Physical activity promotion in the academic classroom (PAPAC) is an effective means for increasing children’s school-based physical activity. In the context of a South Carolina policy requiring elementary schools to provide children with 90 min of physical activity beyond physical education every week, the purpose of this study was to test a theoretical model of elementary classroom teachers’ (ECT) PAPAC adoption drawing from Rogers’ (1995) diffusion of innovations theory and a social ecological perspective. ECTs (N = 201) were assessed on their policy awareness, perceived school support for PAPAC, perceived attributes of PAPAC, domain-specific innovativeness, and self-reported PAPAC. Partial least squares analysis supported most of the hypothesized relationships. Policy awareness predicted perceived school support, which in turn predicted perceived attributes and domain-specific innovativeness. Perceived compatibility, simplicity, and observability, and domain-specific innovativeness predicted self-reported PAPAC. This study identifies variables that should be considered in policy-driven efforts to promote PAPAC adoption.

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Future research should continue to incorporate retrospective verbal reports and explore potential causal links between internal attentional focus and self-evaluation.

Despite its recommended use, physical activity promotion in the academic classroom (PAPAC) has received little attention in terms of the factors that help to facilitate it. In this study, a social learning perspective was adopted to examine the role of physical activity biographies in generalist classroom teachers’ (CTs) PAPAC. CTs (N = 213) were assessed on their satisfaction with personal K-12 physical education (PE) experiences, perceived physical activity competence, self-reported physical activity, perceived PAPAC competence, and self-reported PAPAC. Structural equation modeling supported the hypothesized relationships between variables. Specifically, PE satisfaction predicted physical activity competence, which in turn predicted physical activity. Subsequently, physical activity predicted PAPAC competence, which predicted PAPAC. The specified model explained 41% of the variance in PAPAC, with PAPAC competence being the largest contributor. This study provides useful information for designing interventions to increase PAPAC, as it stresses the need to identify strategies that improve CTs’ physical activity-related, and PAPAC-related self-perceptions.

Introduction: Children with CHARGE syndrome often show delays in balance and motor skills due to multisensory impairments. Research also suggests that children with CHARGE syndrome have fewer opportunities to engage in physical activity. However, little research has examined the relationship among all of these variables. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between balance, motor skills, and physical activity. Methods: Participants consisted of 37 children with CHARGE syndrome aged 3–16 years who could walk independently. Parents of each child with CHARGE syndrome completed a demographics questionnaire and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children or Adolescents. Their child completed the Mini-BEST balance test and five motor skills (run, jump, slide, kick, and throw) from the Test of Gross Motor Development II. Results: Results indicate that anticipatory control had significant positive correlations with all five motor skills, sensory orientation with three motor skills, and reactive postural control and dynamic gait with two motor skills. Running was the only variable that had a significant positive correlation with physical activity. Discussion: The findings indicate that balance, especially anticipatory control, plays an important role in fundamental motor skills of children with CHARGE syndrome. There is also a strong connection between physical activity and running competence for this population; however, since this is based on a correlational analysis, the direction of the relationship is unclear. Implications for practitioners: Physical education teachers should work with students with CHARGE syndrome on increasing balance and motor skill performance to give them the competence and confidence to engage in physical activity. Moreover, parents can help by engaging in physical activity with their child at an early age and seeking out additional physical activity opportunities for their child outside of the physical education and school setting.