Josephine P. Harris

School-based physical activity interventions: effectiveness, trends, issues, implications and recommendations for practice

The promotion of physical activity within schools and physical education (PE) has attracted growing interest in recent years. Schools have been acknowledged as the primary institution with responsibility for promoting activity in young people and more specifically, school PE has been recognized as having a key role to play. Given this, and based on previous reviews of the findings of formally evaluated interventions, this paper considers the evidence for the effectiveness of school-based physical activity interventions and highlights the key trends and a number of issues concerning their type, target population, design, implementation and content. Earlier reviews have provided comprehensive summaries of the effectiveness of physical activity interventions but they have not provided specific guidance for teachers’ practice in schools. Thus, whilst it is acknowledged that the existing literature is not sufficiently extensive to provide definitive guidelines for schools, this paper considers the implications for practice and presents recommendations for future physical activity programmes, initiatives and interventions.

Fitness testing in physical education – a misdirected effort in promoting healthy lifestyles and physical activity?

Background: Physical fitness testing is commonplace within schools and the physical education (PE) curriculum, with advocates claiming one of the key purposes of testing to be the promotion of healthy lifestyles and physical activity. Despite this, much controversy has surrounded the fitness testing of young people. Purpose: This paper draws on selected findings of a recent ‘fitness testing children feasibility study’ to explore the key issues, concerns and debates regarding fitness testing, as they relate to encouraging a physically active lifestyle. Research design: The feasibility study was commissioned by the National Assembly for Wales and involved two main parts: a comprehensive review of the literature (using metalib) to establish the key findings/issues, and consultation with key ‘stakeholders’ and ‘experts’ to ascertain their views, understanding and experiences of fitness testing children. The consultation was carried out via questionnaires and interviews. Data analysis: The key issues and themes emerging from the literature from 1985 onwards were identified and served as evidence for the debate. The questionnaire and interview data were analysed by quantifying the questionnaire responses and identifying the common issues and themes emerging from the transcripts (and the open items within the questionnaires). These were then used to reinforce, substantiate and illustrate key points. Findings: The findings reveal that the role fitness testing plays in PE in promoting healthy lifestyles and physical activity is questionable and cannot be taken for granted. For example, little evidence was found to support the notion that fitness tests promote healthy lifestyles and physical activity, motivate young people, or develop the knowledge and skills that are important to a sustained engagement in an active lifestyle. Conclusion: Based on the evidence, the paper concludes that much of the fitness testing carried out in PE may well represent a misdirected effort in the promotion of healthy lifestyles and physical activity, and that PE time could therefore be better spent.

‘Every child (of every size) matters’ in physical education! Physical education's role in childhood obesity

The role of schools and physical education in promoting health, producing a ‘healthy nation’ and in tackling obesity has been increasingly recognised in recent years. In England this is evidenced by various policies, strategies and responses from government that have highlighted schools to be instrumental in addressing health broadly and obesity specifically. In addition, individual schools and teachers at the local level appear to be responding to the obesity issue in varied and different ways. However, we and other researchers feel that the discourse surrounding obesity and some of the reports, messages, policies and measures being taken to tackle it are misleading, misguided and could do more harm than good. At the same time, as physical educators committed to the health and development of young people, we feel unable to ignore the issue and compelled to act. We contend that ‘every child of every size matters’ and can benefit from regular engagement in physical education and physical activity and furthermore that, as a profession, we have a responsibility to provide all young people, of all sizes, with meaningful, relevant and positive physical education and physical activity experiences. Given this, we consider what role physical education can and should realistically, sensibly and safely play in addressing childhood overweight and obesity. Firstly, some of the key ‘facts’, issues and debates concerning obesity are explored and the way in which the issue appears to be being addressed in many schools is critiqued. We then briefly summarise some of the formal guidance and recommendations available to schools on obesity, before concluding with some practical recommendations to support physical education teachers in effectively engaging all children in physical activity both within and beyond physical education.

A Review of Children's Fitness Testing.

This review has been prompted by concerns and anecdotal stories about low levels of fitness amongst today’s young people and the possible consequences of this for their current and future health. Solutions to the ‘problem’ have included proposals to fitness test children and to use this information to improve their health status. While there is no doubt that young people’s health and fitness are important issues, the authors consider it equally important that policy-makers and practitioners work from an informed base in order that any actions taken are relevant, meaningful and effective. This article summarizes the literature on children’s fitness testing which was reviewed as part of a feasibility study commissioned by the National Assembly for Wales conducted between October 2003 and March 2004. The specific aim of the study was to determine if there was a need and whether it was cost effective and practical to carry out a research project investigating the fitness levels of Welsh children. A key aspect of the methodology included a comprehensive review of the relevant literature to establish the key findings and issues associated with the fitness testing of children. A worldwide literature search (of papers published in the English language) was carried out using metalib (a multi-database research tool). This article focuses only on the main and consistent findings, trends and issues associated with: physical fitness and the associated health benefits in children, the physical fitness status of children, monitoring children’s physical fitness, and the role of children’s fitness testing in physical activity and fitness promotion.

The predicament of primary physical education: a consequence of 'insufficient' ITT and 'ineffective' CPD?

Background: Research on primary physical education (PE) in England and other countries has shown that it is an aspect of the curriculum that has suffered from sparse initial teacher training (ITT). As a consequence of ‘insufficient’ time spent on PE in ITT (PE-ITT), primary teachers often have low levels of confidence and competence with respect to teaching the subject. Evidence also points to inadequacies in traditional forms of professional development in PE (PE-CPD), leading to calls for more effective ways of developing teachers competence to deliver high quality PE. Purpose: To explore primary school teachers experiences of PE during ITT and the PE context in their schools prior to them engaging in a national PE-CPD programme, and their perceptions of the immediate and longer-term effects of this programme. Setting and participants: Primary school teachers in five local education authorities in England. Research design and data collection: A combination of quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches were adopted, including: pre-course audits, course evaluations, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The pre-course audits captured information about the teachers experiences of PE-ITT and the PE context in their schools prior to them engaging in the CPD. The course evaluations focused on initial impressions of the PE-CPD, and the focus groups and interviews captured the teachers perceptions of its longer-term effects. Findings: For up to half of the teachers, their PE-ITT was ‘insufficient’ in terms of the time dedicated to it and the breadth of coverage of the subject. The PE-CPD programme, which was designed in the light of ‘insufficient’ PE-ITT, demonstrated features of ‘effective’ CPD in that it was considered relevant to classroom practice and partially addressed some of their many needs (especially in relation to content ideas and inclusive practice). However, its effectiveness was undoubtedly limited due to: its short time span and minimal engagement with teachers; a heavy reliance on resources; and the absence of follow-up support. In addition, it did not adequately address known areas of development for primary PE (such as medium to long-term planning and assessment) and was challenged in meeting the diverse needs of primary teachers of 5–11 year olds. Furthermore, inadequate PE time and reduced opportunities to teach PE in some schools limited implementation of learning from the PE-CPD. Conclusions: The findings of this study confirmed that PE-ITT continues to be ‘insufficient’ for many primary teachers and that the PE-CPD in question, whilst partially ‘effective’, was not, and could never have been, the panacea for the inherent issues within and predicament of primary PE. In effect, this PE-CPD programme with its limited duration and engagement with teachers, a heavy reliance on resources, and no planned follow-up support was not sufficiently different to forms of CPD described in the literature as ‘ineffective’; consequently, it could not hope to compensate for long-term systemic weaknesses such as inadequate primary PE-ITT. These weaknesses need to be addressed through a dual approach of ‘sufficient’ PE-ITT followed by ‘effective’ PE-CPD which engages teachers and their colleagues in long-term collaborative endeavours that support transformative practice.

Interventions to promote young people’s physical activity: Issues, implications and recommendations for practice:

There has been increased interest in the development and implementation of physical activity interventions designed to increase young people’s physical activity participation in recent years. This is perhaps founded on concerns over youngsters’ physical activity levels and the possible health consequences. School-based interventions are the most common form of intervention but, given that the majority of young people’s physical activity occurs outside school, there is now growing recognition of the importance of community-based programmes and the involvement of the community at all levels if interventions are to be effective. Based on previous reviews of the findings of formally evaluated interventions, this article considers the evidence base for the effectiveness of school and community-based physical activity interventions. Despite limitations in the literature, it reveals that physical activity interventions with young people can be effective and achieve positive outcomes. The interventions are discussed and a number of issues and observations are highlighted concerning the programme types, target populations, and their design and implementation. Based on this discussion, a number of recommendations for physical activity promotion practice are then made. The article concludes that, until a stronger evidence base becomes available, health professionals, physical educators and other practitioners should be encouraged to plan, implement and evaluate physical activity programmes for young people and draw on such recommendations to inform their practice.

The effects of a professional development programme on primary school teachers’ perceptions of physical education

The impact of a professional development programme on primary school teachers’ perceptions of physical education was investigated. Primary school teachers from five local education authorities in England provided data for the study via pre‐course audits, course evaluations immediately following the programme, and focus groups and individual interviews up to 18 months after the programme. The programme was considered by the teachers to have positively affected their perceptions of physical education (in terms of their confidence in, knowledge of and enthusiasm for the subject) and, in turn, improved their practice (particularly in terms of content ideas and inclusion). Key limitations of the programme were identified as insufficient attention to specific pedagogical issues (such as medium to long‐term planning and assessment) and the absence of follow‐up support. In conclusion, the programme positively contributed to teachers’ perceptions of physical education; however, beyond this, its impact was limited by a range of factors.

Monitoring health, activity and fitness in physical education: its current and future state of health

Various government policies, strategies and responses in England over the years have highlighted schools and physical education to be instrumental in addressing health and the focus on health has been strengthened within subsequent revisions of the National Curriculum. Whilst this might seem encouraging, concerns have been expressed that such policies and governmental regulation increasingly bear features of a ‘performative culture’ and that these have led to increasingly widespread health surveillance in schools. Linked to this are long-standing concerns over the way in which health is addressed in schools and physical education, as well as over some of the monitoring measures and practices employed within the curriculum. Despite this, little is known about monitoring practices in physical education. This article, therefore, presents findings of a study which aimed to (1) determine the nature, prevalence and purpose of monitoring health, physical activity and physical fitness within the physical education curriculum and (2) establish physical education teachers views of and approaches to monitoring. The study comprised two phases. The first phase involved a survey completed by Heads of Physical Education in 110 secondary schools from across England, and the second semi-structured interviews with 18 of those from the original sample. The findings revealed monitoring, and in particular fitness monitoring, to be a common feature within the physical education curriculum in many schools. However, a number of issues and limitations associated with monitoring and some of the schools monitoring practices were identified, and the individualistic nature and performative culture reflected in and reinforced through monitoring were acknowledged as potentially problematic. It was thus suggested that if the findings are typical, then monitoring practice is currently not in a good state of health. The article concludes proposing a way forward for monitoring within physical education in the form of some recommendations for practice.

Physical education teacher education students' knowledge, perceptions and experiences of promoting healthy, active lifestyles in secondary schools

Background: Physical education teacher education (PETE) offers a context for students to learn about the promotion of active lifestyles in secondary schools through their interactions and experiences during the teacher education process. However, previous studies have found low levels of health-related fitness knowledge amongst PETE students, which is a concern given that there are high expectations of physical education (PE) to promote healthy, active lifestyles. In addition, international literature reveals a number of problematic issues associated with health-related teaching, learning and professional development in PE. Exploration of health-related experiences within the PETE process and consideration of the extent to which they address these previously identified issues were considered worthy of study because of PETEs potential to influence the health-related teaching of the students, and to ultimately impact the health-related knowledge and behaviour of the pupils they go on to teach. Purpose: To explore PETE students health-related physical education (HRPE) knowledge, perceptions and experiences during a PETE programme. Participants and setting: Purposive selection of PE students on a one-year post-graduate secondary PETE programme at one University in England, working in partnership with up to 60 schools. Research design: Case study. Data collection: A qualitative approach founded on the interpretive paradigm was used, utilising a questionnaire completed by 124 PETE students. Data analysis: Responses to the open-ended questions were analysed by means of the generation of themes using constructivist grounded theory methods. Findings: At the outset of their programme, PETE students knowledge of how active children should be was limited and confused. Their initial perceptions of the learning associated with promoting healthy, active lifestyles in PE were at variance with what they experienced in schools during their training. These experiences were diverse, the most common structure being discrete units of study with no health-related learning evident within the rest of the PE programme. The focus of the HRPE learning was predominantly physiological with minimal attention to physical activity recommendations or monitoring. Most students experienced school-based HRPE programmes, which they considered not particularly effective in promoting healthy, active lifestyles amongst young people. Conclusion: It would seem that PETE is not adequately preparing future PE teachers to promote healthy, active lifestyles and is not addressing previously identified issues in health-related teaching and learning. Changes clearly need to be made to the health-related interactions and experiences within PETE and within any PE, and sports science degree programmes preceeding or associated with PETE. PE is unlikely to effectively promote healthy, active lifestyles without the health-related aspect of PETE being radically changed, especially and crucially the school-based provision. This requires professionals working together to draw upon and utilise up-to-date health knowledge, as well as the best available guidance on how to ensure that teachers are able to use such information.

Making the Case for Developing New PE-for-Health Pedagogies

This article argues for a new direction in research on health education within physical education (PE). Governments are increasingly looking to schools as a convenient form of public health investment. PE is implicated in health because of its core focus on physical activity, but there is little evidence to suggest that PE improves health outcomes. Moreover, although there has been interest in health-focused curriculum activities and interventions, there has been a surprising silence around the pedagogies to be used in the health dimension of PE practices. This article critically reviews claims made about the role of PE in public health, and considers how health has been conceptualized in PE over time. The professional development needs of PE teachers in health are examined, and it is argued that the development of new, complex, evidence-based and personalized “PE-for-health” pedagogies is the next major step to be taken in PE research.