Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the perspective of teachers and students within the same secondary schools on the physical education (PE) curriculum offered. Method: Semistructured interviews with secondary school PE teachers and a focus group with their students were conducted within a large school district located on the east…

Despite the prominence of fitness testing in school physical education (PE), there is a sparsity of research examining the antecedents of students' affective experiences during fitness testing lessons. This study aimed to investigate the associations among task- and ego-involving motivational climates, perceived physical competence, physical…

It is estimated that less than 20% of young people worldwide are receiving the recommended 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day (Riley, Lubans, Holmes, & Morgan, 2014). Delaware and many other states around the country use FITNESSGRAM to assess students' overall physical fitness. The FITNESSGRAM® is a physical…

Purpose: Over the last couple of decades, health has become a central part of the subject content in physical education (PE) curricula in many countries. As a result, issues of health have been foregrounded much more clearly in the teaching of PE. The aim of this study was to explore how Swedish PE teachers make sense of health in relation to…

Purpose: Guided by the declarative-procedural knowledge framework, the study attempts to identify middle school students' declarative (knowing what) and procedural (knowing how) fitness knowledge and the relationship between the two. Methods: A sample of students (n = 291, age 11-14 years) from 24 middle schools took a grade-relevant standardized…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the limited efficacy of a high-intensity interval training (HIIT)-based fitness education unit in middle school physical education (PE). Method: The study took place in six PE classes at one middle school located in the southern United States. The authors conveniently assigned the classes to…

Purpose: The study purpose was to examine performance differences in physical education among learners from two middle schools from two different states. Methods: Performance in physical education was represented by attitude toward physical education, knowledge of physical activity and fitness, and active living behaviors (i.e., physical activity…

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…

Background: Most United States schools include school-based physical fitness testing (SB-PFT), yet little evidence shows how it is implemented, perceived, and used. Purpose: 1) Explore stakeholders' experiences with SB-PFT; 2) identify: challenges in analyzing fitness data, ways schools can use fitness data, and predictors of meeting fitness…

An important goal of physical education (PE) is to educate children to become physically literate and active of their own accord. This study capitalized on examining the roles of students' attitudes toward PE and physical activity and fitness (PAF) knowledge in physical activity and sedentary behavior participation. Students from a public middle…

Background: Fitness testing is a commonly applied learning and teaching practice implemented in both secondary and elementary school physical education (PE). Many teachers believe that by using a variety of different tests, they are able to provide students with feedback regarding their fitness status, and furthermore, increase students'…

Accumulating evidence shows a beneficial association between physical fitness and school children's academic performance. However, several other studies have failed to demonstrate such an association. We reanalyzed data of a two-year longitudinal study of the association between changes in cardiorespiratory fitness and academic performance of…

Background: Internationally 18% of youth are obese. Fitness testing can be used to establish fitness surveillance, which can inform policy and targeted interventions aimed at addressing obesity. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and low fitness in Idaho school-aged youth through a pilot study.…

In the process of educating physically literate individuals, physical educators are tasked with assessing health-related fitness of their students. It is essential to identify or develop appropriate field tests of muscular power for use in physical education settings. This study assessed jumping power in a sample of fourth, sixth, and eighth…

One primary goal of physical education (PE) is to promote students' lifelong physical activity (PA). This goal implies that PE should not only improve students' PA in PE classes but also promote their PA outside of the school known as the "PE effect." Purpose: In this study, we proposed a two-pathway model of the "PE effect"…