To move more but sit less: The roles of students’ attitudes and knowledge

Abstract

An important goal of physical education (PE) is to educate children to become physically literate and active of their own accord. This study capitalized on examining the roles of students’ attitudes toward PE and physical activity and fitness (PAF) knowledge in physical activity and sedentary behavior participation. Students from a public middle school in a Midwestern state in the United States of America responded to two surveys. One survey consisted of demographic and PAF knowledge questions for middle school students, and the other survey included the Attitude Toward Physical Education Questionnaire and the Youth Activity Profile. Structural equation models showed that perceived enjoyment and perceived usefulness, as affective and cognitive dimensions of attitude toward PE respectively, demonstrated small effects on physical activity and sedentary behavior, while perceived enjoyment further showed a moderate effect on PAF knowledge, after controlling for gender and grade. These findings indicate the need to deliberately foster students’ positive attitudes toward PE in middle school years. It is argued that future pedagogy research on youth physical activity should also include sedentary behavior as a focal variable.

The Importance of Learners' Attitude Toward Physical Education and Knowledge for Active Living: Evidence From Two Middle Schools in Two Different States

“…Our correlation and regression analyses findings demonstrate that attitude toward PE is a significant correlate of PA and sedentary behavior in both schools, confirming the important roles of these two factors in fostering active-living lifestyles among adolescents (Chen and Nam, 2017;Chen et al, 2017Chen et al, , 2018Chung and Phillips, 2002;Kaj et al, 2015;Sallis et al, 2000;Thompson & Hannon, 2012;Zeng et al, 2011). However, between the two schools, attitude (i.e., enjoyment, usefulness, and total attitude) has shown slightly stronger associations with PA but lower association with sedentary behavior at the DS school than those at the MW school.…”

“…A recent systematic review has shown that mandatory PE contributes 23 minutes moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), amounting to over a third of the recommended daily physical activity (PA) time (Bassett et al, 2013). Prior research also reported that learners' attitude toward PE (Chen, Gu, & Liu, 2018;Chen et al, 2017;Chung and Phillips, 2002;Kaj et al, 2015;Sallis, Prochaska, & Taylor, 2000;Zeng et al, 2011) and knowledge about physical activity and fitness (PAF knowledge; Chen, Liu, & Schaben, 2017;Chen and Nam, 2017;Thompson & Hannon, 2012) have positive effects on their levels of PA and/or sedentary behavior. However, teaching and learning in PE are subjected to the influence of a number of sociodemographic and environmental characteristics (Taylor, Spray, & Pearson, 2014;Trinkūnienė & Vensas, 2015).…”

Propósitos de la Educación Física en Educación Secundaria: revisión bibliográfica (Purposes of Physical Education in Secondary Education: a bibliographic review)

“…La revisión de la literatura llevada a cabo por Beni et al (2017) identificó cinco elementos principales que los estudiantes definían como fundamentales para crear experiencias de práctica significativas, entre los que se encontraba el disfrutar durante la práctica. Igualmente, Chen, Gu & Liu (2019), examinaron el papel de la actitud de los estudiantes, entre otras variables, de cara a la EF para la promoción de la práctica de AF, demostrando que las dimensiones afectiva y cognitiva, que incluían el disfrute percibido del alumnado en las sesiones y lo útiles que son, tuvieron un efecto significativo de cara a comportamientos físicamente más activos. También Gouveia et al (2019) concluyeron que, de los diversos factores susceptibles de modificación en la actitud del alumnado de cara a la EF, el más poderoso era el hecho de disfrutar de la práctica de AF, argumentado que se deben proponer ambientes de práctica en las sesiones de EF en lo que el alumnado se sienta cómodo, con confianza y motivado.…”

“…Este aspecto no ha cambiado demasiado en las últimas décadas debido a la falta de formación del profesorado en aspectos relacionados con la salud y al tratamiento que recibe este tema desde los medios de comunicación, siendo necesario un enfoque global desde el centro educativo para poder paliar esta problemáti-ca. En un estudio similar, referido en líneas anteriores, los resultados obtenidos por Chen, Gu & Liu (2019) confirmaron el importante rol que tiene la actitud de los estudiantes de cara a la EF a la hora de adquirir los conocimientos relacionados con la con aptitud física y fomentar comportamientos de vida activos.…”