Background/Purpose: Before school exercise programs (BSEPs) give students time for breakfast and add time to their daily physical activity. However, the effects of BSEP on physical fitness and academic achievement in the classroom remain unclear. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of BSEP on cardiorespiratory fitness and academic…

Engagement is important for learning. Because of their atypical expression, measuring engagement for students with multiple and severe disabilities (MSD) is challenging. Group activities often enhance engagement of children and gross motor activities include an expanded variety of behaviors by which engagement may be measured. The purpose of this…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influences of a structured after-school program on student physical activity for third- through fifth-grade students at five schools in southern Colorado. The study utilized a pretest-posttest intervention design in which six elementary schools in a low socioeconomic status school district in southern…

Background: Sedentary behavior is a public health issue associated with obesity and other chronic health problems. The need for interventions is especially pressing for girls, who have lower levels of physical activity (PA) than boys do, and who are more likely to be overweight and to experience negative emotional states as they approach…

Movement creativity is a key factor in motor development in children, yet very few exercise programs promote the development of motor creativity in children. To address this gap in the literature, this study tested the effectiveness of a creative exercise program on children's motor and cognitive creativity, and their probability of adaptation to…

The Walking Classroom (TWC) program provides a structured classroom physical activity (PA) break that incorporates academic content. The purpose of the study was to (a) explore differences in PA accrual on TWC school days versus non-TWC school days, (b) examine on-task behavior before and after TWC, and (c) better understand student and teacher…

Classroom Exercises for the Body and Brain was developed in the state of Georgia by the HealthMPowers organization to help classroom teachers provide structured physical activity for their elementary students in their classrooms. These brief video exercises were designed for students to participate at their desks as exercise breaks, as energy…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the acute dose-response relationship of classroom exercise breaks with executive function and math performance in 9- to 12-year-old children by comparing 5-min, 10-min, or 20-min classroom exercise breaks to 10 min of sedentary classroom activity. Method: This study used a within-subjects…

Objective: Increased action is needed to combat the growing epidemic of pediatric obesity. It is imperative that researchers investigate psychological and demographic variables that may be associated with pediatric obesity in order to formulate and implement more appropriate and effective interventions. The present study examined the univariate…

Purpose: Identification of factors that relate to physical activity behavior in children at higher risk for weight problems--namely, children with obese parents--is key to informing the development of effective interventions to promote physical activity and reduce obesity. The purpose of our study was to examine children's perceptions of parental…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of sociodemographic, psychosocial, and behavioral characteristics with screen time among school-age children in Korea. This study employed a nonexperimental, cross-sectional study design. A total of 370 children attending four elementary schools participated in the study. Self-report…

Expectancy-value models of motivation have been applied to understanding children's choices in areas such as academics and sports. Here, an expectancy-value paradigm is applied to exercising (defined as engaging in physical activity). The notion of perceived cost is highlighted in particular. Two hundred twenty children in third, fourth, and fifth…

Barriers to and facilitators of walking and bicycling to school were explored through 12 focus groups made up of fourth- and fifth-grade students and their parents who lived near their respective schools. The barriers and facilitators reported by parents and children generally fell into one of three categories: intrapersonal and interpersonal…

The curriculum may superimpose a content-specific context that mediates motivation (Bong, 2001). This study examined content specificity of the expectancy-value motivation in elementary school physical education. Students' expectancy beliefs and perceived task values from a cardiorespiratory fitness unit, a muscular fitness unit, and a traditional…

This study measures the nationwide participation rates of girls and boys in exercise and organized team sports. The central focus is on how the intersections among families, schools and communities are related to children's involvement and interest in athletics and physical activity. Some of the personal and social benefits associated with…