disciplines may envy     

Comprehensive School-Based Physical Activity Promotion: A Review

Physical activity (PA) participation levels among youth remain well below national recommendations. Thus, a variety of strategies to promote youth PA have been advocated, including multifaceted, school-based approaches. One identified as having great potential is a comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP). The goal of a CSPAP is to develop a school culture conducive to promoting lifelong PA across five integral components, each serving as a plausible point of intervention: (a) physical education, (b) PA during school, (c) PA before and after school, (d) staff involvement, and (e) family/community involvement. The purpose of this article is to provide an up-to-date review on all CSPAP components, propose the potential of such comprehensive interventions in increasing youth PA levels, and provide future directions for CSPAP research.     

A Life-Course Perspective on Physical Activity Promotion: Applications and Implications

This article illustrates how a life-course perspective can be infused more fully into the research field of physical activity promotion. A life-course perspective is particularly promising in connecting, organizing, and supplementing current knowledge and can potentially stimulate and direct future research and intervention efforts by using a time-sensitive, opportunistic, and developmental approach. The first section summarizes this approach into five key life-course principles including human agency, linked lives, time and place, life-span development, and timing. The second section takes a closer look at three time-based components: trajectories, transitions, and turning points. The final section highlights some of the implications of a life-course perspective for research methods and interventions, especially among children and older adults.     

Physical Activity for Every Body: A Model for Managing Weight Stigma and Creating Body-Inclusive Spaces

Modern cultural idealizations of thin bodies have created a climate in which fat individuals are stigmatized in physical activity spaces. Given the unwelcoming climate of these spaces, many individuals are unlikely to engage in and benefit from regular physical activity. As such, a new model for physical activity spaces is needed to engage and retain a largely marginalized population. In the current article, the authors give a brief review of the complex relationships among body weight, stigma, health, and physical activity, arguing that the current model underserves larger individuals. Using a Health at Every Size paradigm, the authors then argue for the creation of body-inclusive spaces as a means of encouraging greater participation and outline a model that encourages greater access to the benefits of physical activity to all bodies. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

A Review and Evaluation of Doctoral Programs 2000-2004 by the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education

The results from a U.S. national survey of doctoral programs in kinesiology and physical education covering the years 2000-2004 are presented. The survey was conducted by the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education with all 61 institutions with doctoral programs (32 institutions provided complete data, 52%) invited to participate. Results of the survey included an overall final T-score used for ranking of institutions. Quantitative data on faculty (weighted 66% in the scoring) and student indices (weighted 34% in the scoring) were used to develop the final T-scores as well as T-scores for component data. In addition, average data for all variables are presented by the T-score categories of 60 and above, 50-59, 40-49, and below 40. The American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education plans to conduct this survey and reporting process at 5-year intervals.     

Rethinking Recommendations for Implementing Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs: A Partnership Model

Recommended approaches to promoting children’s physical activity through schools call for physical education teachers to serve as champions for, and leaders of, Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAPs). Little evidence, however, exists to suggest that physical education teachers are ideally prepared or supported to assume CSPAP leadership roles. The purpose of this article is to consider expectations that must be met for physical education teachers to serve as central protagonists in CSPAP implementation efforts, and to propose a conceptual model aimed at increasing both effectiveness and sustainability of CSPAPs through key external-internal partnerships. Specifically, community-based participatory research, communities of practice, and service-learning are presented as possible strategies to expand the support system for growing and sustaining CSPAPs. In sum, this article offers some reasons for rethinking current recommendations for CSPAP implementation.     

God,Sport Philosophy,Kinesiology: A MacIntyrean Examination

Sport philosophy is in crisis. This subdiscipline of kinesiology garners little to no respect and few tenure track lines in kinesiology departments. Why is this the case? Why isn’t philosophy held in greater esteem? Is it possible that philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre’s (2009) diagnosis found in “God, Philosophy, Universities” could actually be fruitfully applied to kinesiology? MacIntyre argued that philosophy’s fall from grace parallels the decline of theology in universities. This is the case for two simple reasons. First, philosophy was traditionally charged with giving an account of how the different disciplines fit together on the presumption that an orderly account of the universe could be given. However, the imperative for, as well the intelligibility of, such an account is hard to defend absent God. Second, without God, it becomes very difficult to argue that the philosophic enterprise is fundamentally human. Instead, philosophy becomes an esoteric enterprise meant for specialists. If this is right, then the sanitization of God from the modern university can also explain the plight of sport philosophy. To put it simply, theology must be taken seriously if philosophy is to be taken seriously. God must be admissible in the classroom. This does not mean that students should be catechized, but rather it is to insist that scholars must acknowledge (rather than hide from or dismiss) the legitimacy of theological questions.