Many adolescent girls do not achieve a health-enhancing level of physical activity. This study aimed to identify the school physical environment factors that adolescent girls perceive to be important and influential regarding their physical education (PE) behaviour. Adolescent girls (n = 38; aged 13-16) participated in eight moderated focus…

This study examined barriers to Physical Education (PE) in a sample of Christian and Muslim schoolgirls attending UK comprehensive secondary schools. Also assessed was whether religion and school year (age) had any impact upon barrier strength and if school year × religion interactions existed. A questionnaire was developed and exploratory factor…

Research shows that teachers' grading is influenced by non-achievement factors in addition to official criteria, such as knowledge and skills. Some grading criteria are internalised by the teacher, who is sometimes unable to verbalise the criteria used and refers to what is called a "gut feeling". Therefore, transparency, validity…

This paper outlines a method for exploring learning in educational practice. The suggested method combines an explicit learning theory with robust methodological steps in order to explore aspects of learning in school physical education. The design of the study is based on sociocultural learning theory, and the approach adds to previous research…

In sport, schools and physical education (PE) ability has invariably been understood as an inherent and relatively immutable capacity, amendable to varying degrees by interventions such as training regimes and education. Differences in achievement are assumed to be an inevitable consequence of natural variations in ability and an indication of…

This paper examines the usage of "race" in high school physical education textbooks in Australia. In particular, it examines the concept of biological "race" in connection with human performance in sport. DNA studies do not indicate that separate classifiable subspecies (races) exist within modern humans. A content analysis of…

Movement skill competence is important to organised youth physical activity participation, but it is unclear how adolescents view this relationship. The primary aim of this study was to explore adolescents' perception of the relationship between movement skills, physical activity and sport, and whether their perceptions differed according to…

The purpose of this study was to carry out a preliminary investigation to explore the use of outdoor and adventurous project work (PW) within an educational setting. Specifically, differences between the PW and normal academic school experiences were examined using a self-determination theory framework integrated with a goal orientation and…

Using a multilevel latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) approach, this study examined longitudinal change in levels of physical fitness performance over time (i.e. four years) in young adolescents aged from 12-13 years. The sample consisted of 6622 students from 138 secondary schools in Singapore. Initial analyses found between-school variation on…

The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Amotivation Inventory in Physical Education (AI-PE). In addition, the study sought to identify the relationships between students' amotivation, physical self-concept, and teacher ratings of National Curriculum attainment levels in PE. Students ("N" = 510) from a…

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships of classmate and teacher support during physical education (PE) lessons on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity of 14-16 year-old students whom were underweight, normal weight and overweight. The cross-sectional sample for the study concerned data from 1702 girls and 1547 boys, recruited…

The primary purpose of this study was to develop and validate a System for Observing the Teaching of Games in Physical Education (SOTG-PE). Primary pilot testing of the SOTG-PE was conducted in a large, selective, all-boys secondary school in the north-west of England. Two hundred and eighty three pupils aged 11-16 volunteered as participants for…

Sedentary behaviour is becoming a popular area of health research, but most studies report data on samples from Australia, the UK and USA, and on a narrow range of behaviours. The present study reports on the prevalence of multiple sedentary behaviours in a sample of secondary school students (n = 635; mean age 16.0 years) from Romania and…

This purpose of this study was to examine student activity, lesson contexts and teacher interactions during secondary school physical education, using a recently validated systematic observation instrument termed the System for Observing the Teaching of Games in Physical Education (SOTG-PE). Thirty, single-gender high school (11-16 years) physical…

Physical education and sport are often critically evaluated for the potential impact they can have on the development of children, both from the perspective of health and the development of sporting talent. Reflecting these two important goals, this paper presents an evaluation of the efficacy of an evidence-based, educational and inclusive…