This study sought to address the large gap in the literature regarding parents' roles and views about physical education programs. Guided by Epstein's model of parental involvement, this study investigated the effect of increased parental involvement in a child's physical education program on parents' perceptions of that program. Participants…

Introduction: According to Self-Determination Theory, it is known that motivation is an essential factor for the adherence and enjoyment of exercise, generating long-lasting habits. The importance of generating such habits from an early age is a determining factor in the future health of people. The child and youth population invests a great…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the potential racial disparities in education for active living (i.e., regular participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity with mitigated and interrupted levels of sedentary behavior) between Black/African American and White students. Methods: The study took place in one public middle…

One of the central goals of school physical education (PE) is to improve physical literacy in youth to nurture their ability, confidence, and desire to be physically active for life. The aim of this study was to examine the stability of the selected PE-centered physical literacy indicators on school students' objectively measured…

This paper shares a unique approach to primary Health and Physical Education (HPE) whereby students learn about personal, social and community health through intergenerational arts-led pedagogies. Drawing on socio-critical, socio-cultural and salutongenic perspectives, the unit of work that the students engaged with was underpinned by an…

School-based physical activity can promote health and improve learning outcomes, but efforts to increase school physical activity have had limited success. This study evaluates the sustainability of a multicomponent school-based physical activity intervention and identifies important factors for implementation and sustainability. Results are based…

A physical education instructor incorporates a teaching method known as project-based learning (PBL) in his physical education curriculum. Utilizing video-production equipment to imitate the production of a televisions show, sixth-grade students attending a charter school invited college students to share their stories about physical activity and…

Schools are positioned to play a key role in nurturing students with knowledge and behaviours associated with healthful living. Our study examined the effects of an intervention on energy balance (EB) knowledge. Twelve 6th and 7th grade classrooms (n = 140) were assigned to receive either two standardised lessons on EB or a combined intervention…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to enable community members to discuss their perceptions of eating habits and physical activity in relation to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, and reveal facilitators and barriers to healthy eating behavior and physical activity engagement. Design/methodology/approach: Nine focus groups, which included six…

The Central Texas Coordinated Approach To Child Health (CATCH) Middle School Project is a 3.5-year school-based project aimed at promoting physical activity (PA), healthy eating, and obesity prevention among public middle school students in Texas. This article describes the CATCH intervention model and presents baseline findings from spring 2009.…

This article offers a brief and personal account of the historical background, implementation and principal findings from the Trois-Rivieres regional project, a large-scale quasi-experimental intervention that tested the impact of providing a daily hour of specialist-taught quality physical education upon the physical and mental development of…

With an increasing amount of overweight children, especially among racial and ethnic minorities, effective population-level interventions are urgently needed (Wang et al., 2006). The purpose of this study was to provide insight into nutritional and physical activity intervention programs at a Connecticut public school in an urban setting.…

Pedometers are a popular tool among physical educators and recreation and fitness professionals for promoting and monitoring the physical activity of youths. Pedometers are particularly useful because they are reliable, inexpensive, and simple for youths to use and understand. However, pedometers also have some limitations, the greatest one being…

Background: Professional sport organizations in the United States have notable celebrity status, and several teams have used this "star power" to collaborate with local school districts toward the goal of affecting children's health. Program effectiveness is unknown due to the absence of comprehensive evaluations for these initiatives.…

Background: Obesity has become a national epidemic among youth. Declining physical activity and poor nutrition contribute to this epidemic. The purpose of this study was to obtain data on middle school students' physical activity and nutrition knowledge and practices. Methods: The Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey was developed and…