A central goal of physical education (PE) is to empower students to be physically active in a health-enhancing way. Therefore, using a competence-based approach, the objective of the health- and fitness-related PE intervention 'Promotion of physical activity-related health competence in PE' (GEKOS) was to address practical and theoretical content…

The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which practicum teaching could lead to value orientation change of preservice physical education teachers. A group of preservice physical education teachers (N = 28) in China were randomly assigned to practicum-teach either a health-related fitness unit or a traditional sport unit. Their…

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.…

Physical activity and cardiorespiratory endurance have both been shown to associate with academic achievement; however, there is a paucity of work examining mediating effects. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cardiorespiratory endurance and mathematics performance using school day physical activity as a mediator.…

Purpose: This study aims to (a) examine elementary school students' health-related fitness knowledge growth under one curriculum condition and (b) examine the impacts of student/school-level factors on health-related fitness knowledge and its growth rate in physical education. Method: We used an observational, longitudinal repeated-measures…

The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of what impacts physical education teachers in their curriculum decision-making and how the activities chosen relate to what their students are interested in. Teachers (N = 76) and students (N = 258) from 12 purposely selected secondary schools located in a large school district in the United…

Physical education (PE) is a frequent site of public health intervention to promote physical activity (PA); however, intervention research frequently overlooks the perspective of PE teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore teachers' experiences with and perceptions of a PA curriculum intervention. Six findings within three…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to capture students' essential knowledge and behaviors concerning active living. Methods: Students (N = 1,079) from elementary, middle, and high schools in the United States reported their knowledge of physical activity and fitness (PAF knowledge), and physical activity and sedentary behavior using…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between measures of students' physical well-being and self-perception and their academic achievement. Specifically, we look at students' social support for physical activity, physical activity perceptions, self-concept, self-efficacy, health behaviors, and cardiorespiratory fitness (as measured…

Despite consensus that physical fitness (PF) plays an important role in promoting mental health and academic achievement, little is known regarding the mechanisms by which this effect works. Blair, Cheng, and Holder (2001) proposed a conceptual model to identify the behavioral mechanism of health outcomes, in which both health-related PF and…

As a society the growth in working with students with disabilities in schools has improved immensely, although there is a long way to go. Inclusion, integration and mainstreaming have continued to be hot topics in education in regard to students with disabilities. The purpose of this article is to discuss simple ways to ensure that your class is…

The term "physical literacy" has been embraced by a number of different countries around the world. Although the concept has regained momentum over the past few decades, little has been written about specific activities that may assist in providing the foundation for physical literacy as a life-long journey. This article introduces…

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify gender and body weight differences in Chinese adolescents' perceived expectancy value (EV) motivation in their physical education (PE) class. The study also explored the relationship between EV and adolescents' health-related fitness performances. Method: A group of seventh and eighth graders (N =…

Purpose: To examine the relationship between the South Carolina middle school physical education assessment results and the school characteristics. In addition, the relationship between teacher training attendance and student achievement were determined. Method: Student performance on four physical education indicators in 63 middle schools (and…

This study examined the effects of using "Physical Best" lessons to promote adolescent energy balance knowledge and task values. Seventh graders (N = 90) were randomly assigned to the experiment and the comparison groups. The experiment group took 10 selected "Physical Best" lessons, while the comparison experienced 10 district…