Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the experiences and impact of the Paralympic School Day program on disability-related perceptions of rural high school students. Methods: Ninth- and tenth-grade physical education classes from a rural high school participated in the Paralympic School Day event. Of the 68 who…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the degree to which participating in strategic intervention workshops affected the level of moral knowing of 111 9th grade athletes. Results from the Rudd-Stoll-Beller-Hahm (RSBH) Value Judgment Inventory were utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of one program. Findings and conclusions are…

Sports participation and elite sporting success are fundamental to Australian culture and a prominent source of national pride. As sport is a major part of day-to-day living in Australia, it is not surprising that many young people aspire to careers as sportspersons. While such aspirations are often dismissed as fanciful and unattainable, the…

This study investigates whether the relationship between participation in school-organized sports and youth development is similar for both heterosexual students and those who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Utilizing a survey of 72,004 high schoolers, results suggest sports participation enhances a sense of support and developmental skill…

Seventy-four students in three different Grade 9 classrooms of high-performing learners from the same suburban, comprehensive secondary school, completed a questionnaire focused on their preferences for a friend to stand by his or her position in case of a disagreement, to maintain their own position themselves, and to modify their own stance.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of Sport Education on the constructs that facilitate amotivation. A total of 78 amotivated secondary students were engaged in a 15-lesson unit of badminton taught using the Sport Education or skill-drill-game approach. Constructs that facilitate amotivation were assessed using the Amotivation…

Little is known about how adolescents' peer relations might alter whether sport participation is associated with alcohol use. Consistent with social learning theory, we found that sport participation was protective against alcohol use if these peers had low alcohol use, but athletes were likely to use alcohol if their sport friends and teammates…

This study compared the occupational aspirations of beginning high school students by gender and ethnicity, and examined the relationship between the educational demands of the occupations desired by students and their academic performance before and after entering high school. Desired occupations were obtained from 662 entering 9th-grade students…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not a significant difference existed in the overall academic performance of athletes when compared to non-athletes at one rural high school in Wisconsin. The study was important to the field of educational leadership because in the current environment of accountability, educational leaders need…

Multiple risks are associated with early use of anabolic androgenic steroids, yet public understanding is limited and teen use not uncommon. The present study surveyed 4,231 high school students to understand prevalence of use, association with athletics and other substance use and expectations of drug effects. While overall rates of steroid use…

This study examines variability in patterns of peer group antipathy. Same-grade adolescent peer groups were identified from sociometric nominations of preferred affiliates in a community sample of 600 Finnish ninth-grade middle school students (mean age = 15.0 years). Hierarchical linear modeling determined characteristics of youths in actor…

Although seatbelts save lives, adolescents may be disproportionately likely to omit their use. Using data from the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a national survey of more than 16,000 U.S. public and private high school students, the authors employed a series of logistic regression analyses to examine cross-sectional associations between past…

This article profiles teacher Leroy Silva (Laguna), 27, a.k.a. "Buster". Silva describes himself as an active guy who stays busy working out, playing basketball, softball, and more recently golf, soccer, and lacrosse. He teaches personal wellness and sports (not physical education), a job he began in 2006. Before that he was a trainer at…

Statistics reporting adolescent use of ergogenic agents are staggering. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, 6.1% of students from grades 9 through 12 had taken illegal anabolic steroids without a prescription one or more times during their lifetime. Additionally, more adolescent athletes…

Studies of athletes suggest that they are at increased risk for using alcohol, smokeless tobacco, steroids, and marijuana. They are also a readily available audience during annual preparticiaption physical examinations. In this article, Dr. Werch and colleagues report on the results from their pilot study, using a modified version of STARS (Start…