Michalis Stylianou

…Because There's Nobody Who Can Just Sit That Long: Teacher Perceptions of Classroom-Based Physical Activity and Related Management Issues.

Classroom teachers are increasingly called upon to help increase pupils’ physical activity (PA). Grounded in Guskey’s model of teacher change, this study was part of an intervention that provided classroom teachers with training for implementing classroom-based PA (CBPA). The study examined teachers’ attempts to implement CBPA and focused on their self-reported practices (number of CBPAs implemented and management routines used) as well as their perceptions of this process. Participants (N = 13) were teachers from a U.S. primary school. Data collection included self-reported number of CBPAs implemented (in the year prior to, and the year of, the intervention), self-assessment of management routines used, semi-structured interviews, self-reflection cards, and field notes from classroom observations. Descriptive statistics were calculated and group mean comparison tests were performed for the number of CBPAs implemented and the use of management routines. Qualitative data analysis involved constant comparison and analytic induction techniques, along with several trustworthiness techniques. Teachers implemented a significantly greater number of CBPAs on most days during the study compared to the year before (M = 2.55, SD = 1.36, Cohen’s d = 1.88) and indicated a high level of consistency relative to the use of management strategies taught. Four themes were generated from the qualitative data: (a) positive teacher perceptions of CBPA; (b) perceived positive pupil outcomes and responses; (c) common management routines and common challenges; and (d) teacher support and valuable feedback for the intervention. Findings suggest that sustained professional development can provide classroom teachers with the knowledge and skills needed to regularly implement CBPAs. Also, findings indicate the usefulness of Guskey’s model of teacher change in studying classroom teachers’ involvement in PA promotion programmes and provide valuable insights that can inform similar future projects.

Before-school running/walking club and student physical activity levels: an efficacy study

Purpose: Before-school programs, one of the least studied student-related comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) components, may be a promising strategy to help youth meet the physical activity (PA) guidelines. This studys purpose was to examine: (a) how much PA children accrued during a before-school running/walking club and during the school day, (b) whether children compensated for the PA accumulated in the before-school program by decreasing their school-day PA, and (c) potential sex and body mass index (BMI) differences. Method: An alternating treatments design with a baseline phase was first conducted at a private school (School A) and was subsequently replicated at a public school (School B). Participants (N = 88) were 3rd- and 4th-grade children. The before-school program involved a running/walking club that met twice per week (School A: 20 min; School B: 15 min). PA was measured using the NL-1000 pedometer. Data analysis included multilevel modeling and visual analysis. Results: Children accumulated substantial amounts of PA in the before-school programs (School A: 1,731 steps, 10:02 moderate-to-vigorous PA minutes or 50% of program duration; School B: 1,502 steps, 8:30 moderate-to-vigorous PA minutes or 57% of program duration). Additionally, children did not compensate by decreasing their school-day PA on days they attended the before-school program. Sex differences were found in before-school program PA only for School B and in school-day PA for both schools. No BMI differences were found. Conclusions: Before-school programs, as part of CSPAPs, can help children increase their PA without resulting in decreased school-day PA and without taking time away from academics.

Before-school running/walking club: effects on student on-task behavior

Before-school programs provide a good opportunity for children to engage in physical activity (PA) as well as improve their readiness to learn. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a before-school running/walking club on elementary school childrens on-task behavior. The study employed a two-phase experimental design with an initial baseline phase followed by an alternating treatments phase, and was first conducted at a private school (School A) and subsequently replicated at a public school (School B). Participants were third and fourth grade children from two schools in the Southwestern U.S. who participated in a before-school running/walking club that met two times each week (School A: 20 min; School B: 15 min) during the 2013/2014 academic year. Participation in the program was monitored using pedometers and on-task behavior was assessed through direct observation. Data analyses included visual analysis, Tau-U index, and multilevel modeling. Results from all analyses indicated that on-task behavior was significantly higher on days the children attended the before-school program than on days they did not. According to multilevel modeling results, mean differences and effect sizes were: School A = 15.78%, pseudo-R2 = .34 [strong effect]; School B = 14.26%, pseudo-R2 = .22 [moderate effect]. Results provide evidence for the positive impact of before-school PA programs on childrens classroom behavior and readiness to learn. Such programs do not take time away from academics and may be an attractive option for schools. Results also have implications for the structure of childrens school day and the scheduling of PA opportunities.

School-based sports development and the role of NSOs as ‘boundary spanners’: benefits, disbenefits and unintended consequences of the Sporting Schools policy initiative

ABSTRACT The focus of this paper is on Sporting Schools, a

Nuancing the critique of commercialisation in schools: recognising teacher agency

100 million policy initiative intended to increase children’s sport participation in Australia. Our account seeks to proffer a critical analysis of this federal policy, and the way it functions as part of the new heterarchical or networked form of sports governance in Australia. Using a network ethnography methodology, we analyse Sporting Schools from the perspective of National Sporting Organisations (NSOs), who have the key responsibility for enacting this policy. Using their perceptions, we reflect on their role as policy ‘boundary spanners’ and outline the complexities they face in creating ‘win-win’ scenarios so that schools, students, government and NSOs themselves all benefit from the Sporting Schools initiative. We argue that NSOs have to balance benefits and disbenefits and face tension between their desire for tight quality control of their school-based sports programmes and the need to have a cost-effective funding model for maximum exposure to schools and students. In conclusion, we reflect on the unintended consequences of enacting the policy in its current form, including issues of teaching and coaching expertise, the potential displacement of the educative value of PE in favour of school sport, and the opening of this public policy space to commercial providers on a for-profit basis.

Learning to be researchers in physical education and sport pedagogy: the perspectives of doctoral students and early career researchers

Abstract This paper investigates the commercialisation of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in Australian schools. Specifically, it focuses on understanding why teachers value commercial resources, and how they enact these in their classrooms. Theorising around teacher agency suggests teachers are now choosing to use a range of commercial resources and view these as important additions to their pedagogical toolbox. Teachers want high quality resources, and they prefer resources that are easy to import, scaffold and modify according to their specific needs. Teachers did not readily see the benefit of a prescriptive SEL program. Instead, they wanted multiple resources that they could pick and choose the best bits from. Our data suggests that teachers are not being seduced by commercialisation and the ‘easy fix’ it promises, but are in fact presenting as agentic professionals who care deeply about students’ social and emotional wellbeing and are working to tailor bespoke learning experiences to meet the needs of their students within their specific school contexts. We argue that it is worth nuancing the critique about commercialisation offered in the literature to date, and suggest that commercialisation is not inherently bad, rather it is the ‘intensity’ of commercialisation that needs to be regulated and further investigated.

An assessment of Australian school physical activity and nutrition policies

Numerous academics have argued that if a field is to progress, attention needs to be paid to how future generations of researchers are being prepared. To date, data generated on research training in physical education and sport pedagogy (PESP) have primarily focused on students undertaking doctoral programmes with a formal coursework component, which is the model predominantly used in the USA. The traditional master-apprentice model is still, however, the dominant model in many countries, including Australia, and there is a dearth of research on this model of research preparation. Hence, this study was an effort to capture the perspectives and experiences of doctoral students (DSs) and early career researchers (ECRs) who are/were engaged in programmes employing the apprentice model of training. The question we sought to examine was ‘what do PESP doctoral students and early career researchers perceive as the facilitators and challenges associated with learning to be researchers?’. The participants in this study included eight DSs and seven ECRs who were based in Australian and New Zealand institutions. Data were generated through a questionnaire that sought to identify participants’ various research training experiences, a workshop that brought participants together to discuss their research training, and follow-up individual semi-structured interviews. While much of the data generated through this study related to the importance of developing such generic research skills as writing, grant writing and presenting at conferences, participants also discussed PESP-specific skills and dispositions, including particular orientations towards research impact, and the development of research culture. Findings are discussed in reference to the neoliberalisation of education and questions are raised about the forms of research training developing researchers in PESP might need if they are to thrive as researchers within and beyond the field.

Does fitness make the grade? The relationship between elementary students’ physical fitness and academic grades

Objective: This studys objective was to identify and assess existing physical activity and nutrition policies for Australian schools.

Feeling refreshed: Aotearoa/New Zealand students’ perspectives of the role of healthy behaviours in schools

Background and Objective: Increased emphasis on academic outcomes has reduced the amount of time spent in physical education and other school physical activity opportunities in many schools in the USA. However, physical fitness is a positive predictor of academic performance on standardised tests, and students who perform better on fitness measures may earn higher grades. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between physical fitness and teacher-assigned grades in fourth-grade students and examine whether the relationship is moderated by body composition, gender or ethnic background. Design: Cross-sectional design. Students’ fitness levels were assessed mid-way through the spring semester, and their third-quarter grades were obtained from the schools. Participants and setting: Fourth-grade students (N = 80; 38 female students; 65 non-Hispanic or Latino) from two elementary schools in the south-western USA. Method: Students completed physical fitness measures using standard procedures from the FITNESSGRAM protocol, and standardised teacher-assigned grades in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies and science were compiled. Linear regression and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were performed to examine the relationship between physical fitness measures and average grades, and examine whether differences in fitness and grades existed between gender, ethnic background and body mass index (BMI) percentile rank. Results: Aerobic fitness, as measured by the number of 20-m Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) laps completed, had a significant influence on reading, writing, mathematics and science grades. There were no significant interactions between aerobic fitness and ethnic background, gender or BMI percentile rank, meaning that aerobic fitness was the largest specific influence on average teacher-assigned grades. Conclusion: Positive associations exist between physical fitness and academic performance, suggesting activities that help children improve their physical fitness ought to be a central component of physical education and broader school physical activity programmes.

Youth sport policy: the enactment and possibilities of ‘soft policy’ in schools

The purpose of this study was to identify students’ perspectives of the role of healthy behaviours in their well-being and school success. Since a number of studies focused on establishing the link between healthy behaviours and learning have relied on quantitative measures, it was deemed important to provide a different perspective on the topic and give students a voice. Participants were 50 Aotearoa/New Zealand nine- and 10-year-old students of various ethnic backgrounds from two elementary schools. Using situated learning theory to determine the impact a school environment that promotes physical activity has on students’ perspectives, four categories were drawn from student focus-group interviews: (1) opportunities to be active, (2) roles of physical activity, (3) students’ misconceptions of health concepts, and (4) students’ support for health education and physical education at their schools. Students in this study were afforded multiple opportunities to be physically active and acknowledged the benefits these bouts of activities gave them while differentiating the types of opportunities and value they gained from them. Within their community of practice, students were sometimes ‘full’ participants as their knowledge was fully constructed, and sometimes ‘peripheral’ participants, needing more time, active engagement and content knowledge to better grasp some concepts. Little health education content knowledge was provided to classroom teachers, which might have caused some of the misconceptions held by students related to the impact of physical activity and nutrition on their brain function.