Children's after-school activity : associations with weight status and family circumstance

This study investigated children's after-school activity and associations with body mass index (BMI) and family circumstance. One thousand two hundred thirty-four parents and 854 children (age 8-13 years) completed activity diaries for the 2 hours after school. Parents reported children as more active than children reported themselves. Boys were reported to be more active than girls. Activity levels were generally not associated with BMI or family circumstance with the exception of cultural background. Parent-reported mean child METs were higher for mothers born in Australia (3.3 vs. 3.0; p = .02). Child-reported mean METs were higher for fathers born in Australia (2.9 vs. 2.6; p = .04) and where English was their main language (2.9 vs. 2.3, p = .003).

Weighing it up : thinking about the implications of school based obesity prevention initiatives

In this paper we explore the tensions that exist between two health promotion discourses prevalent in school based Health Education. We use one example from a widely used curriculum resource and one classroom episode to explore discourses related to obesity prevention, often described as an obesity epidemic by media and health professionals alike. Our argument is that these discourses work to produce the 'unhealthy other' that everyone is then in danger of becoming and in the process produce moral judgements and reinforce stereotypes about overweight and obese people. In so doing they run counter to health education and other discourses that seek to promote self-esteem and body acceptance in students no matter what their shape and size.

Are parental concerns about children's inactivity warranted, and are they associated with a supportive home environment?

This paper explores parental concern about children's activity levels and whether parents who are concerned about their child's activity provide a supportive environment, a sample of 615 parents of 5-6-year-old children and 947 parents of 10-12-year-old children completed a questionnaire. Just over 50% of parents reported they were concerned their child was not getting enough activity. Children of concerned parents were less active than those whose parents were not concerned. These findings suggest that parents who are concerned about their child's physical activity levels provided a less supportive environment for physical activity than parents who are not concerned. The challenge for public health will be to harness parental concerns and translate them into action.

An integrated approach to coaching athletes

This paper discusses an integrated approach to coaching athletes, which focuses on adapting coaching methods to individual learning style, and developing a tactical awareness of how to play the game alongside technique. An Integrated Coaching Model is proposed that links the cyclical model of experiential learning (Kolb, 1984), the 4MAT System (McCarthy, 1980), and TGfU (Bunker & Thorpe, 1982). Alternative approaches to teaching sport and physical education have been proposed; in particular, discussion in the coaching and physical education literature has debated the merits of tactical versus technical approaches, as opposite ends of a continuum. More recently, a number of authors have indicated that this argument is limited, as learning is complex and varied and should not be reduced to a linear model.

Key aspects of successful coaching are that the players have the ability to make successful decisions on the field and to increase a player’s self-awareness of both technical and tactical game aspects. This discussion of an integrated approach involves playing games, emphasises active involvement, considers player’s learning styles, and encourages democratic decision-making.

The lifestyle of our kids (LOOK) project : outline of methods

This methods paper outlines the overall design of a community-based multidisciplinary longitudinal study with the intent to stimulate interest and communication from scientists and practitioners studying the role of physical activity in preventive medicine. In adults, lack of regular exercise is a major risk factor in the development of chronic degenerative diseases and is a major contributor to obesity, and now we have evidence that many of our children are not sufficiently active to prevent early symptoms of chronic disease. The lifestyle of our kids (LOOK) study investigates how early physical activity contributes to health and development, utilizing a longitudinal design and a cohort of eight hundred and thirty 7–8-year-old (grade 2) school children followed to age 11–12 years (grade 6), their average family income being very close to that of Australia. We will test two hypotheses, that (a) the quantity and quality of physical activity undertaken by primary school children will influence their psychological and physical health and development; (b) compared with existing practices in primary schools, a physical education program administered by visiting specialists will enhance health and development, and lead to a more positive perception of physical activity. To test the first hypothesis we will monitor all children longitudinally over the 4 years. To test the second we will involve an intervention group of 430 children who receive two 50 min physical education classes every week from visiting specialists and a control group of 400 who continue with their usual primary school physical education with their class-room teachers. At the end of grades 2, 4, and 6 we will measure several areas of health and development including blood risk factors for chronic disease, cardiovascular structure and function, physical fitness, psychological characteristics and perceptions of physical activity, bone structure and strength, motor control, body composition, nutritional intake, influence of teachers and family, and academic performance.

Primary school teacher perceived self-efficacy to teach fundamental motor skills

Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) are a part of the school curricula, yet many Australian primary-age children are not mastering FMS. One reason may be a lack of perceived self-efficacy of primary teachers to teach FMS. This study investigated the level of perceived self-efficacy of primary school teachers to teach FMS in Victoria, Australia. A cross-sectional survey, based on the Victorian Institute of Teaching Standards of Professional Practice, was used to sample sixty-five pre-service and forty-six in-service teachers. Most primary school teachers were self-efficacious in teaching FMS (67.59 per cent); almost one-third (32.41 per cent) were not. Male teachers had higher perceived self-efficacy than female teachers, and a positive relationship was found between perceived self-efficacy to teach FMS and interest in, and participation in, physical activity (r = 0.52 and r = 0.31 respectively). Implications for practice include providing FMS teaching resources and professional training. Further research should explore the effect of perceived self-efficacy on teaching performance.

Internal and external imagery perspective measurement and use in imagining open and closed sport skills: an exploratory study

This study explored the measurement and use of internal and external imagery perspectives during imagery of open and closed sports skills. Participants  (N=41; male=23; female = 18), ages 14 to 28 (M=19.4 yr.; sD=3.1), who were recruited from undergraduate classes in human movement and physical education, and local sporting teams, completed the Imagery Use Questionnaire and then imagined performing eight common sports skills, four open skills and four closed skills, in a random order. Participants provided concurrent verbalisation during their imagery. Immediately after imagining each skill, participants completed a rating scale and retrospective verbalisation of imagery perspective use. Analysis indicated that the questionnaire gave a general imagery perspective preference but was not a strong predictor of imagery used on specific occasions. The three measures of imagery perspective were equivalent in imagining performing particular skills. Participants experienced more internal imagery than external imagery while imagining the eight sports skills, but there was no significant difference between perspective use on the open and closed skills.

Sporting clubs, alcohol and young people : enduring tensions and emerging possibilities

This paper examines data from a research project that investigated the cultural drivers of drinking in 14-24 year-old Australians, funded by Drinkwise Australia and the Department of Health and Ageing. At the same time that we were working on this project a moral panic about young people, risk and binge drinking had once more energised public debate. Prominent here was the highly politicised imputation of a strategic taxation levy on ready to drink products (alcopopos). This qualitative, interview-based project examined two separate but related aspects of young people's alcohol use: the roles played by sporting clubs, as community hubs, in shaping young people's use of alcohol: and young people's drinking biographies over different phases of their lives. This paper will focus on the sporting club study to discuss issues related to the positioning and serving of alcohol in the relation to young people. As part of the study, we conducted interviews with club administrators and young people in a range of sporting clubs. Insights from the study give rise to the potential for clubs to play an active and influential role in helping young people create positive/responsible approaches to alcohol consumption.

Fundamental movement skills - How do primary school children perform? The 'Move it Groove it' program in rural Australia

Child Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) underpin active lifestyles yet little is known of their distribution and mastery.

‘Move it Groove it’ project rated proficiency of primary school children (n=1045, 18 schools) in skills of balance, throw, catch, sprint, hop, kick, side gallop and jump. Rating categories were ‘mastery’, ‘near mastery’ or ‘poor’ (ie mastered all, all but one, or less of the five to six components of an FMS).

Less than half of all child tests were rated at mastery (21.3%) or near mastery (25.7%) level. In grade three, 75.4% of children achieved mastery or near mastery (MNM) in static balance but less than half did so for any other FMS. In grade four, 59.0% achieved MNM in the side gallop and 56.0% in the catch but less than half did so for any other FMS.

Although the highest percent mastery for both genders was for the balance, the skills best performed thereafter by boys (throw and kick) rated poorest for girls. Conversely the hop and side gallop which rated, after balance, as the skills best mastered by girls, were among the more poorly performed skills for boys.

The low prevalence of FMS mastery found in this survey suggests that there may be great potential to improve fundamental movement skills of primary aged children in many parts of rural Australia. Even if the aim were for children to achieve near mastery levels, the improvement could be substantial in every skill category. Where appropriate, gender differences in mastery might easily be addressed by tailored physical education programs and modification of social and physical environments.

Contemporary PE reform in China : teachers' talk

Among the many changes occurring across Chinese society in the early phase of Y2K is the construction and implementation of a new physical education (PE) curriculum. Not unlike recent changes in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, this process has seen a heightening of the profile of health. Presented within a wider framework for making the school curriculum more relevant, PE is more closely aligned with China's emerging health concerns around young people. Foremost here are burgeoning social anxieties about decreased levels of physical activity, dietary practices, risk-taking tendencies, and a general decline of social cohesion/connection across the profile of contemporary youth. This paper reports on a study undertaken to explore the experiences of Chinese PE teachers as they engage with the new curriculum.

The data reveals a number of structural, personal and cultural factors that work against teachers taking up the opportunities presented in the new curriculum. Prominent here are; low professional status, an expanding generation gap, lack of training and the grip of deeply rooted cultural values. Juxtaposed against the like experiences of PE teachers in Australia and the UK the paper concludes with practical recommendations for nurturing curriculum change in China.

Developing the whole child? Tensions between sport and study in Australian independent schools

This paper reports on a research project that set out to examin the relationship between students' involvement in school co-curricular activities and their academic performance.  The warrant for the study emerges out of consistent claims made about the provision of co-curricular, naming sporting, activities and the development of a more rounded and successful student.  The primary question being asked here was: 'Are student's academic performances, as measured by their results for tertiary entrance in their final year of school, improved or reduced by their participation in co-curricular activities?'  The study used a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to interrogate this relationship.