The term "physical literacy" has been integrated into national physical education standards. This study was designed to better understand how preservice physical educators put physical literacy into practice and prepare to be role models within the school context. Sixty preservice physical educators (46 males, 14 females, aged 19 to 25)…

The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of what impacts physical education teachers in their curriculum decision-making and how the activities chosen relate to what their students are interested in. Teachers (N = 76) and students (N = 258) from 12 purposely selected secondary schools located in a large school district in the United…

As outlined in this article, conceptual physical education (CPE) uses a text and classroom sessions to teach healthy lifestyle concepts and principles as well as self-management skills that promote lifelong fitness and active living. CPE programs are meant to be an important part of quality physical education (PE) programs. A dozen reasons are…

Purpose: Before-school programs, one of the least studied student-related comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) components, may be a promising strategy to help youth meet the physical activity (PA) guidelines. This study's purpose was to examine: (a) how much PA children accrued during a before-school running/walking club and…

Classroom teachers are increasingly called upon to help increase pupils' physical activity (PA). Grounded in Guskey's model of teacher change, this study was part of an intervention that provided classroom teachers with training for implementing classroom-based PA (CBPA). The study examined teachers' attempts to implement CBPA and focused on their…

The purpose of this study was to determine students' health-related fitness knowledge (HRFK) and physical activity levels after the implementation of a series of fitness lessons segments called Knowledge in Action (KIA). KIA aims to teach health-related fitness knowledge (HRFK) during short episodes of the physical education lesson. Teacher…

This study compared step counts detected by four, low-cost, objective, physical-activity-assessment instruments and evaluated their ability to detect moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared to the ActiGraph accelerometer (AG). Thirty-six 10-11-year-old children wore the NL-1000, Yamax Digiwalker SW 200, Omron HJ-151, and Walk4Life…

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.…

By definition, conceptual knowledge is rich in relationships and understanding the kind of knowledge that may be transferred between situations. Despite the lack of importance that Conceptual Physical Education has been given in previous physical education reform efforts, research findings have shown that Conceptual Physical Education along with…

This study was grounded in the belief systems and physical activity literature and investigated preservice teachers' belief systems toward curricular outcomes for physical education programs. Preservice teachers (N = 486; men = 62%, women = 38%) from 18 U.S. colleges/universities shared their beliefs about curricular outcomes. Preservice teachers…

This study provides baseline data on Pima children's school day physical activity participation from two Pima communities. Specifically, the authors were interested in how Pima children's SSC (school step counts) physical activity compared with children who attend public schools in large metropolitan areas. Findings suggest that Pima children…

The current need for physical activity has extended beyond the limited time given to students in physical education classes. In order for students to receive appropriate levels of physical activity (i.e., at least 60 minutes per day), it is necessary for physical educators to incorporate physical activity opportunities outside the traditional…

Developed a valid, reliable physical education teachers' physical activity self-efficacy scale for teaching classes in which students were engaged in high levels of physical activity. Results offer preliminary support for the psychometric properties of this instrument, which can help understand physical education teachers' efficacy in overcoming…

Investigated relationships between teachers' belief systems toward physical activity and fitness and what they taught. Researchers observed teachers with high and low physical activity and fitness beliefs, measuring instructional behaviors related to physical activity and fitness. No differences surfaced between groups in percent of class time…

The purpose of this investigation was to examine determinants of teachers' intentions to teach physically active physical education classes (i.e., spend at least 50% of class time with the students engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity). Based on the theory of planned behavior, a model was examined hypothesizing that teachers'…