Ragnar Van Acker

Physical activity promotion in schools: which strategies do schools (not) implement and which socioecological factors are associated with implementation?

We studied the implementation and associated factors of strategies (e.g. sports after school and during lunch break, active schoolyards, active school commuting) and organizational principles (e.g. safe bike racks, pupil involvement) that facilitate the physical activity (PA)-promoting role of schools. Key representatives of 111 elementary and 125 secondary schools filled out an online survey. Less than half of the elementary schools organized sports during lunch-break or after school. In secondary schools the least implemented strategies were the promotion of active school commuting and after-school sports. In general pupil, parental and community involvement scored low. Better knowledge of community schools and having attended in-service training were associated with higher implementation scores in elementary and secondary schools. Better implementation of the strategies was found in larger schools. Participation in activities from the School Sports Association and more perceived interest from parents and the school board were also associated with higher implementation scores. In conclusion, knowledge of community schools and in-service training next to sufficient human resources are potential key factors to promote PA. Efforts are needed to convince and help schools to increase parental and pupil involvement and to build a policy on school-community partnerships.

Sex equity and physical activity levels in coeducational physical education: exploring the potential of modified game forms

Background: Physical education should promote an active and healthy lifestyle with an emphasis on students’ preparation for lifelong physical activity. Healthy People 2010 recommends that physical education is offered on a daily basis and that pupils engage in physical activities of moderate to vigorous intensity (MVPA) during at least 50% of lesson time. Purpose: The present study aimed at investigating the potential of modified game forms to promote sex equity in 13-year-old pupils’ physical activity engagement during coeducational lessons. A second purpose was to compare levels of MVPA between single-sex and coeducational classes with and without ability grouping. Methods: To provide evidence for transfer of results between countries, the study was conducted in Belgium and Portugal. The sample consisted of 221 students out of 12 Belgian and 12 Portuguese classes, including 104 Portuguese and 117 Belgian pupils, of whom 113 were boys and 108 were girls. Two classes were all-girls, two all-boys and eight coeducational. One identical invasion game lesson (korfball) was taught using modified game forms as a core part of the lesson. Variables such as class size and sex composition, court measurements, and the orientation of the physical education teacher were controlled for. Polar Heart Rate Monitors were used to register heart rates in order to measure physical activity levels. Time spent in MVPA was calculated using the following formula: MVPA = (number of heart-rate readings higher than 145 beats per minute x 15 seconds) / 60 seconds. Results: Results showed that the percentage of MVPA was significantly higher among girls (69.9%) when compared to boys (56.8%) and this was the case for all lesson contexts (coeducational and single sex). For pupils participating in the single-sex classes, 55.0% of the heart-rate recordings exceeded the threshold value for MVPA; for coeducational classes with and without ability grouping, percentages were significantly higher with values of 68.1% and 65.5% respectively. Conclusion: It can be concluded that using modified game forms with simplified rules has the potential as a coeducational instrument to produce MVPA levels that correspond with physical activity guidelines in both sexes, independently from lesson context. The findings of this study offer a promising means of, in particular, stimulating girls’ physical activity levels during physical education.

A Framework for Physical Activity Programs within School-Community Partnerships.

School-community partnerships have shown their potential as incubators for innovations and for contributing to comprehensive physical activity (PA) programs. However, implementation frameworks for school-community partnerships that allow local tailoring of PA programs remain scarce. The present paper aims at documenting the composition of a framework for PA programs within schoolcommunity partnerships. The framework addresses socioecological strategies to promote extracurricular PA opportunities for pupils, which are integrated into five complementary components. To implement and reinforce the five components of the framework, involvement of schools, pupils, family, and community is facilitated by sustainable partnerships between these stakeholders. Partnerships are not only recommended on the school and community level, but also on a broader regional level that covers multiple communities. The development of the framework was an effort to integrate school-community partnerships into a flexible implementation framework for PA promotion. Implications of the framework for research agendas, professional education, and policy are formulated.