While physical education class is intended to be fun, getting students to motivate themselves to participate in activities is challenging. This study aims to provide meaningful strategies to promote physical activity in the classroom while meeting all students' needs. The target population is middle physical education teachers. The following…

The high level of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents has been termed a public health crisis and is associated with low levels of physical activity (PA). Experts recommend that youth engage in 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous PA per day, yet two-thirds of adolescents do not obtain this goal. Schools have been identified as…

Many afterschool physical activity programs and curricula are available, but evaluation of their effectiveness is needed. Well-marketed programs such as the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH) Kids Club have shown limited effectiveness in increasing physical activity for participants in comparison to control groups.…

Numerous strategies to increase physical activity levels among American youth have been recommended and implemented in schools, and physical education teachers have been identified as the logical personnel in schools to spearhead these attempts. Comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs) are being promoted, implemented and endorsed…

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…

Childhood obesity prevention has fallen short of anticipated impact. Therefore, intervention programs need to be redirected to other potential settings to increase youth physical activity. This qualitative study, using autodriven interview techniques, was conducted to identify out-of-school settings that youth perceive as important for physical…

Background: Effective physical activity (PA) interventions are warranted for youth, and schools have been identified as logical locations for such involvement. Experts and professionals in the field promote comprehensive school PA programs, including classroom PA. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a low-cost,…

Children in the United States are not engaging in sufficient amounts of routine physical activity, and this lack is an emerging public health concern (Strong, Malina, Blimkie, Daniels, Dishman, Gutin, et al., 2005). Efforts to increase the physical activity levels of children and adolescents has become a national priority, attracting attention…

Recommendations for increasing children's daily physical activity (PA) call on classroom teachers to assume an activist role at school. This study examined relationships among preservice classroom teachers' (PCT; n = 247) biographical characteristics, perceptions and attitudes regarding school PA promotion (SPAP). Results indicated participants…

This study was one of the first to examine elementary student performance on the first four national standards for physical education (National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 2004). Motor skill competency, strategic knowledge, physical activity, and physical fitness measures were collected from fourth- and fifth-grade students (N =…

The purpose of this study was to examine levels of physical activity engagement, motor competence, and physical fitness as related to child access to physical activity facilities in the home and school environments. The present investigation attempts to further efforts to examine the relationship between physical activity levels and access.…

Holidays present the perfect opportunity for physical educators to utilize creative TAG (Teaching Active Games) games to offer maximum physical activity opportunities for their students. The TAG ideas in this article offer physical education teachers quick, instant activities that involve very little equipment, time management, or instruction. At…

In this study, the researchers aim to compare the personal attributes and experiences of children who met or exceeded physical activity guidelines with those who did not. By creating profiles, the researchers could compare motor performance, physical fitness, self-efficacy, time spent outdoors during physical activity, social support from friends…