In Finnish secondary schools, girls and boys are taught physical education (PE) in separate groups. A male teacher normally teaches the boys and a female teacher teaches the girls. Focusing on PE teachers' comments in two different ethnographic studies of seventh graders (13-14-year-olds), we examine the processes that reproduce or challenge the…

The aim of this phenomenographic study was to identify student teachers' ways of experiencing the teaching of health education, and to determine the aspects that are educationally critical in gaining a deeper understanding of the teaching. Qualitative data (written essays, semi-structured interviews) were gathered twice during health education…

The aim of the study was to examine the impact of a self-determined motivational climate including support of autonomy, relatedness, task involvement, and ego-involving climate on students' affective responses and effort in physical education. The sample involved 338 sixth-grade students (11-12 years old) who completed a questionnaire battery…

While physical activity is beneficial for youth with developmental disabilities, little is known about those individuals' fitness profile and levels of activity. Therefore the purpose of this study was to investigate the physical fitness profile and physical activity level of 30 adolescents with and without Asperger syndrome (AS). Evaluations were…

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between motivational climate, perceived competence, self-determined motivation towards physical education (PE) and the fundamental movement skills of Finnish secondary school students. A sample of 370 seventh-grade PE students (girls n = 189; boys n = 181; mean age = 13.08; SD = 0.25)…

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between situational and contextual self-determined motivation and physical activity intensity as measured by heart rates during a ninth-grade students' physical education (PE) class. The participants of the study were 139 Finnish ninth-grade students (15-year-olds). The data were collected…

Dance embraces the entire globe. Universities offer world dance classes to expose students to various styles and educators travel to different countries to experience how dance is viewed, performed, and taught in different cultures. In this article nine dance educators share their experiences of teaching and observing dance abroad. These accounts…

The author describes the organization of physical education in the schools of Finland as he found it on a recent trip there from the Soviet Union. (JH)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate meanings attached to physical education in the Scandinavian countries through (1) the different national syllabi; and (2) interpretations and conclusions researchers make in their studies of Scandinavian physical education and how these findings look like compared with other researchers'…

Finland gives a high priority to the importance of physical activity as a means to health and fitness. The curriculum in elementary and secondary schools is outlined, and the preparation of physical education teachers, coaches, and sports instructors is described. (MT)

The organization, functions, and work of the Research Institute of Physical Culture and Health, and the Research Unit for Sport and Physical Fitness, both functioning at the premises of the Foundation of Physical Culture and Health in Jyvaskyla, Finland, are discussed. Research papers which have been presented at international congresses during…

Reports the development and validation of video-based game-understanding tests in badminton for elementary and secondary students. The tests included different sequences that simulated actual game situations. Players had to solve tactical problems by selecting appropriate solutions and arguments for their decisions. Results suggest that the test…

The study investigated the effectiveness of a school-based movement programme for a population of 5 to 7 year old children. Performance profiles on the Movement ABC were used to classify the children and to assess skill changes over time. Children were assigned to four different groups: motor learning difficulty (n = 10), borderline motor learning…

The organization, functions, and work of the Research Institute of Physical Culture and Health, and the Research Unit for Sport and Physical Fitness, both functioning at the premises of the Foundation of Physical Culture and Health in Jyvaskyla, Finland, are discussed. Research papers which have been presented at international congresses during…

The organization, functions, and work of the Research Institute of Physical Culture and Health, and the Research Unit for Sport and Physical Fitness, both functioning at the premises of the Foundatlon of Physical Culture and Health in Jyvaskyla, Finland, are discussed. Research papers which have been presented at international congresses during…