School Reform: The Role of Physical Education Policy in Physical Activity of Elementary School Children in Alabama's Black Belt Region

Robinson, Leah E.; Wadsworth, Danielle D.; Webster, E. Kipling; Bassett, David R.

doi:10.4278/ajhp.130430-arb-207

Cited by 22 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Overall, it appears that only about half of the elementary schools studied are meeting their respective DPA time requirement, as self-reported by teachers and principals. However “[the] self-reported findings may reflect what is scheduled versus actual policy implementation” (p.S75) as made evident by direct observations in a school-based PA policy evaluation in Alabama [58]. Moreover, scheduling DPA into the school day provides children with the opportunity to be active, but does not guarantee that students are active during this time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A theoretical analysis of the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of school-based physical activity policies in Canada: a mixed methods scoping review

2017

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BackgroundGiven the potential impact school-based daily physical activity (DPA) policies can have on the health outcomes of Canadian children, it is surprising that such little research has examined the implementation and student-level effectiveness of these policies, and that even less have used theory to understand the barriers and facilitators affecting uptake of this policy by teachers. This review descriptively summarizes the implementation status, approaches used to implement DPA, and the effectiveness of DPA at increasing the physical activity of children at school. In addition, the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was used to explore the barriers and facilitators to DPA implementation.MethodsA scoping review of English articles using ERIC, CINAHL, and Google Scholar (2005 to 2016) was conducted. Only studies that evaluated the implementation and/or student-level effectiveness of DPA policies in Canadian elementary schools were included. Only articles that examined DPA implementation barriers and facilitators by teachers, principals, and/or administration were eligible for the TDF analysis. Data on study characteristics and major findings regarding implementation status, implementation approach used, and impact on student’s physical activity were extracted and were summarized descriptively, including study quality indicators. Two coders extracted and categorized implementation barriers and facilitators into TDF domains.ResultsThe search resulted in 66 articles being retrieved and 38 being excluded for not meeting the eligibility criteria, leaving 15 eligible for review (10 of which examined barriers and facilitators to implementation from DPA deliverers’ perspective). Eleven of 15 studies examined the Ontario DPA policy, and 2 studies were from both Alberta and British Columbia. Thirteen studies examined implementation, and only two examined effectiveness. DPA implementation status, approaches to delivery, and effectiveness on student’s PA levels are inconsistent across the three provinces. A total of 203 barriers/facilitators were extracted across the ten implementation studies, most of which related to the environmental context and resources (ECR; n = 86; 37.4%), beliefs about consequences (n = 41; 17.8%), and social influences (n = 36; 15.7%) TDF domains.ConclusionsWith the limited research examining the DPA policy in Canada, the current status and approaches used to implement DPA and the student-level effectiveness is not well understood; however, this review revealed that DPA deliverers often report many barriers to DPA implementation. Most importantly, in conducting a TDF-based analysis of the barriers/facilitators affecting implementation, this review provides a theoretical basis by which researchers and policy-makers can design interventions to better target these problems in the future.RegistrationA protocol for this review was not registered.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13012-017-0570-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A theoretical analysis of the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of school-based physical activity policies in Canada: a mixed methods scoping review

2017

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“…This finding was consistent with previous literature showing that PE can significantly contribute to school students PA levels. 10,12,[15][16][17]49 Students' participation in PE reduced students' non-MVPA by almost 16 and 20 min/day, increased MPA for 4 and 7 min/day and VPA for 6 and 7 min/day compared to non-PE days in U.S. and Finland, respectively. In both samples, students were more engaged in MVPAs during PE days corroborating the findings of the previous studies that have shown PE to be one of the key contributors of school day PA 12 .…”

Section: Pa During Pe and Non-pe Daysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, research has shown that children who attend regularly PE are more physically active compared to those who attend PE less often, 13,14,15 and the binding PE requirements can increase both PA participation and intensity of PA among high school students. 13 It is noteworthy that boys have found to be more physically active during school days 16,17 compared to girls but it has been shown that these sex differences are more due to recess 17,18 and lunch break 17 PA but not PE PA. 17 Despite the evidence indicates that each additional minute of school day MVPA is associated with an additional 1.14 increase in total MVPA, 19 27 As a comparison, the U.S. score, based on high school data only, showed 41%-60 % of the U.S. schools to meet the benchmark. 28 In the U.S., Long et al 19 have shown 6-to-11-year old boys to have 36.9 minutes (5.2 min/h) of MVPA during school hours, with contributing to 46% of their total 85.9 minutes of daily MVPA.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Objectively Measured School Day Physical Activity Among Elementary Students in the United States and Finland

Yli-Piipari

Kulmala²,

Jaakkola³

et al. 2016

Journal of Physical Activity and Health

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Background:Schools are in a unique position to ensure that all students meet the current physical activity (PA) recommendations. This study aimed to examine 1st to 3rd grade elementary students’ accelerometer measured school day PA in the United States (U.S.) and Finland.Methods:The sample consisted of 200 students (107 girls, 93 boys; ages 6 to 8) and their school day PA was monitored with hip-worn ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers across a 5-day school week and the thresholds 100 and 2296 count per minute were used to separate sedentary time, light PA, and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA).Results:On an average school day, students were engaged in MVPA for 20.0 min in the U.S. and 24.1 min in Finland. Students’ school-day MVPA was 9 to 16 minutes higher during physical education (PE) days compared with non-PE days (U.S: 25.8 vs. 16.6 min/day; Finland: 36.3 vs. 20.1 min/day). Girls had less MVPA and more sedentary time compared with boys in both samples.Conclusion:This study highlights both the role of PE and other school day physical activities in meeting PA guidelines. Policy measures are needed to change the structure of the school day and enhance PA to ensure that students meet the PA recommendations.

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“…In the present study, the results indicated a worsening, after four weeks of PE classes alone, in the values for endurance/abdominal strength and relative fat. According to regulations, PE classes in the school environment are fundamental to improve motor activity in childhood, however, previous studies indicate that the classes offer insufficient amounts of motor activity 25,26 . In this sense, in a recent systematic review with meta-analysis 15 , researchers investigated the proportion of time spent in class devoted to moderate and vigorous physical activity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of systematized physical activity on parameters of health-related physical fitness in schoolchildren aged 8 to 11 years

Gonçalves

Santos²,

Silva

2019

Rev Bras Ativ Fís Saúde

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It is recommended that proper incorporation of healthy habits of physical activity in childhood and adolescence has a positive impact on a physically active lifestyle in adult life. Thus, the present study aimed to verify the effects of four weeks of systematized physical activity in addition to the classes of Physical Education on parameters of physical fitness related to health of children and adolescents. The sample was selected by convenience and composed of 73 children and adolescents aged 8-11 years. The subjects were subdivided into 2 groups; one group of children exclusively attending Physical Education classes (PEC); and another group that performed Systematized Physical Activity (SPA). The following tests were applied; the abdominal test to assess strength and muscle resistance; the Paccer to verify cardiorespiratory fitness; and the adapted sit-and-reach to evaluate flexibility. In addition, the Body Mass Index (BMI) and relative fat (%F) were assessed. Sample characterization data and motor tests are presented as median and interquartile range. The ANOVA test of repeated measurements was used to verify the effect of the moments. The results pre training did not demonstrate differences between groups in measures of body mass, stature, BMI, or motor tests. The effects of physical training were observed in all motor tests in favor of the SPA, while the PEC did not demonstrate significant differences between moments. In conclusion, four weeks of additional systematized physical activity promoted a significant positive effect in motor tests applied with a focus on heath.

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School Reform: The Role of Physical Education Policy in Physical Activity of Elementary School Children in Alabama's Black Belt Region

Abstract: It appears that schools were in compliance with the state-mandated PE policies on paper but not in actuality. Students did not attend PE for 30 min/d. The implementation of PE as the sole physical activity opportunity provides inadequate amounts of physical activity during the school day.

Cited by 22 publications

References 19 publications

A theoretical analysis of the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of school-based physical activity policies in Canada: a mixed methods scoping review

A theoretical analysis of the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of school-based physical activity policies in Canada: a mixed methods scoping review

Objectively Measured School Day Physical Activity Among Elementary Students in the United States and Finland

The impact of systematized physical activity on parameters of health-related physical fitness in schoolchildren aged 8 to 11 years

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