Thorough assessment of children's physical activity is essential to efficacious interventions to reduce childhood obesity prevalence. The purpose of this study was to examine children's recess physical activity (RPA) patterns of behavior using the Activities of Daily Living-Playground Participation (ADL-PP: Watkinson et al., 2001)…

Couched in attitude theory, this follow-up study examines children-voiced perceptions of "enjoyment" and "usefulness" toward a "district mandated" elementary physical education (PE) program. Attitudes of 277 5th and 6th grade males and females from four representative schools from within a district were assessed in a…

The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of quality physical education (QPET) in a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) which is intended to promote physical activity (PA) behaviors in and outside of schools. Participants were nine elementary physical education teachers and their fourth- and fifth-grade students…

Obesity levels among American children are increasing at an alarming rate, due in part to a lack of regular physical activity (PA). Physical education (PE) is one way to facilitate student PA. The overarching PA goal for physical educators is 50% PA for students. Self-determination theory suggests that PA levels in PE and a variety of other…

The purpose of the study was to analyze students' motivation in relation to their participation in fitness testing classes. Participants were 134 Finnish Grade 5 and 8 students. Students completed the contextual motivation and perceived physical competence scales before the fitness testing class and the situational motivation questionnaire…

This study guided by a health ecology conceptual framework evaluated four "bottom-up" Physical Activity (PA) interventions with school personnel planning for their own health ecology with state level support for one year. Students (N = 616) were from four schools in the Southwestern USA in the 3rd-8th grade. Participants had various ethnic…

The present study reported on the modification of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale (Vlachopoulos & Michailidou, 2006) to assess students' psychological need fulfillment in elementary school, middle school, and high school compulsory physical education classes. Data were collected from 817 5th and 6th grade students, 862 middle…

This study used a trichotomous achievement goal model to explore and describe what actually happened in terms of students' achievement goals and disruptive behaviors in an after-school physical activity program. Participants included 158 students in grades 3-6. They completed questionnaires assessing their achievement goals and disruptive…

This study was conducted to identify student characteristics and instructional factors that impact student engagement in physical education (PE). Data were derived from the systematic observation of 124 sessions taught by 31 physical educators and the administration of health and PE engagement questionnaires to 2,018 students in grades 5-8.…

A debate over the quality of teacher education programs has been ongoing for nearly 100 years. The most current round in this debate started with "A Nation at Risk" (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) and has escalated in recent years to involve an increasing number of participant-constituents, each of whom has voiced an opinion…

Although substantial inquiry has been made into fitness levels of students, there has been scant examination of knowledge in this domain. This article seeks to review and analyze research on student health-related fitness (HRF) knowledge mastery in K-16 programs by examining studies published in the literature. Two major results emerging from the…

Drawing on feminist, poststructural, and critical theories, the purpose of this research was to understand 5th-grade girls' self-identified barriers to physical activity and work with them to find ways of negotiating those barriers in order to increase their physical activity opportunities. We worked with 11 girls in two elementary schools in…

Physical activity (PA) during physical education is important for health purposes and for developing physical fitness and movement skills. To examine PA levels and how PA was influenced by environmental and instructor-related characteristics, we assessed children's activity during 368 lessons taught by 105 physical education specialists in 42…

This study examined the effects of personal accountability and personal responsibility instructional treatments on elementary-age, urban, at-risk physical education students. A multiple treatment (ABAD, ACAD, ADA, control) behavior-analysis design was implemented across four distinct matched class settings to determine the separate and combined…

The development of feelings of identity, the sense of belonging to a team, and the growth of social skills are experiences that sport, if properly conducted, is well placed to offer (Siedentop, 1994). Evidence suggests that some characteristics of traditional, multiactivity forms of physical education work against realizing these goals (Locke,…