Three-Year Study of Students’ Attitudes Toward Physical Education: Grades 4–8

Purpose: A relationship exists between attitudes toward physical education and future physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in attitude toward physical education as students progressed from upper elementary school (Grade 4) through middle school (Grade 8). Method: Three cohorts of students (Cohort 1, Grades 4–6, n = 96; Cohort 2, Grades 5–7, n = 71; and Cohort 3, Grades 6–8, n = 73) were each followed for 3 years to examine changes in attitudes toward physical education. Results: After an initial increase from Grade 4 to Grade 5, a significant decrease was observed from Grades 5 to 8 in students’ positive attitudes toward physical education, with a faster rate of change for girls than boys. Conclusion: This longitudinal study provides further insights regarding the attitudes of students as they progress from Grade 4 to Grade 8 and expands on previous findings identifying decreasing positive attitudes toward physical education as students age, particularly for girls. The results provide evidence to support targeted interventions.     

Student use of a computer

Sans résumé

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Student use of a computer

     

The roles of perceived teacher support, motivational climate, and psychological need satisfaction in students' physical education motivation

Research illustrates the positive roles of perceived competence, autonomy, and mastery climate and the negative role of performance climate in student motivation in physical education. Less research has examined perceptions of relationships within this setting (i.e., perceived teacher support and relatedness) and their role in student motivation. The purpose of this study was to test the mediating roles of perceived competence, autonomy, and relatedness in the relationship between social contextual factors and motivation in physical education students (N = 508). Results from structural equation modeling showed that perceived competence, autonomy, and relatedness partially mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and self-determined motivation and that mastery climate related directly to self-determined motivation. The results highlight the importance of perceived teacher support, mastery climate, and relatedness to motivation in physical education.     

Special populations: the female player and the youth player

Females and youth are frequently described as "special" populations in football literature, but together these two populations outnumber male players. What makes females "special" is that they tend to eat less when training and competing than their male counterparts, leading to lower intakes of energy, carbohydrate, and some nutrients. Youth football players are special in regard to energy and nutrient requirements to promote growth and development, as well as to fuel sport. There is limited research on the dietary habits of these two populations, but the available literature suggests that many female and youth players need to increase carbohydrate intake, increase fluid intake, and develop dietary habits to sustain the demands of training and competition.     

The distance-time relationship over a century of running Olympic performances: A limit on the critical speed concept

We analyse the evolution of the slope (critical speed) and the y-intercept (anaerobic distance capacity) of the linear distance-time relationship over a century of Olympic running performances. The distance-time relationship of each Olympic Games (1920-2004) was plotted using the performances in the 800-, 1500- and 5000-m track events. Values for critical speed and anaerobic distance capacity were determined by linear modelling. Mean performances for the 800, 1500 and 5000 m were 104.9 +/- 1.5 s (1.4%), 217.2 +/- 2.8 s (1.3%) and 808.9 +/- 18.4 s (2.3%), respectively. Critical speed improved during the first three-quarters of the twentieth century to reach a plateau in 1984. This is in accordance with the literature (Peronnet & Thibault, 1989) and suggests that "human aerobic endurance" has improved within the century (+13.4%) and tends to stabilize. Anaerobic distance capacity was highly variable over the century (coefficient of variation = 9.4%) and did not show a linear improvement over the years as has previously been suggested (Peronnet & Thibault, 1989). This could be due to an artefact in the application of the two-parameter model to only three Olympic performances. A limitation to the use of this linear mathematical model to fit physiological data may have been demonstrated.