Over the last decade, the lives of children in several countries, including Greece, have been affected by recession. The aim of the present study was (a) to examine time trends in physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) of Greek preschool children, together with their family affluence (FA), from 2009 until 2018, and to explore the associations among them; and (b) to investigate the connections of parental educational level and children’s BMIs to their achieving ST (<1 h/day) and PA (11,500 steps/day) guidelines. A total of 652 children from four cross-sectional cohorts participated. PA was recorded with Omron HJ-720IT-E2 pedometers, whereas ST, family affluence (FA) and parental educational level were reported by participants’ parents. The results of the one-way ANOVAs that were computed revealed statistically significant differences among cohorts, albeit of no practical importance, in PA, ST and FA. According to the regressions calculated, neither BMI nor the educational level was related to membership in ST and PA guidelines groups. ST was a significant predictor of children’s PA in all week periods (school-time, leisure-time, weekend), whereas FA was not such a strong predictor. Multilevel interventions aiming at both ST and PA seem to be imperative for the benefit of young children’s health.
The purpose of the present study was to develop a reliable and valid questionnaire for the self-evaluation of teacher effectiveness in physical education (SETEQ-PE). Initially, 90 items, based on the findings of the international bibliography on teacher effectiveness and effective teaching, were formed and then categorized in 11 thematic units (phase 1). The questionnaire was completed by in-service physical education teachers (N = 470) in phase 2 (N = 250) and phase 3 of the study (N = 220). In each phase, the appropriate modifications were made on the basis of internal consistency and construct validity of the instrument. The final form of the SETEQ-PE consists of 25 items that evaluate six domains of teaching in physical education. The results showed that the self-evaluation questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool that can be used for assessing the work of the physical education teacher. Further, this tool might probably enhance a teacher's knowledge, understanding, motivation, and attitudes towards teaching.
Considering the need for functional physical activity (PA) measures in PA settings, this study sought to determine the technical adequacy of the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) and the Fitbit Flex-2, two instruments with promising features for wide use, using the Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer as the criterion reference. A total of 218 Greek children (94 boys, 124 girls; mean age = 10.99 ± 1.52 years) volunteered to join in. Participants wore the PA trackers for seven days and completed the PAQ-C. Moreover, a sub-group (n = 60) recompleted the PAQ-C after a week. Results revealed acceptable internal consistency and excellent test–retest reliability for the PAQ-C. Regarding concurrent validity, weak to moderate correlations with PA parameters recorded by the GT3X+ were revealed for the total PAQ-C and were excellent for the Flex-2, while a Bland–Altman plot indicated good agreement. Finally, in alignment with relevant literature, significant gender, but no age, differences were found in participants’ PA records in all the tools applied. The above results support the use of the PAQ-C and the Fitbit Flex-2 in children. Considering that they shed light into different parameters of children’s habitual PA, their combined utilisation, providing comprehensive information, is strongly recommended.
Derri V, Avgerinos A, Emmanouilidou K, Kioumourtzoglou E. What do Greek physical education teachers know about elementary student assessment? J. Hum. Sport Exerc. Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 658-670, 2012. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether teachers' knowledge of student assessment was influenced by their gender and if it was related to their teaching experience (years in education). One hundred and twenty six physical education teachers (n=126) who teach in different Greek public elementary schools, participated. Their teaching experience ranged from one to 24 years (Μ=10.45, SD=5.9). Participants' knowledge of student assessment was assessed via a multiple choice questionnaire. Independent samples t-test and Spearman rank order correlation were conducted in order to explore the impact of gender on teachers' knowledge and the relation between the latter and teaching experience, respectively. Descriptive statistics showed deficiencies in teachers' knowledge. Results indicated that females presented higher knowledge scores than males, although marginally non-significant. Marginally non-significant was also the negative correlation between teaching experience and teachers' knowledge. It seems that gender and teaching experience play a role on teachers' knowledge of student assessment, as measured in the present research, in favor of the females and the teachers with less teaching experience. These findings could be taken into consideration for further research as well as for teacher training on student assessment.
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