Monica Lounsbery

School Physical Education: The Pill Not Taken:

Physical education programs in schools have the potential to promote healthy, active lifestyles by providing children with some of their recommended physical activity, increasing their physical fitness levels, and teaching them generalizable movement and behavioral skills. If “exercise is medicine,” physical education is the pill not taken. Numerous barriers, including limited curriculum time allocations, low subject status, and inadequate resources hinder physical education from playing a major role in providing and promoting physical activity. This article profiles physical education as it relates to physical activity, describes its current status from both historical and contextual standpoints, and concludes with recommendations for improving it.

Physical Education Teacher Effectiveness in a Public Health Context

The health benefits of physical activity are well documented, and the important role that schools and physical education (PE) can play in reducing sedentary behavior and contributing to population health has been identified. Although effective teaching is ultimately judged by student achievement, a major component of teacher and school effectiveness studies has been student engagement. Thus, in PE, it is important to assess the teaching and learning processes related to expected outcomes, including what students and teachers do and how lessons are delivered. Within a public health context, it is then important to assess how teachers provide students with ample health-enhancing physical activity to help them become physically fit and to learn generalizable movement and behavioral skills designed to promote physical activity and fitness outside of class time. In this article, we emphasize that the future of PE in our nations schools will depend on the ability of schools to provide programs that are perceived to be of importance to the public; moreover, we believe that the future of PE rests on the effectiveness of PE teachers to operate within a public health context. In addition, we also provide a summary of teacher effectiveness research within a public health context and offer visions for the future assessment and evaluation of PE teacher effectiveness that move beyond the PE lesson to include components of the comprehensive school physical activity model.

Prevalence and Correlates of Walking and Biking to School Among Adolescents

Increasing the rates that our adolescents walk and bicycle to school, also called active transport to school (ATS), could increase the physical activity (PA) levels of that age group. This type of activity has been identified as a missed opportunity for PA. It is currently estimated that 15% of American youth walk or bicycle to school. These rates of ATS are lower than those of European and Asian youth. Efforts to enhance levels of non-motorized transport to school could aid in reducing obesity rates among American youth, decrease traffic congestion and attenuate emission of greenhouse gasses. The objective was to identify demographic, environmental and psychosocial predictors of ATS. A 30-questionnaire was completed by 2,692 students. Logistic regression was used to identify psychosocial, demographic and environmental predictors of ATS. Only 4.6% of students used ATS. Predictors of ATS were street connectedness (density of street intersections) and gender, (boys had higher ATS rates). Public health officials should be alert for opportunities to select sites for new schools that are in neighborhoods with well connected street systems. Interventions promoting ATS will need to target male and female students and there appears to be an opportunity to increase rates that students bicycle to school.

The Pill Not Taken: Revisiting Physical Education Teacher Effectiveness in a Public Health Context

In “Physical Education Teacher Effectiveness in a Public Health Context,” we took a broad view of physical education (PE) teacher effectiveness that included public health need and support for PE. Public health officials have been consistent and fervent in their support of PE, and for more than two decades, they have called on schools to promote and provide physical activity. They have strongly recommended PE because: (a) It is part of the formalized school curriculum and an essential access point to provide and promote physical activity for nearly all children, and (b) it is the only venue where the least active children experience physical activity at higher intensities. Within the current marginalized status of PE, public health is an ally. Hence, we took a broad public health position, indicated that teacher effectiveness is tied closely to PE program effectiveness, identified physical activity and its assessment as important parts of PE, offered a vision of teacher effectiveness that goes beyond the PE lesson to include components of the comprehensive school physical activity model, and emphasized the need for the collection of data to support PE and physical activity programs. We have read the written reviews and listened to dialogue about our article. In this follow-up article, we address the major comments using 4 themes: prioritizing public health over other PE emphases, PE having a muddled mission, concerns about physical activity, and extending the roles and skills of physical educators.

Promoting Physical Education: The Link to Academic Achievement

JOPERD • Volume 80 No. 1 • January 2009 Quality physical education is defined by standards related to five critical elements: (1) who teaches it, (2) how often students receive it, (3) what is taught, (4) how well students should perform, and (5) for what purpose it is taught (National Association for Sport and Physical Education [NASPE] & American Heart Association [AHA], 2006). National organizations and leaders in the profession endorse quality physical education and recognize its potential to help children and adolescents achieve national health goals (National Association of State Boards of Education, 2000; NASPE & AHA, 2006; Pate et al., 2006; United States Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2000). Due to its relationship to physical activity, quality physical education is also widely supported among public health organizations (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000, 2006; AHA, 1996; American Medical Association, 2007; USDHHS, 2000, 2004a, 2004b). Parents and teachers also believe that physical education is an important component in the school curriculum. Recent national surveys showed that most parents and teachers support daily required physical education in K-12 schools (NASPE, 2003) and that more than 75 percent of parent and teacher respondents opposed eliminating physical education due to budget constraints or to meet increased academic standards (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2003). Despite the support for daily quality physical education, requirements for student participation in physical education continue to decline (Burgeson, Wechsler, Brener, Young, & Spain, 2001). The primary reason is that today, more than ever, schools are accountable for producing academic achievement in order to meet the mandates of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Education’s budgetary shortfalls have created the need to reprioritize funding, which has often had negative consequences for physical education. Physical educators face such challenges as reduced staff, large class sizes, inadequate facilities and equipment, and minimal requirements for student enrollment. Physical educators affected by these consequences are recognizing the need to respond. At the same time, many feel apprehensive and uncertain about what to do. Leaders in the profession recognize the dilemma, and advocacy is therefore a growing priority for AAHPERD. Successful advocacy at the local, state, or federal levels holds hope for improving the quality of physical education programs. Developing compelling advocacy messages that seek to change knowledge and perception is critical. To do so, it is important to understand the perceptions and priorities of school leaders. In the short term it may be important for advocates to shape messages that demonstrate the value and potential that quality physical education has to contribute to broader school goals (e.g., student achievement). Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide information necessary to build credible and Promoting Physical Education: The Link to Academic Achievement

Developing Skill-Analysis Competency in Physical Education Teachers

Given the known relationship between physical inactivity and chronic disease (US Dept. of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2000, 2001), learning more about antecedents for physical activity engagement is an important research priority. In this vein, a number of studies have found a relationship between perceived and actual motor skill competency and physical activity engagement (Burton & Martens, 1986; Carroll & Loumidis, 2001; Feltz & Petlichkoff, 1983; Roberts, Kleiber, & Duda, 1981). These findings call for the need to revisit the priority placed on motor skill acquisition in K–12 physical education curriculum and the prerequisite instructional practice of skill analysis. The purpose of this article is to generate renewed commitment toward developing skill-analysis competency in physical education teachers.

Physical Activity in High School Physical Education: Impact of Lesson Context and Class Gender Composition

BACKGROUND Physical education (PE) is recommended as a source for physical activity (PA) and learning generalizable PA skills. Few studies have objectively examined high school PE, specifically its delivery, including PA, lesson contexts, and class gender composition. METHODS We used the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) to assess PA during 6 lesson contexts in 47 boys-only, 54 girls-only, and 63 coed lessons from 7 high schools. MANOVA assessed differences based on class gender composition. RESULTS Actual lesson length was 27.7 min, only 65% of the scheduled length of class periods. Students engaged in moderate-vigorous PA (MVPA) 54% of the time, with boys being more active than girls. Game play was the most dominant context (47%), and little time was allocated to knowledge and skill development. Class size, lesson length, PA, and lesson contexts all differed by class gender composition (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Many differences in the conduct of high school PE are related to class gender composition. Boys accumulated more MVPA than girls. When held, PE lessons contributed about 25% of recommended daily PA minutes; improvements could be made by increasing allocations to fitness and skill practice and reducing transition and management time. Teacher professional development is warranted.

Correlates of state enactment of elementary school physical education laws.

OBJECTIVE To describe variation in U.S. state elementary school physical education (PE) policies and to assess associations between state PE policy enactment and education funding, academic achievement, sociodemographic disadvantage, and political characteristics. METHODS U.S. state laws regarding school PE time, staffing, curriculum, fitness assessment, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in 2012 were classified as strong/specific, weak/nonspecific, or none based on codified law ratings within the Classification of Laws Associated with School Students (C.L.A.S.S.). Laws were merged with state-level data from multiple sources. Logistic regression was used to determine associations between state characteristics and PE laws (N=51). RESULTS Laws with specific PE and MVPA time requirements and evidence-based curriculum standards were more likely in states with low academic performance and in states with sociodemographically disadvantaged populations. School day length was positively associated with enacting a PE curriculum that referenced evidence-based standards. School funding and political characteristics were not associated with PE laws. CONCLUSIONS Limited time and high-stake testing requirements force schools to prioritize academic programs, posing barriers to state passage of specific PE laws. To facilitate PE policy enactment, it may be necessary to provide evidence on how PE policies can be implemented within existing time and staffing structures.

Setting the Stage for Lifetime Physical Activity in Early Childhood

JOPERD • Volume 79 No. 6 • August 2008 T he prevalence of overweight in children and adolescents in the United States has tripled since 1980 (Ogden, Flegal, Carroll, & Johnson, 2002). With the risks of obesity and related chronic diseases occurring much earlier in life, reaching the young population is an important public health priority. The 1996 Surgeon General’s report concluded that regular physical activity reduces the risk of a number of chronic diseases, promotes the maintenance of general health, and contributes to weight control (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996). The current prevalence of childhood obesity makes a strong case for monitoring and measuring physical activity during children’s developmental years (i.e., birth to 5 years old). Unfortunately, the home may not be the best place to do this. For instance, one study that considered parental infl uence found that overweight preschool boys and girls were, respectively, 6.1 and 3.8 times more likely than nonoverweight children to have at least one obese parent or caretaker at home (Trost, Sirard, Dowda, Pfeiffer, & Pate, 2003). For these children, preschool and childcare settings may be the best places in which appropriate models and engagement in healthy behaviors could be provided. Considering that almost 80 percent of children with working mothers spend nearly 40 hours a week in childcare, there is a clear need to provide adequate physical activity opportunities in these settings (Story, Kaphingst, & French, 2006). Without such opportunities, children may begin to establish a sedentary lifestyle. For example, in a three-year longitudinal study following threeto four-year-old children, sedentary behavior was identifi ed as a predictor of reduced physical activity across the three years (Jago, Baranowski, Thompson, Baranowski, & Greaves, 2005). A different, eight-year longitudinal study found that the most active children have much less body fat by the time they reach adolescence, which seems to support the notion that physical activity behaviors affecting lifestyle may be established at a young age (Moore et al., 2003). These studies support the intuitive argument that the preschool years may be a crucial time to teach children about a physically active lifestyle. The purpose of this article is to provide a rationale and suggestions for emphasizing health-related physical education in preschool settings. In order to accomplish this, it will examine what is currently known about early childhood physical activity, as well as the existing professional preparation and accreditation standards for early childhood programs. Then it will make recommendations for increasing the emphasis on health-related physical education in these settings. Sett ing the Stage for Lifetime Physical Activity in Early Childhood

Physical Activity in Physical Education: Are Longer Lessons Better?

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to compare physical activity (PA) outcomes in a sample of high school (HS) physical education (PE) lessons from schools that adopted traditional versus modified block schedule formats. METHODS We used the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) to conduct observations of 168 HS PE lessons delivered by 22 PE teachers in 4 schools. T-tests and multilevel models were used to explore variability in moderate PA and vigorous PA. RESULTS PA outcomes were significantly different between modified block and traditional schools. Students who attended traditional schools engaged in more vigorous PA in PE lessons. Modified block lessons lost more scheduled lesson time due to poor transition to and from the locker room. PA outcomes were positively associated with fitness and teacher promotion of PA and negatively associated with lost time, class size, management, and knowledge. CONCLUSIONS Although PE proponents widely advocate for more PE minutes, this study showed that greater time scheduled in PE does not necessarily result in more student accrual of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) minutes.