Assessment of physical activity among primary school aged children: the Children's Leisure Activities Study (CLASS)

Overweight and obesity rates among children in Australia have increased twofold in the last decade. Physical activity is thought to play an important role in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity. Children's physical activity data in Australia are incomplete and mainly based on parental proxy reports. One of the reasons for the lack of children's physical activity prevalence data in Australia is the difficulties of measurement. The aim of this study was to develop and examine a reliable, valid and feasible method for assessing physical activity among primary school aged children. A total of 112 grade 5 and 6 children and their parents were recruited from four state primary schools in the eastern and western suburbs of Melbourne. The test-retest reliability of a parental proxy physical activity questionnaire and a children's self report physical activity questionnaire was assessed. The criterion validity of the questionnaires was assessed using accelerometry. Findings suggest that the self report and proxy report questionnaires provided reliable measures of the type, frequency and duration of children's physical activity behaviour. Overall, the criterion validity of the questionnaires was poor. Although accelerometry as an objective measure shows promise, it does not provide the important physical activity behavioural and contextual information that is critical for the development of strategies to promote physical activity among children. We recommend that a combination of self report or proxy and objective measurement (using accelerometry or even pedometry) appears to be the current 'best buy' in the assessment of children's physical activity behaviour.

Educating teachers in child protection : lessons from research

This paper examines research about child protection preparation of teachers. Such research indicates that the nature of the training required to "do the public good" would differ markedly from that which is currently on offer in most teacher education courses. Whilst teachers have the potential to operate as frontline respondents in combating child abuse, the limitations of their training create a situation in which they are "worried, lacking in confidence and stressed about their ability to comply with mandatory reporting legislation" (Bluett, 2002). The consequences to the community are substantial: not only are there disincentives for teachers to participate in child protection roles and the increased likelihood of poor quality reporting, but children subjected to abuse may be unable to access protective services via the school system. The paper distills the findings of recent studies to identify design parameters for effective teacher preparation in child protection. The paper concludes that a program informed by research has the potential to produce enhanced outcomes for children, teachers and the broader community.

Pretend play, social competence and involvement in children aged 5-7 years : the concurrent validity of the child-initiated pretend play assessment

Background and aims: The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between pretend play, social competence and involvement in school-based activities in children aged 5–7 years and to determine whether children's social competence and level of involvement could be inferred from their scores on the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment.
Procedure: The pretend play skills of 41 primary school-aged children aged 5–7 years were assessed on a one-on-one basis. Classroom teachers of the children assessed the children's social competence using the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale and their involvement in school based activities using the Leuven Involvement Scale for Young Children.
Main findings: Significant positive relationships were found between elaborate pretend play and object substitution scores, involvement scores and peer play interaction scores (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). A significant negative relationship was found between elaborate pretend play scores, and social disconnection and social disruption scores (P < 0.05). Play deficit indicators were significantly negatively related to involvement scores (P < 0.01). This suggests that children with proficient pretend play skills are socially competent with peers and are able to engage in classroom activity. Children who scored poorly on the play assessment were more likely to have difficulty interacting with their peers and engaging in school activities.
Conclusion: Social competence and involvement skills are related to a child's ability to engage in pretend play. A child's social skills and ability to engage in school activities as assessed by teachers can be inferred from their scores on the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment.

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).

Discrepancy between expected and actual child support payments : predicting the health and health-related quality of life of children living in low-income, single-parent families

Objective Although the amount and frequency of child support payments received by single parents are often erratic and fluctuate, no study to date has quantitatively explored how the discrepancy between expected and actual payments relates to child health. This study aims to examine whether the discrepancy between expected and actual child support payments predicts a range of child health outcomes, including global health, health-related quality of life, involvement in activities and parental psychological distress.

Methods This study used results from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, which included a sample of parents of children aged 4–5 years (n = 4983). The questionnaire was completed by the parent who spent the most time with the child and knew the child best. From the 4983 families, 332 low-income single parents reliant on welfare with a formal or informal child support order in place were identified.

Results After controlling for income, the discrepancy between expected and actual child support predicted school functioning, conduct problems, total mental health problems and involvement in activities. Discrepancy between expected and actual child support payments did not predict the remaining health-related quality of life domains, mental health domains, global child health or parental psychosocial distress.

Conclusion This was the first study to examine how the discrepancy between expected and actual child support payments relates to child health, providing important data on the effectiveness of the child support system for children's well-being. These findings highlight the potential impact of the discrepancy on school functioning, conduct problems, total mental health problems and involvement in activities.

A cross-cultural examination of barriers to social inclusion for children : a qualitative study using child-centred methods

Social exclusion is a risk factor for mental health problems. This study aims to identify the factors that contribute to social exclusion for children from several cultural backgrounds, living in low-socioeconomic status (SES) areas. Children from English, Chinese and Arabic speaking backgrounds participated in semi-structured interviews. They were asked questions around three prominent themes of social exclusion: exclusion from school, social activities and social networks. Children from English and Chinese speaking backgrounds experienced exclusion at school, from social activities or in social networks. The major barriers to social inclusion, which differed across cultural groups, included bullying, time constraints, economic resources and parental permission. Although money is a barrier to social inclusion, there are several other barriers that need to be considered, such as bullying, time and parental permission, and they may differ by culture. Mental health promotion programmes in schools and communities need to address these barriers in a culturally appropriate manner.

The impact of childhood conditions and concurrent morbidities on child health and well-being

Background. Understanding the impact of illnesses and morbidities experienced by children and adolescents is essential to clinical and population health programme decision making and intervention research. This study sought to: (1) examine the population prevalence of physical and mental health conditions for children and quantify their impact on multiple dimensions of children's health and well-being; and (2) examine the cumulative effect of concurrent conditions.

Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional school-based epidemiological study of 5414 children and adolescents aged 5–18 years, and examined parental reports of child health and well-being using the parent-report Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ) PF50 13 scales are scored on a 0–100 pt scale with clinically meaningful differences of five points and the presence of childhood conditions (illnesses and health problems).

Results. Asthma, dental, vision and allergies are the most commonly identified health problems for children and adolescents, followed by attention- and behaviour-related problems (asthma 17.9–23.2%, dental 11.9–22.7%, vision 7.2–14.7%, chronic allergies 8.8–13.9%, attention problems 5.1–13.8% and behaviour problems 5.7–12.0%). As the number of concurrent health problems increase, overall health and well-being decreases substantively with mean differences in CHQ scale scores of 14 points (−7.69 to −21.51) for physical health conditions, and 28 points (−5.15 to −33.81) for mental health conditions.

Conclusions. Children's health and well-being decreases linearly with increasing presence and frequency of health problems. Having three or more conditions concurrently significantly burdens children's health and well-being, particularly for family-related CHQ domains, with a greater burden experienced for mental health conditions than physical health conditions.

Predictors of body mass index change in Australian primary school children

Objective. To assess associations between multiple potential predictors and change in child body mass index (BMI). Methods.In the 1997 Health of Young Victorians Study, children in Grades preparatory to three (aged 510 years) had their height and weight measured. Parents provided information on potential predictors of childhood overweight across six domains (children’s diet, children’s activity level, family composition, sociodemographic factors, prenatal factors and parental adiposity). Measures were repeated three years later in 2000/1. BMI was transformed to standardised (z) scores using the US 2000 Growth Chart data and children were classified as non-overweight or overweight according to international cutpoints.Regression analyses, including baseline BMI z-score as a covariate, assessed the contribution of each potential predictor to change in BMI z-score, development of overweight and spontaneous resolution of overweight in 1 373 children.Results. BMI z-score change was positively associated with frequency of take-away food, food quantity, total weekly screen time, non-Australian paternal country of birth, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and maternal and paternal BMI.Inverse associations were noted for the presence of siblings and rural residence (all pB0.05). Predictors of categorical change (development and resolution of overweight) were less clearly identified, apart from an association between maternal BMI and overweight development (p0.02). Multivariable models suggested individual determinants have a cumulative effect on BMI change. Conclusions. Strong short-term tracking of BMI makes it difficult to identify predictors of change. Nonetheless, putative determinants across all domains assessed were independently associated with adiposity change. Multi-faceted solutions are likely to be required to successfully deal with the complexities of childhood overweight.

Providing sporting experiences for children in Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) environments : sport and physical activity participation and intentions

The Out of School Hours Sports Program (OSHSP) aimed to provide structured sporting experiences and community links to local clubs for children in Out of School Hours Care (OSHC). The OSHSP involved 17 State Sporting Associations (SSAs), 71 OSHC Services and local club representatives. This study explored children's participation in sport in and outside the OSHSP and parental intention for participation in sport in and outside the OSHSP. Surveys were received from 211 children (76 girls and 125 boys; mean age = 7.9 years, S.D. = 1.7) and their parents/guardians (37.9% response rate). OSHC is characterised by freedom of choice of participation in activities by children. The OSHSP was used to provide an opportunity to choose to participate in a sport while attending OSHC. At the OSHC Services surveyed, between 7.1 and 100% of the children attending OSHC chose to participate in the OSHSP. Of those children who chose to participate, 85% were participating in a sport, usually a different sport to the one offered in the OSHSP. This participation was largely club-based (49.8%), most often once a week for training and competition (55.2%). Parental intentions for children's participation in the OSHSP sports varied with respect to the number of years attending the OSHSP, where children played and trained in their main sport, and how many times a week a child played and trained in their main sport. Older children tended to play and train for sport more times per week and had been attending the OSHC for more years than younger children.

Can we skill and activate children through primary school physical education lessons? "Move it Groove it" - a collaborative health promotion intervention

Background: Physical education (PE) lessons are an ideal setting to improve child fundamental movement skills (FMSs) and increase physical activity (PA) for optimal health. Despite this, few studies have assessed the potential to do both simultaneously. The “Move It Groove It” primary school intervention in New South Wales, Australia, had this opportunity.

Methods: A whole school approach to implementation included establishment of school project teams, a teacher “buddy” system, project Web site, teacher training workshops, and small grants for equipment. The quasi-experimental evaluation involved 1,045 year 3 and 4 children (aged 7 to 10 years) in nine intervention and nine control rural primary schools (53% boys/47% girls). It utilised pre- and postobservational surveys of (1) mastery or near mastery levels for each of eight FMSs, (2) proportion of PE lesson time spent in moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and vigorous PA (VPA), and (3) teacher- and lesson-related contextual covariates. Data were analysed by hierarchical logistic multiple regression.

Results: For FMSs, overall mastery or near mastery level at baseline was 47% ranging from 22.7% for the overarm throw among girls to 75.4% for the static balance among boys. The intervention delivered substantial improvements in every FMS for both genders ranging from 7.2% to 25.7% (13 of 16 comparisons were significant). For PA level, mean MVPA at baseline was 34.7%. Baseline MVPA for boys was 38.7% and for girls was 33.2%. The intervention was associated with a nonsignificant 4.5% increase in MVPA and a significant 3.0% increase in VPA. This translates to a gain of <1 minute of MVPA per average 21-minute lesson.

Conclusions: This is the first study to show that by modifying existing PE lessons, significant improvements in FMS mastery can be gained without adversely affecting children’s MVPA and VPA. To increase PA levels, we recommend increasing the number of PE lessons per week.

Active school playgrounds - myth or reality? Results of the "Move It Groove It" project

Background: School playgrounds during break times provide potential opportunities for children to be active during the school day. However, there is limited research on how active children really are during these breaks.

Methods: The CAST (Children's Activity Scanning Tool) instrument was developed, validated, and used to assess the percentages of children engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA—a subset of MVPA) in 18 primary schools (children ages 5–12) in rural Australia. Related environmental factors were also measured.

Results: For a school of median size (200 students), 51.4% of boys and 41.6% of girls were engaged in MVPA while 14.7% of boys and 9.4% of girls were engaged in VPA. Levels of engagement in MVPA and VPA were significantly higher during lunch periods than during recess. MVPA and VPA engagement in smaller schools was significantly higher than in larger schools.

Conclusions: With growing concern about children's physical activity (PA), school playgrounds offer an opportunity to increase children's MVPA engagement especially among girls. Consideration may be given to the lengthening of recess periods in order to increase PA levels. More research is needed to investigate factors affecting PA levels in larger schools.

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.

Getting the complete picture : combining parental and child data to identify the barriers to social inclusion for children living in low socio-economic areas

Background: Childhood mental health problems are prevalent in Australian children (14–20%). Social exclusion is a risk factor for mental health problems, whereas being socially included can have protective effects. This study aims to identify the barriers to social inclusion for children aged 9–12 years living in low socio-economic status (SES) areas, using both child-report and parent-report interviews.

Methods: Australian-born English-speaking parents and children aged 9–12 years were sampled from a low SES area to participate in semi-structured interviews. Parents and children were asked questions around three prominent themes of social exclusion; exclusion from school, social activities and social networks.

Results: Many children experienced social exclusion at school, from social activities or within social networks. Overall, nine key barriers to social inclusion were identified through parent and child interviews, such as inability to attend school camps and participate in school activities, bullying and being left out, time and transport constraints, financial constraints and safety and traffic concerns. Parents and children often identified different barriers.

Discussion: There are several barriers to social inclusion for children living in low SES communities, many of which can be used to facilitate mental health promotion programmes. Given that parents and children may report different barriers, it is important to seek both perspectives.

Conclusion: This study strengthens the evidence base for the investments and action required to bring about the conditions for social inclusion for children living in low SES communities.

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.

Calculators, mathematics and young children : a study of six children using calculators as part of the mathematics curriculum during their first two years of school

The thesis investigates the role a calculator can play in the developing number knowledge of three girls and three boys as part of their mathematics program, during their first two years at primary school. Random sampling was used initially to select six girls and six boys from the twenty-four children entering a 1993 prep class. These twelve children were interviewed on entrance to school and based on the performance of the twelve children on the initial interview, a girl and a boy were chosen from the higher, middle and lower achievers to take part in the full study. The class teachers involved were previously participants in the ‘Calculators in Primary Mathematics’ research program and were committed to the use of calculators in their mathematics program. A case study approach using qualitative methods within the activity theory framework is used to collect relevant data and information, an analysis of five interviews with each child and observations of the children in forty-one classroom lessons provides comprehensive data on the children's developing number knowledge during the two years. The analysis questionnaires establishes each teacher's perceptions of the children's number learning at the beginning and end of each year, compares teacher expectations with children's actual performance for the year and compares curriculum expectations with children's actual performance. A teacher interview established reasons for changes in teaching style; teacher expectations; children's number learning; and was used to confirm my research findings. An activity theory framework provides an appropriate means of co-coordinating perspectives within this research to enable a description of the child's number learning within a social environment. This framework allows for highlighting the mediation offered by the calculator supporting the children's number learning in the classroom. Levels of children's developing number knowledge reached when working with a calculator and as a result of calculator use are mapped against the levels recommended in ‘Mathematics in the National Curriculum’ (National Curriculum Council, December 1988), and the Curriculum and Standards Framework: Mathematics (Board of Studies 2000). Findings from this comparison illustrate that the six children's performance in number was enhanced when using a calculator and indicate that on-going development and understanding of number concepts occurred at levels of performance at least two years in advance of curriculum recommendations for the first two years of school.