Background: Although there are over 26,000 private schools in the United States, little is known about the relationship of their characteristics to mandated and recommended time allocations for physical education (PE). Methods: Private secondary schools (N = 450; grades 6-12) in California completed a 15-item questionnaire related to school…

Purpose: An objective database for physical education (PE) is important for policy and practice decisions, and the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) has been identified as an appropriate surveillance tool for PE across the nation. The purpose of this review was to assess peer-reviewed studies using SOFIT to study K-12 PE in…

Background: We assessed the associations of 5 school and 7 neighborhood variables with fifth-grade students achieving Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ) or Needs Improvement-Health Risk (NI-HR) on aerobic capacity (AC) and body composition (BC) physical fitness components of the state-mandated FITNESSGRAM® physical fitness test. Methods: Data for outcome…

In "Physical Education Teacher Effectiveness in a Public Health Context," we took a broad view of physical education (PE) teacher effectiveness that included public health need and support for PE. Public health officials have been consistent and fervent in their support of PE, and for more than two decades, they have called on schools to…

The 1991 paper, "Physical Education's Role in Public Health" described the importance of physical education in addressing public health problems. On its 20th anniversary, this article reviews accomplishments in improving the health impact of physical education and identifies areas lacking progress. Major accomplishments include development of…

Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAP) are designed to provide expanded opportunities for physical activity beyond regularly scheduled physical education time-including before, during, and after school, as well as at home and in the community. While CSPAPs are gaining support, currently there are no models for designing,…

Part 1 of this article, which appeared in the April 2013 of JOPERD, presented the theoretical foundation and evidence-based needs for a main-theme curriculum model called Health Optimizing Physical Education (HOPE) for schools. It also described eight strands that could be used to plan, implement, and assess this version of a comprehensive school…

Physical activity engagement during physical education is important for many reasons, including developing physical fitness and movement skills and promoting health. Much more is known about physical activity in elementary than secondary schools. We examined physical activity and how it was influenced by instructor-related and environmental…

Physical inactivity is a serious public health problem that is associated with numerous preventable diseases. Public health concerns, particularly those related to the increased prevalence of overweight, obesity, and diabetes, call for schools to become proactive in the promotion of healthy, physically active lifestyles. This article begins by…

Physical activity (PA) during physical education is important for health purposes and for developing physical fitness and movement skills. To examine PA levels and how PA was influenced by environmental and instructor-related characteristics, we assessed children's activity during 368 lessons taught by 105 physical education specialists in 42…

In this investigation a 14-week run/walk program was successfully implemented with 5 adult men with mild or moderate mental retardation. Each man was assigned a physical education major as a running partner and a point system established in which the men could earn daily and weekly privileges. (Author/DB)

Things change in physical education, but changes are often slow and might go unnoticed. Termed the "chameleon of all curricula" (McKenzie, 2001),1 physical education has historically played a utilitarian role and has adapted both to meet societal needs and to survive as a profession. The founding fathers of physical education in North America were…

Examined the relationship between elementary students' television viewing and their physical fitness. Data from parent and student questionnaires and measures of body fat, cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength/endurance, and muscular flexibility indicated that television viewing weakly and inconsistently related to various components of…

Examines an ecological approach for promoting physical activity in middle school, reviewing data collected in physical education classes, leisure settings, and structured extracurricular programs during the 4-year Middle School Physical Activity and Nutrition Project. The paper makes recommendations for improving physical activity in middle school…

Analyzes contributions physical education makes to child and adult health. Topics discussed are current levels of U.S. children's physical activity; status of elementary physical education programs; health-related physical activity interventions; public health analysis of elementary physical education; and public health role and goal for physical…