Changes in Fundamental Motor-Skill Performance Following a Nine-Month Mastery Motivational Climate Intervention

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Children who do not learn their fundamental motor skills (FMS) are more likely to be unskilled, sedentary adults. By consequence, it behooves those teaching physical education to put in place mechanisms that promote as well as motivate children to master their FMS. One approach to achieving this goal is through the adoption of mastery motivational climates (MMC) in physical education. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a year-long (9-month) MMC physical education program on preschool children’s FMS learning. Method: Participants (N = 96, MMC = 58, Comparison = 38) completed the Test of Gross Motor Development-Third Edition prior to and after intervention. Intact classrooms were randomly assigned to either a MMC or comparison group. A repeated measures nested MANOVA was used to test changes by group. Follow-up measurements included univariate repeated measures and simple effects analyses. Results: There were no significant multivariate differences based on class membership (p = .249), indicating the nested structure was not associated with any meaningful differences in test scores. There was a significant multivariate difference based on the interaction of time (pre- versus post-test) and group (p < .001). Both locomotor and ball skills significantly varied between groups and across time. Children in both groups improved from pre-test to post-test, but the rate of improvement was significantly greater for the MMC group. Conclusions: A year-long MMC intervention is beneficial for improving children’s FMS.     

Strategies for the Analysis of Repeated and Multiple Measures Designs

Differentiation is made relative to repeated and multiple measure analyses. A flowchart is provided to help the researcher determine the appropriate analysis for the design of interest. Conservative tests and a multivariate approach are suggested for repeated measures designs. For designs with multiple dependent measures, the following suggestions are provided: rank reduction, Bonferroni approach, and MANOVA. Post hoc tests are also suggested once a significant multivariate F is obtained. The post hoc tests are univariate F tests, two-group breakdown, simultaneous confidence intervals, discriminant analysis, step-down analysis, and contrasts on the classification variable. It is suggested that inclusion of these more appropriate analyses will increase the internal validity of research published in the Research Quarterly.     

Children's Activity Levels and Lesson Context during Third-Grade Physical Education

Abstract

Little is known about children's activity levels during physical education classes and how they relate to the national health objectives for the year 2000 (U.S. Public Health Service, 1991). We systematically observed students' physical activity and associated variables in 293 third-grade physical education lessons in 95 schools in 4 Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardio-vascular Health (CATCH) centers in California, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas. The influence of independent variables was assessed simultaneously by analysis of variance. Significant differences among study centers were evidenced for both physical activity and lesson context variables. Additionally, there were differences among variables for lesson location and teacher specialty, but not for teacher gender. Boys were more active than girls, but only during free play opportunities. The findings have widespread implications for educators responsible for developing and implementing health-related physical education programs, as well as for designing and conducting staff development.     

Impact of a pedometer-based goal-setting intervention on children’s motivation,motor competence,and physical activity in physical education

Background: School physical education (PE) programs provide a prime environment for interventions that attempt to develop school-aged children’s motor competence and overall physical fitness, while also stimulating competence motivation to engage in physical activity during childhood. It is generally recognized that a pedometer-based intervention strategy combined with a goal-setting strategy may be effective in increasing physical activity participation among school-aged children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an 8-week pedometer-based goal-setting intervention on children’s motivation in PE, motor competence, and physical activity.

Methods: A pretest–posttest comparison group design was used with the 8-week intervention (3 days/week for 24 sessions). Participants were 273 (boys?=?136, girls?=?137) students recruited from 3 elementary schools in the US. Classes in each school were randomly allocated to three experimental conditions: (1) an intervention group with a personalized pedometer weekly target to reach in their PE class (N?=?110), (2) an intervention group with the fixed pedometer target range to reach in each PE class based on the recommended criteria (N?=?90), or (3) a control group without intervention (N?=?73).

Analysis/results: The factorial repeated measures MANOVA indicated significant multivariate effects for the group [F(6, 528)?=?12.954, p?Post hoc analyzes showed that both experimental groups had significantly higher expectancy-value beliefs, motor competence, and physical activity compared to the control group (p?Conclusions: Health practitioners should be aware that goal-directed action can contribute to school students’ PE-related achievement motivation, motor competence, and achieving the recommended 60?min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.     

Significant and meaningful effects in sports biomechanics research

Errors in statistical analysis of multiple dependent variables and in documenting the size of effects are common in the scientific and biomechanical literature. In this paper, I review these errors and several solutions that can improve the validity of sports biomechanics research reports. Studies examining multiple dependent variables should either control for the inflation of Type I errors (e.g. Holm's procedure) during multiple comparisons or use multivariate analysis of variance to focus on the structure and interaction of the dependent variables. When statistically significant differences are observed, research reports should provide confidence limits or effect sizes to document the size of the effects. Authors of sports biomechanics research reports are encouraged to analyse and present their data accounting for the experiment-wise Type I error rate, as well as reporting data documenting the size or practical significance of effects reaching their standard of statistical significance.     

Intervention programme to prevent bullying in adolescents in physical education classes (PREBULLPE): a quasi-experimental study

ABSTRACT

Background: Bullying is a social problem where there is a phenomenon of intentional aggression that occurs in all schools. It has multiple negative consequences for the victim’s psychological health. As school is a context for learning about life in society, strategies to prevent such attitudes and behaviours should be encouraged. Although some studies seem to indicate the potential of the subject of physical education to promote attitudes and behaviours against bullying, there is still insufficient scientific evidence to deduce a positive impact on the reduction or prevention of this phenomenon.

Purpose: This study aimed to analyse the effectiveness of a specific intervention to prevent bullying in Physical Education classes in Secondary Education. 6 specific sessions inserted into the physical education curriculum to find out what bullying is, who its protagonists are and how to prevent it.

Participants and setting: In the study, 764 students with an age range of 12–19 years (49.3% girls; age mean [M]?=?14.80, standard deviation [SD]?=?1.69) from two public educational centres participated. Among them, 439 were randomly assigned to the quasi-experimental group (48.1% girls; age M?=?14.70, SD?=?1.59) and 325 to the control group (51.1% girls; age M?=?14.94, SD?=?1.83). Data were collected at two timepoints, pre- and the post-intervention data.

Data collection: The Spanish version of the European Bullying Intervention Project Questionnaire (EBIPQ) was used to measure the incidence of bullying. To measure cyberbullying, the Spanish version of the European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire (ECIPQ) scale was used.

Data analysis: The Student t-test was performed to compare possible differences between the experimental and control groups in the pre-test. To compare the means of the factors obtained based on the variables and the instruments used, as well as the scores obtained from the subjects of the experimental and control groups at the two timepoints, linear models of repeated measurements have been established comparing the pre- and post-intervention moments and the experimental and control groups, introducing sex and grade variables to compare the effectiveness of the programme based on them.

Results: There were no differences in the pre-test measurements in any of the variables. After the intervention programme in the quasi-experimental group, the bullying victimisation (F?=?16,951; p?=?.000) and bullying aggression (F?=?5,215; p?=?.023) rates decreased significantly more than they did the control group. Likewise, victimisation in cyberbullying (F?=?6,234; p?=?.013) decreased significantly differently, but aggression in cyberbullying did not (F?=?0,099; p?=?.753).

Conclusion: The implementation of a specific intervention to prevent bullying inserted into the physical education curriculum seems to have decreased bullying and cyberbullying victimisation.     

The Kinematics and Kinetics of the Running Pattern of Two-, Four-, and Six-Year-Old Children

Abstract

Selected kinematic and kinetic variables in the running pattern of 2-, 4-, and 6-year-old children were investigated. Cinematographic records and force-plate tracings were used to study the running patterns of the 28 Caucasian subjects, 15 male and 13 female. A 2 × 3 (sex × age) factorial analysis of variance was used to determine whether effects of variation between and within age and sex factors for each of the dependent variables of selected kinematic (displacement and velocity) and kinetic (ground reaction force) variables were significant. The running speeds improved with age. Although height and weight gains influenced the improvement shown in performance, certain biomechanical variables also contributed to the development of the running pattern. In the majority of the selected kinematic and kinetic variables there were significant differences between the 2-year-old group and the other two groups. Where there were significant differences in the variables, the differences tended to be in displacement, velocity, and magnitude of force measures, rather than in time of occurrence measures. Significant differences between male and female subjects appeared in five kinematic variables related to the swing leg.     

‘You don’t want to stand out as the bigger one’: exploring how PE and school sport participation is influenced by pupils and their peers

Background: Population health concerns related to physical inactivity and obesity appear in policy documents, government campaigns and popular media across western societies. Children and young people have been targeted for physical activity promotion and schools have been positioned as sites for intervention. In particular, Physical Education and school sport (PESS) has been framed as a key part of the solution. While some interventionist programmes in schools have reported positive outcomes, they have also been criticised for stigmatising fatness, contributing to a culture of surveillance and fuelling body image anxieties. Despite ongoing work to ameliorate these critical issues by addressing physical activity promotion discourses, curricula and teaching practices many of the same challenges persist. In seeking alternative explanations (and solutions) this paper shifts attention to exploring the role of pupils and their peers.

Purpose: While the critical literature on health and physical education has been illuminating, few studies explore the role of pupils and their peers. Further research is necessary to understand how school peers contribute to pupils’ engagement with PESS. This paper, therefore, draws on Bourdieu’s notion of physical capital and seeks to understand how pupils’ physical activity is influenced by lived-body experiences in school spaces.

The study: Data were produced from a 6-month bricolage-based study with pupils (N?=?29, aged 13–14) across four diverse school settings in England. Multiple qualitative methods were deployed to enhance methodological rigour with what is often a challenging age group for research. Data were interpreted and theorised using the concept of physical capital.

Findings: Pupils themselves play a significant part in establishing the physical body as a symbol of power and status in school settings. Participants understood the health risks of being both underweight and obese, but they regarded obesity as being more problematic because of the immediate social risks of ‘standing out as the bigger one’. Following this rationale, participants sought to accumulate physical capital through engaging in exercise as a purposeful calorie-burning activity intended to avoid the pity, abnormality and derision which is expected to be directed towards overweight pupils. Furthermore, during PESS in clear view of peers, distinctions between pupils’ physical capital could be made by recognising differences in sporting skill. In this context, physical capital mediated engagement in PESS in various ways.

Conclusion: This study has revealed that peers play a significant part in constructing the lived-body experiences of young people. In order to address the criticisms raised about some school-based health promotion interventions, it is crucial to attend to pupils’ relationships with peers as well as addressing policies, curricula and teaching practices. Being sensitive to peer relationships and their understanding of health may help teachers and health promoters decide how to manage the spaces where PESS takes place.     

Examining Combinations of Social Physique Anxiety and Motivation Regulations Using Latent Profile Analysis

Previous research has used cluster analysis to examine how social physique anxiety (SPA) combines with motivation in physical education. This study utilized a more advanced analytic approach, latent profile analysis (LPA), to identify profiles of SPA and motivation regulations. Students in grades 9–12 (N = 298) completed questionnaires at two time points assessing SPA and motivation regulations, psychological needs, enjoyment, effort, and characteristics of physical education peers. LPA identified four profiles representing Autonomous (13.4%), Average (39.3%), Low Autonomous (25.2%), and Autonomous and Introjected (22.1%). Profiles were replicated at a second time point, and evidence of profile measurement invariance across gender was found. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed profile differences. The model-based analytic approach to identify profiles of SPA and motivation regulations differed from cluster analysis profiles. The profiles were not driven by SPA, rather autonomous motivation is the dominant factor associated with physical education motivational experiences.     

Multivariate Relationships of Specific Impression Cues with Teacher Expectations and Dyadic Interactions in Elementary Physical Education Classes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the multivariate relationships of the impression cues of attractiveness and effort with teacher expectations and dyadic interactions in two elementary age groups of children. Three elementary physical education teachers and 128 children (K-3) served as subjects. The children were classified into two groups, one consisting of kindergarten and first grade children and the other second and third grade children. Physical attractiveness was determined from ratings of black and white photographs of each student. Student effort was determined by the ratings of the teachers according to the amount of expressed effort demonstrated by each student during physical activity instruction. Teachers were also asked to rate their students according to four expectancy variables. A dyadic version of Cheffers' Adaptation to Flanders' Interaction Analysis System was the observational tool used to describe teacher-student behaviors. For the older group only, teachers' expectations for the students' social relations, cooperative behavior and ability to reason significantly related to both impression cues. For the younger group, teachers' expectations for social relations and cooperative behavior were significantly related to teacher praise, direction-giving, criticism, and predictable student responses. For the older group, however, the teachers' expectation for cooperative behavior was significantly related to eight behavioral variables, especially to information giving and student-initiated responses.     

Physical Education “in All Sorts of Corners”

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish percentile norms and to compare skinfold and other anthropometric measurements of 647 Italian, Jewish, and Negro preadolescent boys from the Boston, Massachusetts area. Skinfolds were measured at five sites. Other measurements included height, weight, bi-iliac diameter, and selected girths.

Correlations were determined between skinfolds and selected body build components. Interskinfold r's ranged from moderate to high values. The largest percentile scores were found within the Jewish group. Analysis of variance was employed to compare the body fat, height, and weight of each group. Significant differences were found relative to certain skinfolds and weight between ethnic groups at the 1 percent level.     

Higher screen time is associated with overweight,poor dietary habits and physical inactivity in Brazilian adolescents,mainly among girls

Objectives: To analyse the associations between high screen time and overweight, poor dietary habits and physical activity in adolescents according to sex. Methods: The study comprised 515 boys and 716 girls aged 14–17 years from Londrina, Brazil. Nutritional status (normal weight or overweight/obese) was assessed by calculating the body mass index. Eating habits and time spent in physical activity were reported using a questionnaire. The measurement of screen time considered the time spent watching television, using a computer and playing video games during a normal week. Associations between high screen time and dependent variables (nutritional status, eating habits and physical activity levels) were assessed by binary logistic regression, adjusted for sociodemographic and lifestyle variables. Results: Most adolescents (93.8% of boys and 87.2% of girls) spent more than 2 hours per day in screen-time activities. After adjustments, an increasing trend in the prevalence of overweight and physical inactivity with increasing time spent on screen activities was observed for both sexes. Screen times of >4 hours/day compared with <2 hours/day were associated with physical inactivity, low consumption of vegetables and high consumption of sweets only in girls and the consumption of soft drinks in both sexes. Conclusions: The frequency of overweight and physical inactivity increased with increasing screen time in a trending manner and independently of the main confounders. The relationship between high screen time and poor eating habits was particularly relevant for adolescent girls.     

Time Comparison between the Cross-Over and Jab-Step Starts

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate and quantify physiological differences among groups of distance runners. The subjects included 20 elite distance runners (8 marathon, 12 middle-long distance) and 8 good runners. Working capacity and cardiorespiratory function were determined by submaximal and maximal treadmill tests, and body composition by hydrostatic weighing. The variables studied were maximum oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O₂ max), [Vdot]O₂ submax, lactic acid submax, lean body weight, and fat weight. MANOVA showed that the good runners differed from the elite runners (p < 0.01) and the elite marathon runners differed from the elite middle-long distance runners (p < 0.05). Discriminant analysis showed that both functions were significant. The first was a general physiological efficiency factor that separated the good and elite runners. The second separated the elite marathon and middle-long distance groups. The second function showed that the marathon runners had lower lactic acid submax values. The middle-long distance runners had higher [Vdot]O₂ max values. Classification analysis was used to evaluate the accuracy of the discriminant analysis; 80% of the elite runners were correctly classified as marathon or middle-long distance runners. The discriminant functions were used to develop a multivariate scaling model for evaluating distance runners. Two premier runners, one marathoner (F. Shorter) and one middle-long distance runner (S. Prefontaine), were found to be at the extremes of the scale. The data showed that the discriminant functions provided a valid model for evaluating differences among elite distance runners.     

The Development of Skill and Knowledge During a Sport Education Season of Track and Field Athletics

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relative effectiveness of 2 forms of physical education instruction on students' skill and technical performance, as well as content knowledge in 3 track and field events. Method: Students from 6 classes in 3 Portuguese schools completed 900-min units conducted under the auspices of sport education or a more traditional teacher-directed format. Classes were randomly assigned to these conditions within each school. Results: Although both groups improved significantly from pretest to posttest, the sport education classes outperformed the traditional classes in both technique and skill execution. Only the sport education group made significant improvements in content knowledge. When the students in the traditional group were tested at the point in time where they would usually complete a unit of physical education (450 min), there were no significant improvements in any of the study's variables. Conclusion: The explanation given for the superior performance outcomes of the sport education classes lies in the nature of formal competition and team affiliation, which are cornerstones of this pedagogical model. That is, students take their learning experiences more seriously than in traditional and often inauthentic classes. In terms of content knowledge, the fact that sport education has a level of content-embedded accountability that holds students accountable for their officiating duties is postulated as a significant contributor to their increased understanding of rules and protocols of athletic events.     

How PETE comes to matter in the performance of social justice education

ABSTRACT

Background: For over four decades, there have been calls for physical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE) to address social inequality and foster social justice. Yet, as numerous studies demonstrate, attempts to educate for social justice in PETE are infrequent and rarely comprehensive. This raises the question why it appears to be possible in some situations but not others, and for some students and not others.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the multiple socio-political networks or assemblages in which PETE is embedded and explore how these shape the possibilities for students to engage with the concept of social justice and sociocultural issues (SCI) when learning to teach PE. Two research questions guided this study: How does an orientation for social justice education (SJE) within education policy affect the standards for enacting PETE programs? How is SJE encouraged within PETE programs?

Methodology: Drawing from a broader study of over 70 key personnel in more than 40 PETE programs, we examined how faculty in PETE understand their professional world, identify their subjective meanings of their experiences, and address SCI andSJE within PETE. Data sources included an initial survey, a semi-structured interview, and program artifacts. We analyze the ways that SJE/SCI was represented in three national settings (England, the United States, and New Zealand) and identified common themes.

Results: Examination of each national setting reveals ways that SJE and SCI were enabled and constrained across the national, programmatic, and individual level in each of the countries. The coherence of explicit National policy and curricula, PETE program philosophies, and the presence of multiple individual interests in social justice served to reify a sociocultural agenda. Conversely, possibilities were nullified by narrow or general National Standards, programs that failed to acknowledge sociocultural interests, and the absence of a critical mass of actors with a socio-critical orientation. These differences in assemblage culminated in variations in curriculum time that served to restrict or enable the breadth, frequency, and consistency of the messages surrounding SCI in PETE.

Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of acknowledging socio-political networks where PETE operates. The agency of PETEs to enact pedagogies that foreground sociocultural interests is contingent on congruity of the networks. The authors caution that although the ‘perfect storm’ of conditions has a profound influence of the possibility of transformational learning of SCI in PETE, this arrangement is always temporary, fluid, and subject to changes in any of the three network levels. Additionally, the success of PETE in enabling graduating PE teachers to recognize the inequities that may be reinforced through the ‘hidden curriculum’ and to problematize the subject area is contingent on the expectations of the schools in which they teach.     

Estimation of Maximum Oxygen Uptake in Adults from AAHPER Youth Fitness Test Items

Abstract

The validity of estimating maximum oxygen uptake from AAHPER Youth Fitness Test items was determined utilizing 87 adult subjects. Multiple correlations were obtained utilizing the motor fitness items as independent variables. Three dependent variables were investigated for relationship to the independent variables (gross O₂ uptake, O₂ uptake/kg body wt., O₂ uptake/kg lean body wt.). The multiple correlation of the AAHPER items with O₂ uptake/kg body wt. (0.760) was higher than with the other two variables. It was determined by multiple regression techniques that a subset of four of the independent variables could be used to get an estimate of O₂ uptake/kg body wt. with an associated standard error of ± 12 percent of the estimated values. This was compared with the standard errors of more complicated estimation methods.     

Meta-analysis in sport and exercise research: Review,recent developments,and recommendations

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide a general overview of the principles and practice of conducting quantitative psychometric meta-analytic reviews in the sport and exercise sciences and highlight some of the recent developments and recommendations from researchers regarding the conduct and validity of meta-analytic methods. After outlining the historical context, the general principles involved in a quantitative cumulation of research findings across empirical studies is reviewed. Subsequently, recent controversies and issues surrounding the use of meta-analysis are reviewed with examples provided from the sport and exercise psychology literature. Specifically, the basis for and selection of meta-analytic models (use of fixed vs. random effects models), the treatment of data from theories that explicitly demand testing the effects of multiple independent variables on a dependent variable (use of multiple regression), and how to treat studies that contain multiple tests of a given effect (use of averaging and structural equation modeling methods) are covered. Recommendations are provided for researchers conducting meta-analytic studies based on these issues.     

Teaching adapted physical education in the primary years – Taiwanese teachers’ attitudes

Abstract

This purpose of this study was to investigate primary teachers’ attitudes towards adapted physical education (APE) in New Taipei City in Taiwan. It was hypothesized that positive attitudes would be found within this group of teachers. The research adopts a quantitative approach, conducting surveys. The results of this study fall into three parts. First, physical educators’ attitudes towards APE tend to be positive in the primary schools surveyed. Second, variables such as gender, age, length of teaching, background, teaching style and so forth have no effect on physical educators’ views on APE, although significant difference was found regarding grade. Finally, factors such as professional training and governmental policy are found to influence physical educators’ attitudes towards APE. In its conclusion, this study manifests its value in several ways. It provides recommendable suggestions for improving the policy and implementation of APE and future research on this subject in Taiwan.     

The Differential Effect of Indirect Instruction in the Teaching of Sport Skills on Critical Thinking and Self-esteem of Early Adolescent Boys Placed at Risk

The purpose of this study was to examine the differential effect of sport skills instruction (SSI) and sport skills instruction plus initiative games (SSI +) on the critical thinking (CT) and self-esteem scores of early adolescent boys placed at risk. Students in the SSI + group ( n = 36) participated in initiative games classes in addition to their sport skills activities. Students in the SSI group (n = 44) participated in the sport skills activities only. Since the boys were divided by age (10-11 & 12-13), the influence of age on the dependent variables was also investigated. Classes taught by the initiative games teacher were student-centered while the sport skills classes were teacher-centered. Significant differences between teacher behaviors occurred in interaction patterns, instructional strategies, and management concerns. There were no differences on self-esteem scores. The results supported the addition of initiative games to SSI to foster CT with this group of participants.