Weiyun Chen

Chinese and American College Students' Body-Image: Perceived Body Shape and Body Affect

This study examined the differences in the measures of perception of body shape and body affect among Chinese and American college male and female students. 289 Chinese students in China and 180 American students in the United States voluntarily completed the Body-image Questionnaire, comprised of four categories: (a) anthropometric data, (b) self-perception of body shape, (c) body affect, and (d) desired body shape. American students were significantly more likely than Chinese students to perceive their body shapes as being larger, but both Chinese and American students tended to perceive their body shapes accurately. For body affect, both Chinese and American female students who perceived themselves as thin had positive feelings about their bodies, while both groups of female students who perceived themselves as heavy had negative feelings about their bodies. American women were more likely than Chinese women to have negative feelings about their bodies. American students also placed high value on muscular firmness as part of their ideal female body shape, while Chinese students added plumpness as another component for judging ideal female body shape. Both Chinese and American men valued physical strength as a major component for body satisfaction.

CHINESE AND AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS' MOTIVES FOR PARTICIPATION IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

To examine the differences in the current strengths of primary motives for participation in physical activities and exercises 289 Chinese students in China and 180 American students in the United States were administered the Motives for Activity Participation Questionnaire. Two-way analysis of variance indicated that American subjects spent significantly more time participating in physical activity and exercise than did Chinese subjects; men were significantly more likely than women to engage in physical activity and exercise. With respect to the motives for participation, multivariate analysis of variance showed an over-all significant difference on three factors of Weight/Body Management, Mental Health, and Social Interaction among the Chinese and American subjects. Subsequently, stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that social interaction was the primary motive for American men and Chinese women. In contrast, management of body weight was the primary motive for American women.

Psychological needs satisfaction, motivational regulations and physical activity intention among elementary school students

This study examined the relationship between psychological needs satisfaction, motivational regulations in physical education and physical activity intention among elementary school students. A total of 291 elementary school students in grades 3–6 voluntarily completed the three measures. This study indicated that satisfaction of three basic psychological needs powerfully enhanced self-determined motivation, moderately contributed to introjected regulation and negatively impacted external regulation and amotivation among elementary school students. Having fun, gaining specific benefits and making social connections with their friends all positively influenced elementary school students’ physical activity intentions outside of school.

The Association of Physical Activity and Academic Behavior: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND In this systematic review, we assessed the existing research describing the effects of physical activity (PA) on academic behavior, with a special focus on the effectiveness of the treatments applied, study designs, outcome measures, and results. METHODS We obtained data from various journal search engines and 218 journal articles were downloaded that were relevant to PA and academic performance topics. The abstracts of all the articles were independently peer reviewed to assess whether they met the inclusion criteria for further analysis. The literature search was ongoing. Of the reviewed articles, 9 were chosen on the topic of PA effects on academic behavior. Each article was analyzed and summarized using a standard summary template. RESULTS Overall, PA interventions commonly found positive effects on academic behavior, with few exceptions. There were additional unique findings regarding differences in outcome measures and PA treatments. CONCLUSIONS The findings from these studies are significant and support the implementation or continuation of PA in schools to improve academic behavior and associated performance. More research needs to be conducted using the effective aspects of the treatments from this review with consistent outcome measures.

Manipulative skill competency and health-related physical fitness in elementary school students

Background Improving motor skill competency and enhancing health-related physical fitness are desired learning outcomes for school-aged children. Achieving motor skill competency and a healthy level of physical fitness lay a foundation for being a physically active person across a lifetime. The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between levels of manipulative skill competency and physical fitness for elementary school boys and girls. Methods In this study, 565 fourth-grade students and their 9 physical education teachers were voluntary participants. The students were assessed in 4 basic specialized manipulative skills and 4 fitness components during regular physical education lessons. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, univariate analyses, and multiple R2 liner regression methods. Results Boys were more proficient at the manipulative skills than girls, while girls had significant higher percentages for meeting the healthy fitness zone for the fitness tests than boys. Four manipulative skills significantly predicted progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run (PACER), push-up, and trunk lifts tests at p < 0.05 level, but not curl-up test for both boys and girls. Boys and girls in the skill-competent group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the skill-incompetent group on PACER, push-up, and trunk lifts tests at p < 0.05 level, with an exception of curl-up test. Conclusion The more competent in manipulative skills, the higher healthy level in cardiovascular endurance, upper-body muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility the students demonstrated. Demonstrating manipulative skill competence and maintaining a healthy level of physical fitness are 2 major desired learning outcomes for elementary school students to be able to achieve.

Pre-Service Teachers' Subject Matter Competency and Quality of Teaching Practices: An Exploratory Case Study

Aims: This study examined how the pre-service teachers with strong subject matter competence quantitatively and qualitatively differed from their counterparts in teaching practices. Methodology: Thirteen pre-service physical education teachers (8 females and 5 males) who enrolled in one secondary methods course voluntarily participated in this study. The data were collected through videotaping and coding 13 pre-service teachers’ playing two basketball games and teaching seven lessons with two instruments, writing descriptive lesson vignettes, and conducting formal interviews. The quantitative data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics, MANOVA, and ANOVA methods, whereas, the qualitative data was analyzed using the constant comparison technique. The mean score of the pre-service teachers’ overall game performance index was calculated to classify the participants into above-average group and below-average group. Results: The results of the MANOVA yielded a significant difference on the overall teaching