The Role of Physical Education Homework to Adolescent Girls’ Physical Activity in Finland

Abstract

Introduction: There is an urgent need for active strategies to promote physical activity (PA) among female adolescents, as they are at greater risk of physical inactivity. In addition to Physical Education (PE) in school, to reach adequate levels of PA, young people need to participate in PA during the school day and/or after-school hours and/or in the before-school period. One week of objectively measured and self-reported information enlightens the status quo of adolescent girls' PA and the role that PE homework plays. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine girls' objectively measured PA in a lower secondary school as part of the Physical Education Homework Study, a project conducted in Finland. An additional aim was to provide insights into physical education (PE) homework as part of PA. Methods: Different levels of PA (i.e., light, moderate, vigorous), sedentary time, number of total steps and running steps were measured using accelerometers among girls in the 7th, 8th and 9th grades, aged between 12 and 15 years (n = 88) for a period of 1 week. In addition, self-reported structured diaries were used to gather information about after school activities, including PE homework. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tamhane's post-hoc test was used to compare the different grades on the basis of participants' PA levels and sedentary time. Data from self-reported PE homework frequencies and time spent on PE homework were analysed using the independent-samples t-test. Results: The PE homework was a small aspect of the participants' whole-day PA, averaging 34 minutes per week (7th grade girls 20 minutes, 8th grade girls 51 minutes, and 9th grade girls 32 minutes). Half of the girls from the 8th grade reached the 60-minute PA recommendation every day; 38% of all the girls met the recommended levels of PA. For the 7th grade girls, 35% met the recommendation, while 28% of the 9th grade girls reached the PA guidelines. The 7th grade girls recorded an average daily light PA time of 3 hours 28 minutes; this was 34 minutes more than the girls from 8th grade

Active Homework: an under-researched element of the active schools concept

“…Indeed, there has been only one short review of the literature (Hill, 2018 ). Seven empirical studies were found for this review, of which five considered homework as a source of PA as the sole or primary focus (Duncan et al., 2011 ; Duncan et al., 2019 ; Fairclough et al., 2013 ; Kääpä et al., 2019 , Kriemler et al., 2010 ), and two examined perceptions and attitudes (Pantanowitz et al., 2011 ; Smith & Madden, 2014 ; Table 1 ).…”

“…There was considerable variation in quality among this sample, indicating caution should be maintained in interpreting findings. Four studies focused on the promotion of PA reported small positive associations between AH and PA levels (Duncan et al., 2011 ; Fairclough et al., 2013 ; Kääpä et al., 2019 ; Kriemler et al., 2010 ). However, the impact of interventions varied considerably.…”

“…However, due to the study’s multi-faceted nature, the effects of AH were not separated and it was not possible to assess the direct impact of AH. The second study focused on girls in lower secondary school in Finland (Kääpä et al., 2019 ). The researchers reported a small but significant effect of AH, and, on the whole, those who did AH at least twice per week were more physically active than those who did none or less.…”

“…The intervention was most effective for overweight/obese participants, and participants with higher family socioeconomic status 5 Kääpä et al. ( 2019 )/Finland PA Students aged 12 to 15 years (–)/ N = 88 (100% girls) To examine girls’ objectively measured PA, and to provide insights into homework as part of PA. Intervention: as part of the Physical Education Homework Study, accelerometry was used to measure PA intensities, sedentary time, number of total steps, and running steps for 1 week. Self-reported, structured diaries recorded after-school activities, including AH Significant intervention effects were observed for waist circumference, light-intensity PA. Intervention most effective for overweight/obese participants, participants with higher family socioeconomic status, and girls 3 Kriemler, Zahner, & Schindler, ( 2010 )/Switzerland PA 540 6 to 11 years (1st-grade 6.9 SD 0.3; /5th-grade 11.1 SD 0.5)/ N = 498 To assess the effectiveness of a school-based PA program during one school year on physical and psychological health in young children.…”

“…A driving motivation for this initiative have been doubts about the capacity of traditional settings for PA, primarily curricular physical education (PE) lessons, to provide enough PA to fulfill recommended targets (Hollis, Sutherland, & Williams, 2017 ; Hollis, Williams, & Sutherland, 2016 ), knowing well that in most European countries it is not the primordial objective of PE to focus solely on the promotion of PA in a reductionist approach. Active homework (AH) has been proposed as a practical and straightforward way of increasing PA among students at the population level by extending the time available for schools to influence the health behaviors of students (Hill, 2018 ; Kääpä, Palomäki, Vähä-Ypyä, Vasankari, & Hirvensalo, 2019 ).…”