Validity of the New Lifestyles NL-1000 Accelerometer for Measuring Time Spent in Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity in School Settings

Current interest in promoting physical activity in the school environment necessitates an inexpensive, accurate method of measuring physical activity in such settings. Additionally, it is recognized that physical activity must be of at least moderate intensity in order to yield substantial health benefits. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to determine the validity of the New Lifestyles NL-1000 (New Lifestyles, Inc., Lee's Summit, Missouri, USA) accelerometer for measuring moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school settings, using the Actigraph GT1M (ActiGraph, Pensacola, Florida, USA) as the criterion. Data were collected during a cross-country run (n = 12), physical education (n = 18), and classroom-based physical activities (n = 42). Significant and meaningful intraclass correlations between methods were found, and NL-1000 estimates of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were not meaningfully different from GT1M-estimated moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The NL-1000 therefore shows promising validity evidence as an inexpensive, convenient method of measuring moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school settings.     

Tool for Assessing Responsibility-Based Education (TARE): Instrument Development,Content Validity,and Inter-Rater Reliability

Numerous scholars have stressed the importance of personal and social responsibility in physical activity settings; however, there is a lack of instrumentation to study the implementation of responsibility-based teaching strategies. The development, content validity, and initial inter-rater reliability testing of the Tool for Assessing Responsibility-Based Education (TARE) are described here. Inter-rater agreement was calculated for paired observations focused on 2 different teachers delivering a total of 18 separate physical education lessons for students in grades 1 through 6. Findings indicate that the Tool for Assessing Responsibility-Based Education provides scores with adequate inter-rater reliability. The procedures employed in this study proved feasible and enable observers to characterize the implementation of responsibility-based teaching in physical education. The Tool for Assessing Responsibility-Based Education has numerous research and training applications relative to the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility model (Hellison, 2003 Hellison, D. 2003. Teaching responsibility through physical activity, 2nd, 15–38. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.  [Google Scholar]) and the national content standards for K–12 physical education, specifically Standard 5: Exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings (National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 2004 National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). 2004. Moving into the future. National standards for physical education, 2nd, 39–43. Reston, VA: Author.  [Google Scholar]).     

Measuring Physical Activity in Preschoolers: Reliability and Validity of the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers (SOFIT-P)

The purpose of this study is describe the initial feasibility, reliability, and validity of an instrument to measure physical activity in preschoolers using direct observation. The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers was developed and tested among 3- to 6-year-old children over fall 2008 for feasibility and reliability (Phase I, n = 67) and in fall 2009 for concurrent validity (Phase II, n = 27). Phase I showed that preschoolers spent >75% of their active time at preschool in light physical activity. The mean inter-observer agreements scores were ≥.75 for physical activity level and type. Correlation coefficients, measuring construct validity between the lesson context and physical activity types with and with the activity levels, were moderately strong. Phase II showed moderately strong correlations ranging from .50 to .54 between the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers and Actigraph accelerometers for physical activity levels. The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers shows promising initial results as a new method for measuring physical activity among preschoolers.     

Exercising with Passion: Initial Validation of the Passion Scale in Exercise

Adequate response to mail health surveys by minority populations has proved problematic. The impact of mail survey design features utilized to promote Orthodox Jews' responses (N = 138; 82 eligible synagogue member households) to a mailed questionnaire used to measure walking behavior are described and assessed. An examination of response characteristics by wave as an estimate of nonresponse bias and calculations of response speed and cost-effectiveness were conducted. Response rates of 54.8% and 52.9% for eligible households and individuals, respectively, were accumulated by using 9 of 14 recommended mail survey techniques for this particular population (e.g., culturally appropriate salutation and closing, religious iconography, Talmudic aphorisms, and incentives linked to Hebraic numerology and the synagogue's building fund). Nonrespondents most frequently cited business, forgetfulness, or lack of topic salience as reasons for not responding. No differences on sociodemographic items and 9 of 11 continuous variables were observed by response wave; response speed was slowest in response to later mailing waves; and cost-effectiveness was maximal during postcard follow-up (E statistic = 3.74). Nonresponse bias may not be problematic with a > 50% response rate in this particular population. Front-loading incentives may prompt quicker response and improve cost-effectiveness. Specific design considerations for future consideration and testing are provided.     

Factorial Validity and Reliability of the Curricular Goals in Physical Education Questionnaire

This study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of an instrument designed to measure student perceptions of curricular goals in physical education, the Curricular Goals in Physical Education Questionnaire. Participants were 879 Finnish students from grades 7 to 9 (412 girls, 467 boys; mean age 13.81). An exploratory factor analysis was performed on Sample 1 (n = 287), revealing a four-factor solution and suggesting that factor structure be cross-validated with confirmatory factor analysis in Sample 2 (n = 592). Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated an acceptable fit and supported the four-factor model. Tests for gender invariance supported configural, metric, and scalar invariance. Analyses of factor mean differences indicated that girls attributed more importance than boys to physical education’s health-related goals, social and emotional learning, and motor skill development. This study confirmed the validity of the Curricular Goals in Physical Education Questionnaire to assess student perspectives on curricular goals across gender. In order to improve factor structure the authors suggest the addition of an item measuring skill acquisition to future versions of the instrument.     

Exploring physical education teachers ‘everyday understandings’ of physical literacy

ABSTRACT

In recent years, physical literacy (PL) has been the subject of increased publication, promotion, and speculation in physical education (PE). This research sought to understand how PE teachers interpret PL. We investigated teacher’s conceptualisations, understandings, practices, and ideas of ‘what’ PL stands for through a #Chat conversation with physical educators on Twitter. This generated qualitative data that were interpretively analysed. An ‘everyday philosophy’ of PL emerged from the physical educators’ relationship with the PL concept, alongside the notion that some use social media as a PL advocacy tool. A lack of sophistication was evident in the PE teachers understanding and operationalization of PL. We conclude that perhaps too much time and effort has been spent ‘adapting’ PL to national contexts, personal, and institutional agendas, rather than investing in the pedagogical and content knowledge of PE teachers to deliver on the concept of PL. We suggest that it is empirical research rather than academic opinionating that is needed to establish the validity of PL for PE.     

Creation of new routines in physical education: second-order reflection as a tradition-challenging form of reflection stimulated by inquiry-based learning

ABSTRACT

The time we live in is characterised by social and cultural changes, but teaching in physical education (PE) does not necessary match these changes. Consequently, the present project explored how second-order reflection (SoR) as a tradition-challenging and developing form of reflection can be stimulated by an inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach in physical education teacher education to transform current pedagogy to align with social and cultural changes. SoR fosters development and learning by inter-professional collaboration and inter-professional dialogue and is an extended form of higher-order thinking (HoT) including critical thinking and problem-solving. The project explored how an IBL approach stimulated a group of pre-service teachers (n?=?32) developing their professional practice by using SoR. Data were generated through video observations and audio recordings of the pre-service teachers’ discussions, reflections and actions during the IBL unit. Furthermore, written reflections regarding the challenges were collected. All data were inductively analysed in order to identify and extract common themes and patterns in relation to SoR. The analyses of the data revealed that during the IBL approach the pre-service teachers used both reflection at first and second-order level. Reflections in the form of technical and practical considerations were common, while examples of SoR were seen especially in the phases of IBL where the pre-service teachers used new theoretical knowledge and experiences from other contexts than PE. Consequently, the findings supported that IBL enhanced the second-order reflective skills of some of the pre-service teachers. However, with further use of guiding and facilitation of the IBL process or keeping the pre-service teachers to their challenges, hypotheses and plans, the methodology has even more potential to enhance the second-order critical reflection of the participants; thereby developing their coming practice to be more reflective, engaging and probably motivational.     

‘Who’s that girl sitting with the boys?’: negotiating researcher identity in fieldwork with adolescent boys

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to discuss the negotiation and performance of researcher identities while conducting fieldwork. It draws on a larger study of masculinities, health and physical education, and sport in an elite boys’ school to analyse the researcher’s role as a female ethnographer in the world of health and physical education in boys’ schooling. Using data drawn from field notes, reflections, and observations from six months of fieldwork at the school, this paper joins a growing body of research, which attests to the importance of making known the ‘hidden histories’ of qualitative research. The significance of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it lies in recognising the details of how researchers position themselves in the field, negotiate and renegotiate their identities, and the significance of social dynamics and relationships to this process. Secondly, it raises awareness of the implications of negotiating researcher identities and embodied experiences in the field and suggests this analysis should become more public in qualitative research.     

High Body Mass Index is not a barrier to physical activity: Analysis of international rugby players’ anthropometric data

Abstract

Recent data indicate that levels of overweight and obesity are increasing at an alarming rate throughout the world. At a population level (and commonly to assess individual health risk), the prevalence of overweight and obesity is calculated using cut-offs of the Body Mass Index (BMI) derived from height and weight. Similarly, the BMI is also used to classify individuals and to provide a notional indication of potential health risk.

It is likely that epidemiologic surveys that are reliant on BMI as a measure of adiposity will overestimate the number of individuals in the overweight (and slightly obese) categories. This tendency to misclassify individuals may be more pronounced in athletic populations or groups in which the proportion of more active individuals is higher. This differential is most pronounced in sports where it is advantageous to have a high BMI (but not necessarily high fatness). To illustrate this point we calculated the BMIs of international professional rugby players from the four teams involved in the semi-finals of the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) cut-offs for BMI, approximately 65% of the players were classified as overweight and approximately 25% as obese.

These findings demonstrate that a high BMI is commonplace (and a potentially desirable attribute for sport performance) in professional rugby players. An unanswered question is what proportion of the wider population, classified as overweight (or obese) according to the BMI, is misclassified according to both fatness and health risk? It is evident that being overweight should not be an obstacle to a physically active lifestyle. Similarly, a reliance on BMI alone may misclassify a number of individuals who might otherwise have been automatically considered fat and/or unfit.     

Effect of tapering period on plasma hormone concentrations,mood state,and performance of elite male cyclists

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effect of 1- and 3-week tapering periods on concentrations of plasma testosterone (T), cortisol (C), T/C ratio, mood state, and performance in elite male cyclists. After 8 weeks of progressive training, cyclists were randomly assigned to a control group (n=12) who continued performing intense training for a further 3 weeks, or a taper group (n=12) who continued with a 50% reduction in training volume. Blood testosterone and cortisol concentrations were assayed and the T/C ratio calculated from analysis obtained via standard ELISA. Mood state was determined using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire. All data were collected immediately after a 40-km time-trial performed before, during, and after the 8-week training protocol and after the 1- and 3-week tapering/training periods. In the taper group, 40-km time-trial time decreased significantly (P<0.01) and equally for both the 1- and 3-week taper periods relative to the control group. There were significant elevations in T/C ratio (P<0.001) and reductions in cortisol concentrations and POMS scores in the taper group relative to the control groups at the end of both the 1- and 3-week tapering periods. Hence, taper periods are effective in improving performance and mood state and elevating the blood T/C ratio.