Over the past decade, enrollment in the exercise science graduate program at Texas State University has shown consistent growth. However, the program’s level of diversity has been low, as indicated by the college’s equity audit report. In response to the imperative of social justice and equity in the field of kinesiology, this article presents one recruitment strategy and two retention strategies aimed at fostering inclusivity in the graduate program. The recruitment strategy describes the steps to establish a partnership with Huston-Tillotson University (a historically Black university). This partnership serves as a means to create a pathway for underrepresented students to pursue graduate studies in exercise science. The two retention strategies explain how a peer-mentoring program and alumni connect can be used to foster an inclusive experience for current students and recent graduates and to promote student success and retention. The benefits of each strategy and suggestions to implement the strategies are also described.
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Creating and Retaining an Inclusive Graduate Program in Kinesiology
Ting Liu, Michelle Hamilton, and YuChun Chen
An Equity-Focused Approach to Graduate Student Recruitment and Retention
DeAnne Davis Brooks, Lauren D. Griffin, Teah Rawlings, Rennae W. Stowe, and Dawn Norwood
Kinesiology programs seeking to prepare an inclusive workforce are committed to recruiting and retaining graduate students who represent the demographic diversity of our country, communities, and undergraduate universities. Plans for enhancing diversity, including partnerships between historically Black undergraduate institutions and graduate programs located on predominantly White campuses, must incorporate equity-focused strategies. In this article, four Black women with various experiences as students and faculty at predominantly White institutions and historically Black colleges and universities offer their advice on equity-focused approaches to graduate student recruitment and retention. This article is meant to provide nuanced understandings of the benefits and challenges of such approaches for students and faculty of color.
A Cultural-Equity-Centered Guide to Inclusive Curriculum Change in Higher Education Kinesiology
Brian Culp
Inclusiveness in higher education has received increased attention, as institutions are seeking to be more proactive in meeting the needs of a diverse student body. While university departments have noted inclusive excellence as a goal for their programs, how this is realized is often unclear or difficult to assess. Equally troubling is the scarcity of ideas on how curriculum can be enhanced for transformative change, radical possibility, antiracism, and social justice. This article attempts to rectify these issues by presenting thoughts on curriculum change and program development in higher education kinesiology using a cultural equity approach.
A Resource for Promoting Personal and Social Responsibility in Higher Education: A Call to Action for Kinesiology Departments
Karisa L. Kuipers, Jennifer M. Jacobs, Paul M. Wright, and Kevin Andrew Richards
In recent decades, emphasis on helping postsecondary students develop personal and social responsibility has increased in higher education. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to propose a kinesiology-based model to assist in defining, implementing, and evaluating personal and social responsibility education with postsecondary students. In the paper, a general overview of the higher education landscape as it relates to personal and social responsibility is presented. Then, the teaching personal and social responsibility model is presented as a model that is already familiar in kinesiology and may assist in defining, implementing, and evaluating structures and strategies for promoting personal and social responsibility in higher education. The alignment of this model and the personal and social responsibility priorities of higher education are analyzed. Recommendations for implementing specific strategies and resources associated with the teaching personal and social responsibility model into higher education are shared, and next steps for integrating these resources are acknowledged.
Toward a General Theory of Classroom Teachers’ Movement Integration
Collin A. Webster
The use of regular classroom time during school to increase children’s and adolescents’ daily physical activity—a practice known as movement integration (MI)—has gained substantial traction in research internationally as an evidence-based strategy for enhancing students’ health and academic performance, yet it remains underutilized and largely subject to teachers’ discretion. Understanding and explaining teachers’ use of MI are, therefore, key areas of focus for researchers, teacher educators, and interventionists. Research on MI implementation is informed by multiple theoretical lenses, but the discipline lacks cohesion. The proposed unifying framework in this article coalesces three relevant strands of inquiry: (a) stages of influence on MI, (b) factors of influence on MI, and (c) conceptualizing MI. The framework reflects the burgeoning knowledge base related to MI implementation and is an attempt to advance the field toward a general theory that can more clearly and coherently guide research and professional practice.
Planning and Pedagogical Considerations for Teaching Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder in Physical Education
Andrew Sortwell, Bastian Carter-Thuillier, Ferman Konukman, Kate O’Brien, Soukaina Hattabi, and Kevin Trimble
Around the world, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental condition. It is linked to a wide range of deficiencies across multiple domains, including restrictive and repetitive behaviors that impair interaction or engagement with others. School-aged children with ASD face challenges that make physical activity more difficult. To address challenges associated with ASD, physical education interventions need to be tailored to the child’s needs and abilities. Despite advances in research on children with ASD in physical education, adopting contemporary approaches is yet to be the norm. This review aimed to examine the literature on intervention models to improve the physical activity skills of children with ASD and to suggest practical considerations for delivering an effective physical education program and lessons. The recommendations provided in this review support teachers in applying strategies that maximize meaningful learning opportunities for children with ASD and use effective pedagogies that meet their needs.
Volume 12 (2023): Issue 3 (Aug 2023)
What Is Physical Literacy? An International Review and Analysis of Definitions
Richard Bailey, Iva Glibo, Katrin Koenen, and Nadia Samsudin
The concept of physical literacy has entered policy, advocacy, and practice discourses in many countries and has become a significant focus of physical education, physical activity, and sport promotion. Despite its popularity, questions remain about the coherence of the definitions used and their impact on the capacity of physical literacy to act as a unifying and empowering idea. This contributes to efforts to understand and critically analyze definitional issues by systematically reviewing and analyzing patterns of use. The analysis identified 14 themes, organized into four meta-themes: physical, psychosocial, cognitive, and integrated development. The most common theme among the identified codes was movement skills, which related to developing motor competence and specific skills. The article discusses the diversity of themes and their implications for future research and practice in physical literacy. It challenges the common claim that progress depends on reaching a universal definition as the basis of collaborative work.
Kinesiology Review’s Scholarly Influence: An Audit of Its First Decade
Duane Knudson
This study documented the scholarly influence of the first 10 years (2012–2021) of Kinesiology Review (KR). Publication, indexing, and citation data were collected from Google Scholar, the KR editor and website, and two open services using Scopus bibliometric data. KR published 356 articles with recent acceptance rates and median initial review times of 30%–55% and 63–85 days, respectively. KR is indexed in five databases, with searches of Google Scholar indicating 92% have received citations by April 5, 2023. The top 36 (10%) cited articles received a total of 2,533 Google Scholar citations. Top cited KR articles had medians of 50 citations and eight citations/per year over 8 years since their publication, as well as 2021 SCImago Journal Rank and SNIP (source-normalized impact per paper) values similar to many kinesiology journals. There was broad subdisciplinary representation with top cited articles from Behavioral/Social Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary/Other, and Humanities. KR makes influential contributions synthesizing kinesiology’s interdisciplinarity knowledge.
Online and Mobile-Technology-Facilitated Movement Interventions Among Disability Populations: A Scoping Review
Taewoo Kim and T.N. Kirk
In 2017, Lai et al. identified technology use as a potentially useful means of delivering movement-based interventions to improve physical activity outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Therefore, the purpose of this scoping review was to summarize technology-facilitated movement interventions using remote (i.e., phone-, internet-, or app-based) technology for people with disabilities. Electronic database searches yielded 15 relevant intervention studies published between 2016 and 2022. Studies centered on various disability populations (e.g., autism, intellectual disabilities, and mobility impairments), used several technology-facilitated approaches (e.g., app-based, telehealth-based, online-based, and virtual-reality-enhanced), and included a range of outcome variables (e.g., physical activity, motor skills, body composition, and program efficacy). Findings indicate that in the years since the previous review, technology-facilitated interventions have become more frequent, and future research should continue to develop and refine such interventions to increase their accessibility and effectiveness for disability populations.