For children, schools play an important role in providing and promoting physical activity, yet growing school pressure to produce academic achievement gains have limited the priority of physical activity producing programs. The Institute of Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Heart Association, and others have developed recommendations for school physical activity policy and there is growing interest in examining the relationship between existing school physical activity policies, school practices, and physical activity. Given that research on school physical activity policy is in its infancy, my goal in writing this paper is to introduce readers to key aspects of school physical activity policy while simultaneously outlining existing research efforts and highlighting the many critical research gaps that still exist. I conclude the paper by linking policy to advocacy and outlining considerations for formulating effective advocacy efforts while emphasizing the need for advocacy research.
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School Physical Activity: Policy Matters
Monica A.F. Lounsbery
American Kinesiology Association’s Role in Promoting School Physical Activity Policy
Monica A.F. Lounsbery and Thomas L. McKenzie
This paper reviews the authors’ evolution as kinesiology scholars to a public health focus via their research on school physical activity (PA) and policy. The authors present key findings from their work, including their recent focus group discussion with 20 school leaders, to substantiate their perspectives about the role that the American Kinesiology Association could play in supporting public health goals and promoting school PA policy. The authors conclude the paper by appealing to American Kinesiology Association to clearly identify PA and its promotion as a central area of study in kinesiology, strengthen its ties to public health, and advocate for putting the “physical” back in the National Physical Education Standards.
