This study was grounded in the public health literature and the call for schools to serve as physical activity intervention sites. Its purpose was twofold: (a) to examine the daily distance covered by students in a before-school running/walking club throughout 1 school year and (b) to gain insights on the teachers perspectives of the club.…

The purpose of this article is to provide evidence of how an integrated high school health, physical education, and wellness program can be implemented. In addition to describing the process used to develop and maintain this wellness curriculum, the article describes the content of the curriculum and how the teachers were able to capture and hold…

Given increasing childhood inactivity and obesity, and minimal time for quality physical education in elementary and secondary schools, it is essential that children are motivated and held accountable for independent motor and movement skill practice. The Movement and Motor Skill Challenge System provides a comprehensive set of stimulating,…

Physical education teacher education (PETE) programs vary on how the topics of safe teaching and risk management are addressed. Common practices to cover such issues include requiring textbooks, lesson planning, peer teaching, videotaping, reflecting, and reading case law analyses. We used a mixed methods design to examine how risk management is…

Purpose: The relationships among students' self-efficacy, 2 × 2 achievement goals (mastery-approach [MAp], mastery-avoidance [MAv], performance-approach [PAp], and performance-avoidance goals), and achievement performance remain largely unanswered. We tested a model of the mediating role of self-efficacy on the relationship between 2 × 2…

The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance recommends that all schools implement a comprehensive school physical activity program. Physical activity is important to the overall health and well-being of everyone, including all school age children. The benefits of physical activity are well documented and include the…

Indicator 14: Post-School Outcomes are assessed each year by every school district in every state to evaluate outcomes for all students with disabilities, including learning disabilities, beyond secondary school. Data collection is mandated to focus on post-secondary education and employment status just after leaving school-age programs. Some…

The current National Initial Standards for Physical Education Teacher Education state that preservice teachers should achieve and maintain a level of health-related fitness consistent with that expected of K12 learners. However, little research has addressed the relevance of teacher fitness to effective physical education teaching. This study…

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare physical activity (PA) outcomes in a sample of high school (HS) physical education (PE) lessons from schools that adopted "traditional" versus "modified block" schedule formats. Methods: We used the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) to conduct observations…

Evidence strongly supports a positive, causal effect of physical activity on bone strength and suggests long-term benefits of childhood physical activity to the prevention of osteoporosis. The contribution of healthy bone development in youth is likely to be as important to fracture prevention as the amount of late adulthood bone loss. Families,…

The rising prevalence of obesity in society has resulted in an increased need for physical education teachers to create learning opportunities that promote physical activity among children. However, the presence of anti-fat attitudes and a limited understanding of the challenges associated with being overweight in a physical activity environment…

Background: Physical Education (PE) programmes are expanding to include alternative activities yet what is missing is a conceptual model that facilitates how the learning process may be understood and assessed beyond the dominant sport-technique paradigm. Purpose: The purpose of this article was to feature the emergence of a Function-to-Flow (F2F)…

The purpose of this article is to help leaders do their jobs more effectively by examining the components of brain-wise leadership. The article is divided into five parts: Part I is a general overview, defining brain-wise leadership, its traits, attributes and some of the styles of effective leadership. Part II begins with the strategies for…

Background: The association between physical activity/fitness with cognitive and academic functioning has become a topic of considerable research interest. Increasingly, schooling systems are being expected to respond to these relationships through curricular and extra-curricular interventions. Purpose: This paper reports on the qualitative…

It is generally agreed that regular physical exercise promotes physical and mental health, but what are the benefits in people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)? This meta-analysis evaluates 16 behavioural studies reporting on a total of 133 children and adults with various variants of the syndrome who were offered structured physical…