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A major challenge in public health research on physical activity is in reconciling the commonly observed differences between estimates provided by monitor-based methods and report-based methods. Calibration methods are widely used in measurement research to rescale or convert an estimate so that it matches a more robust criterion value. Accelerometry-based activity monitors are routinely calibrated against more robust estimates of indirect calorimetry, but surprisingly little research is done to calibrate report-based estimates. The purpose of the paper was to document the utility of calibration methods for harmonizing estimates from report-based measures to correspond with data from monitor-based methods. While there are also limitations associated with monitor-based methods, this procedure provides a systematic way to promote harmonization of estimates obtained from these different methods. This enables the more feasible report-based measures to provide more accurate group-level estimates of physical activity for different research applications.

The U.S. Latino population is growing rapidly, and Latino preschool children have the highest rates of obesity compared with their other racial/ethnic counterparts. Physical activity is associated with improved health outcomes in young children, and Latino preschool children’s physical activity is strongly correlated with parental physical activity levels. Physical activity interventions, especially those with a parent component, are particularly well suited for Latino preschool children and may help address this disparity. The author reviewed seven intervention studies and three protocol studies that targeted Latino preschool children and included a parent intervention component and physical activity as outcome variables. An interpretation of the findings of these studies, as well as critical questions for research and policy, are discussed.

Peer evaluation of scholarly publications and faculty research agendas is an important responsibility of kinesiology faculty and administrators. These expert disciplinary judgments can be supplemented by the careful use of relevant publication- and scholar-specific bibliometric data. This paper summarizes the misuse of journal-level bibliometrics and the research on more relevant publication- or scholar-specific bibliometrics. Recommendations and examples are presented for use of publication- and scholar-specific metrics as supplementary data for peer evaluation of research in kinesiology. Faculty who are knowledgeable about the meaning and limitations of bibliometrics may effectively use these tools to support judgments and check for potential bias in peer evaluations of research for appointment, tenure, promotion, and awards.

The authors review some of the most innovative and impactful developments in the field of motor behavior over the last 10–15 years, using citation reports from some of the most prominent journals in the field, as well as relying on subjective opinion from leading academic experts to identify notable contributions to knowledge generation in this broad and increasingly dynamic field of research. They delimit the scope of this task by focusing their efforts on three specific theme areas of study, notably, perceptual–cognitive expertise, motor learning, and motor control. In looking back over the last decade or so, they attempt to provide some direction by highlighting avenues for future research. Their hope is that over the next few decades these research theme areas will have even greater influence and translational impact on quality of life in many aspects of society, including sport and various clinical domains.

Perceptions of physical competence and intrinsic joy have been identified as 2 of the primary correlates and even predictors of physical activity and sedentary behavior for individuals of all ages. Developmental theories of competence motivation suggest that such self-perceptions may have their origins in the early childhood years and are formed on the basis of a whole range of social and environmental factors. However, it is likely that the primary influence during this early time period may be the attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors of significant adults with whom the child interacts. This paper identifies and discusses 3 ways in which important adults can exert an influence on young children’s perceptions of competence and intrinsic joy and, correspondingly, on their levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior. The paper ends with some recommendations for future research.

Movement is how we explore our environment—an array of motor behaviors and a degree of skillfulness are required for individuals to move, function, and survive. Metaphorically speaking, Janus, the ancient Roman god, has two faces, one facing into the past and one to the future. Before engaging in future scientific endeavors, researchers should reflect on the historical work in their field to help shape future inquiry. As we continue into the 21st century, motor development research must continue its commitment to conduct translational research in practice while engaging in impactful interdisciplinary research. Areas that warrant future exploration include (a) addressing the motoric needs of special populations; (b) understanding what occurs in the brain during movement—brain–behavior interaction; (c) discovering how our environment affects motor behaviors—gene–environment interaction; (d) exploring the effect of movement across the life span and on various aspects of health—developmental health outcomes; and (e) being cognizant of research design and measurements. Many questions remain to be answered, but motor development is a field with a bright future that awaits discovery.

This paper summarizes a keynote presentation the author gave in 2017 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) focused on the decade of research in motor development between 2007 and 2017. It was organized around an agenda for the future proposed by Thelen in the year 2000, which included 6 themes: multimodal perception and action, formal models and robotics, embodied cognition, neural bases of motor skill development, learning and plasticity, and cultural and individual differences. The author also covers an impactful area of research on the links between motor competence and physical activity and health-related fitness. Important discoveries between 2007 and 2017 have reinforced the idea that motor development makes a fundamental contribution to virtually every domain of development.