Over the course of nine years as a supervisor of intern teachers, the first author collected observations of game play during lessons taught by intern teachers or their mentors. In general, the observations indicated that the majority of students got limited practice opportunities during game play. A close look at the data revealed an interesting…

Students' different perceptions of task values influence their learning experience and achievement in physical education. Framed using the subjective task value construct, this study was conducted to determine the extent to which male and female Chinese middle schoolers with different body sizes differed in their perception of the task values. A…

Successful teachers strive to ensure that their students learn to their maximum abilities. Is action research a valuable way for graduate students to review their effectiveness as teachers? Do students learn more through varied teaching strategies and techniques? The authors examined graduate students' perceptions of action research projects…

Exergames (active video games that require kinesthetic movement) played in proximity to other players or against a gaming machine have been linked to positive increases in cognitive functioning. This study tested to see if remote exergame play over the Internet had an impact similar to exergames that are played in proximity. The study shows that…

Limited research has investigated the problems encountered by physical education teachers who have disabilities and instruct able-bodied pupils. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a physical education teacher's disability on middle school pupils' perceptions of the teacher's competence and their learning. Participants were…

Background: At school, physical education (PE) teachers and coaches may be key supports for physical activity. Unfortunately, PE teachers may endorse negative stereotypes and attitudes toward overweight youth. These biases may influence the amount of instruction physical educators provide to students and their participation in PE or other physical…

This study used hegemonic masculinity theory to examine the intersection of masculinities and school physical education from the perspectives of boys who embodied masculinities that were marginalized. Over a 13-week period using present-focused, student-centered, qualitative methodological approaches, we observed, interviewed, and worked in small…

Background: The ecology of physical education is created through the interaction of three task systems: managerial task system, instructional task system, and the student social system. Within the ecological framework tasks are presented and task development is influenced by concepts such as ambiguity, risk, and accountability. Teachers' and…

Background: Many of the issues relating to game performance of students found in the physical education literature can be considered a failure of generalization from practices to games, and from games to games. However, no study in secondary physical education has examined generalization effects as a result of effective game pedagogy in the…

The purpose of this study was to validate physical activity time in middle school physical education as measured by pedometers in relation to a criterion measure, namely, students' accelerometer determined moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Participants were 155 sixth to eighth graders participating in regularly scheduled physical…

This article describes comparative case studies of 2 of 12 veteran middle school physical education teachers participating in the Assessment Initiative for Middle School Physical Education (AIMS-PE), a reform-based teacher development project. The goals of the project were to help teachers examine and reframe their assessment practices and to…

US teens are having sex early; however, the vast majority of schools do not implement evidence-based sexual health education (SHE) programs that could delay sexual behavior and/or reduce risky behavior. This study examines middle school staff's knowledge, attitudes, barriers, self-efficacy, and perceived support (psychosocial factors known to…

The purpose of this action research study was to better understand and improve my efforts as a Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) instructor to transform the attitudes, beliefs, and understandings of preservice teachers (PSTs) with regard to issues of social justice, specifically by achieving equality by providing opportunities and…

This report provides updated results from one of the most comprehensive studies of health-related policies and practices in U.S. public middle and high schools to date, which was released in August 2011. The major findings and trends presented in this report describe issues relevant to childhood obesity for four school years, from 2006-07 to…

The purpose of this study was to determine if students' heart rate outcomes in physical education varied as a function of activity and grade. A total of 146 sixth to eighth graders participated in different activities (i.e., walking/jogging, line dancing, soccer, and catch ball). Their average heart rate (AHR) and percentage of time in and above…