Sandra L. Gibbons

Fair Play for Kids: Effects on the Moral Development of Children in Physical Education

Commitment to the principles of sportspersonship is an acknowledged goal for school physical education. However, few programs have been implemented to investigate moral development changes in physical activity settings. A field experiment was designed to examine the effect of participation in educational activities selected from Fair Play for Kids (1990) on the moral judgment, reason, intention, and prosocial behavior of children (N = 452) in the 4th through 6th grades. Six intact classrooms at each grade level (N = 18) were randomly assigned to the following groups: (a) control, (b) Fair Play for Kids curriculum during physical education only, or (c) Fair Play for Kids curriculum during all school subjects. Experimental protocol extended for 7 months of an academic year, and moral development indicators were assessed prior to and following the intervention. Using class as the unit of analysis, 3 x 2 (Group x Time) repeated measures analyses of variance revealed that both treatment groups were significantly higher than the control group at posttest for moral judgment, reason, and intention scores. For students within classes, repeated measures analyses showed that treatment group participants had significantly higher posttest scores on all 4 measures as compared to students in the control group. Results provide initial validation of the Fair Play For Kids curriculum for effecting change in the moral development of elementary school students.

Team Building through Physical Challenges in Gender-Segregated Classes and Student Self-Conceptions

It was of interest to determine if earlier research findings, where female students were particularly advantaged by the Team Building Through Physical Challenges (TBPC; Glover & Midura, 1992) program in a coeducational setting, would still be observed in gender-segregated physical education classes. A total of 260 female (n = 127) and male (n = 133) middle school students were assigned to either treatment (participate in one TBPC activity every second week) or control (no exposure to TBPC activities) conditions. Assessments of six self-conceptions were collected before and after a five-month intervention period. Data were analyzed using a 2 (control/treatment) × 2 (pre-intervention/post-intervention) × 2 (female/male) repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance. Examination of the results suggested that the TBPC program continues to somewhat advantage female students in gender-segregated classes, although the overriding finding was that the program is associated with beneficial outcomes for both female and male students.

Complexity of choice: Teachers’ and students’ experiences implementing a choice-based Comprehensive School Health model

Background: Comprehensive School Health models offer a promising strategy to elicit changes in student health behaviours. To maximise the effect of such models, the active involvement of teachers and students in the change process is recommended. Objective: The goal of this project was to gain insight into the experiences and motivations of teachers and students involved in a choice-based Comprehensive School Health model – Health Promoting Secondary Schools (HPSS). Setting: School communities in British Columbia, Canada. Design and methods: HPSS engaged teachers and students in the planning and implementation of a whole-school health model aimed at improving the physical activity and eating behaviours of high school students. The intervention components were specifically informed by self-determination theory. A total of 23 teachers and 34 school committee members participated in focus group interviews. The minutes of planning meetings were collected throughout the intervention process. Results: Analysis of the data revealed five themes associated with participants’ experiences and motivational processes: (a) lack of time for planning and preparation; (b) resources, workshops and collaboration; (c) teacher control impacts student engagement; (d) teacher job action inhibited implementation of HPSS action plans; and (e) choice-based design impacts participants’ experiences. Conclusion: Findings from this study can facilitate future school-based projects by providing insights into student and teacher perspectives on the planning and implementation of school-based health promotion programmes and implementing choice-based educational change initiatives.

Physical education teachers’ perceptions about the effectiveness and acceptability of strategies used to increase relevance and choice for students in physical education classes

ABSTRACT School physical education (PE) aims to develop students’ knowledge and skills for lifelong participation in physical activity (PA). Unfortunately, many PE teachers report that motivating students is a significant challenge. The purpose of this study was to explore PE teacher perceptions about the effectiveness and acceptability of three self-determination theory-based motivational strategies on students’ PA, motivation, and learning during PE lessons. Thirteen PE teachers from five schools in Western Sydney, Australia, participated in this study. We carried out semi-structured post-lesson interviews with PE teachers to gather information about the perceived effectiveness and acceptability of the three intervention strategies and whether these were sustainable teaching methods: (1) explaining relevance; (2) providing choice; and (3) complete free choice. Analysis of interview data revealed that teachers believed each strategy successfully enhanced student PA, enjoyment, motivation, and student learning. The findings also showed that our motivational teaching strategies were acceptable when embedded within certain PE contexts. Overall, the results have implications for future pre-service and in-service PE teaching practice.

Girls in Action: Fostering Relatedness in and beyond Physical and Health Education

The aim of health and physical education (HPE) is to help children and youth develop physical activity and health behaviors that will benefit them throughout their lives. However, adolescent girls are often disengaged in HPE. Girls place considerable importance on having a socially supportive learning environment. Therefore, teachers should try to promote relatedness establish a supportive environment in which students have opportunities to develop healthy relationships with others in and beyond HPE. This article describes a school initiative, Girls in Action [GIA], created to provide girls with the opportunity to be active in a supportive environment. Designed by two high school HPE teachers, GIA has the goal of empowering young women to have a voice in planning physical activity events and participate in these events with other women outside of HPE. Steps on how to implement a program like GIA in a school are presented.

Impact of Adventure-Based Approaches on the Self-Conceptions of Middle School Physical Education Students:

Background: Research has identified enhancement of positive self-concept as an important outcome connected with participation in adventure-based activities in physical education (PE). Purpose: This study compared the effectiveness of Team Building Through Physical Challenges (TBPC) and Adventure Curriculum for Physical Education (ACPE) programs on the self-conceptions of middle school PE students. Both approaches include adventure-type tasks adapted for use in PE. Methodology/Approach: Participants consisted of 397 female (n = 183) and male (n = 214) students who were enrolled in Coeducational Grades 7 and 8 PE classes in three middle schools. Students in the treatment classes were exposed to either the TBPC condition or the ACPE condition during PE classes over 7 months, whereas students in the control group completed the regular PE curriculum that did not include activities from either approach. Findings/Conclusions: Results suggest that both approaches benefit the self-conceptions of children with each being particularly effective at changing those self-conceptions logically related to specific organizing themes. Specifically, ACPE was greater than TBPC, for global self-worth and perceived behavioral conduct. TBPC was greater than ACPE for perceived social approval. Implications: Incorporating either the TBPC or the ACPE program in middle school PE can benefit the self-conceptions of students.

Measuring Student Motivation in High School Physical Education: Development and Validation of Two Self-Report Questionnaires.

The aim of this research was to develop measures to provide valid and reliable representation of the motivational states and psychological needs proposed by the self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000) within a physical education context. Based on theoretical underpinnings of self-determination theory, two questionnaires were developed to measure students’ motivation and psychological need satisfaction in high school physical education: (a) the Physical Education Motivation Scale (PEMS) and (b) the Physical Education Autonomy, Relatedness, Competence Scale (PE-ARCS). Validity and reliability concerning the scales were examined. Exploratory factor analysis supported the validity and test–retest reliability of a 3-factor, 9-item solution for PEMS and a 3-factor, 12-item solution for PE-ARCS. The results provide evidence supporting the validity and reliability of PEMS and PE-ARCS as promising physical education-specific measures of motivation developed within the framework of self-determination theory.