Eighth graders from five Jerusalem schools participated in physical ability intervention program which involved periodic and progressive increase of physical effort of students in physical education classes. Test group improved running time and had better sport motivation than did control group. Found gender differences and influence of sexual…

Examined preschoolers' physical activity levels during participation in an 8-week developmental movement program. Found that preschoolers maintained moderate to vigorous physical activity over a period of time. Physical activity patterns remained consistent throughout the program. Preschoolers' heart rates were significantly elevated from resting…

The study comparing 36 preschool children and their mothers from either low income maltreating, low income comparison, or middle income comparison homes found children from maltreating backgrounds scored lower on measures of cognitive and physical competence and on ratings of motivation. These children also overrated their own physical competence…

A literature review revealed an absence of well-controlled studies concerning the prevention of sports injuries in children. A checklist outlines some causes of the overuse syndrome, including (1) training errors; (2) the nature of playing surfaces; (3) muscle imbalance; (4) anatomic malalignments; (5) construction of shoes; and (6) various…

Evaluated a daily exercise program to determine the impact on Head Start children's physical fitness. Found that children in treatment programs improved in strength, balance, endurance, and enthusiasm. Children in comparison programs showed little physical improvement. Parent components of the program included workshops, newsletters, activity…

Examined longitudinally the effects of infants' age, body dimensions, and experience on the development of crawling. Although most infants displayed multiple crawling postures en route to walking, development did not adhere to a strict progression of obligatory, discrete stages. Duration of experience with earlier forms of crawling predicted the…

The purpose of this study was to examine associations of fundamental movement skills (FMS) with measures of body composition. among children and adolescents. Secondary analyses of cross-sectional data collected from 4,363 children and adolescents in Grades 4, 6, 8, and 10 as part of the 1997 New South Wales Schools Fitness and Physical Activity…

Children grow and develop physically according to their own experiences, characteristics, and abilities. Physical development is so important and the environment should allow each child to find her space in the sunshine. This can be done by: (1) creating the right outdoor environment; (2) allowing children time to use it; (3) encouraging movement…

The use of drama to teach social skills to public middle school students labeled at-risk is powerfully effective. Drama is a universal form of human expression found in cultures all over the world and throughout history. For students at-risk of poor educational outcomes, drama is effective for teaching social, emotional, and physical development.…

The early years of school provide opportunities for active learning, including developing habits of resiliency and perceptions of self-worth. Girls in particular may be at risk for developing negative self-perceptions. This article presents a pilot group (psychoeducational and counseling) designed to educate members about pre-adolescent…

Young children's views are heard rarely in public debates and are often subordinated to adults' views. This article examines how early childhood staff could support and enhance young children's participation in public decision making. We argue that when early childhood staff use their expertise in young children's physical, social and cognitive…

4-H Youth Development is an educational movement founded to create opportunities for youth to understand their dependence on nature's resources and to value the fullest development of hand, head, and heart. It originated in the 1900s as "four-square education": educational development, fellowship development, physical development, and moral…

This study examined whether informal medical assessments could be used by classroom teachers to assess fine-motor ability and if there is any connection between fine-motor ability and reading achievement. Subjects were 174 half-day kindergarten children from whole-language classrooms in three states. Subjects were pretested in October and…

This videotape guide is intended to prepare current and future parents to handle without nervousness important body issues that develop during a child' early years. The early prevention training companion video shows how parents can protect the young from sexual abuse by training children to recognize improper advances, to say no to a perpetrator,…

Although there were significant maturity differences between races among discrepant achievers in work knowledge, reading and arithmetic, these differences did not occur for achievement levels in either of these domains. Maturity differences between achievement levels were only observed for reading achievement. (Author/AM)