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Personal biography influences preservice classroom teachers’ (PCT) perceptions and attitudes related to school-based physical activity promotion (SPAP). Using an uncontrolled prepost design, this study investigated associations between biographical variables and changes in PCTs’ SPAP attitudes and perceived competence while enrolled in a 16-week SPAP course. PCTs (N = 201) completed baseline measures assessing biographical variables of year in school, sports participation, coaching/teaching experience, BMI, satisfaction with K-12 physical education (PE) and perceived physical activity (PA) competence, and prepost measures assessing SPAP attitudes and perceived competence. One-way repeated measures analysis of variance procedures showed statistically significant, positive changes in PCTs’ scores on all SPAP measures. Mixed-model analysis of variance/covariance techniques indicated sport participation, teaching/coaching experience, PE satisfaction and perceived PA competence were associated with changes in SPAP scores. Results suggest PCTs’ SPAP learning experiences should incorporate strategies for enhancing self-schemas and perceptions related to PE and PA.

Expert golf instructors self-monitor their instruction and communication more than any other aspects of their teaching (Schempp, McCullick, Busch, Webster, & Sannen-Mason, 2006). Despite its apparent importance, however, the communication of expert golf instructors has received little investigative attention. The purpose of this study was to examine the instructional communication behaviors of 4 of the most highly accomplished golf instructors in the United States. Ladies Professional Golf Association instructors who met criteria for expert teaching (Berliner, 1994) and 4 students participated in the study. Videotaping, stimulated recall, and semistructured interviews were used to collect data on the teachers’ immediacy, communication style, and content relevance behaviors. Data were analyzed using modified analytic induction (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992). Findings indicated that the experts adapted their communication behaviors in ways that fit students’ learning preferences, personal experiences, and lesson goals. The findings resonate with previous research on expert teaching in terms of experts’ instructional flexibility.

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.

Affective learning is a major focus of the national K-12 physical education (PE) content standards (National Association for Sport and Physical Education [NASPE, 2004]). Understanding how students might fit into different affective learning subgroups would help extend affective learning theory in PE and suggest possible intervention strategies for teachers wanting to increase students’ affective learning. The present study used cluster analysis (CA) and latent profile analysis (LPA) to develop a two-level affective learning-based typology of high school students in compulsory PE from an instructional communication perspective. The optimal classification system had ten clusters and four latent profiles. A comparison of students’ class and cluster memberships showed that the two classification procedures yielded convergent results, thus suggesting distinct affective learning profiles. Students’ demographic and biographical characteristics, including gender, race, body mass index, organized sport participation, and free time physical activity, were helpful in further characterizing each profile.

The uptake of policies and recommendations to promote physical activity (PA) in American schools has been slow. It can be useful to investigate international contexts where school-based PA promotion has had more success and consider whether facilitative factors have transferability to American schools. This study employed a social ecological perspective to examine the school-based PA opportunities for Grade 2 students in Japan and the factors influencing these opportunities. Observations in five public schools, relevant documents, and interviews with teachers, principals, and district and ministry officials were analyzed using constant comparison. Findings showed multiple PA opportunities existed in daily routines and throughout the year. Government policy had a downstream influence on all lower levels of the education system. Many of the PA opportunities Japanese schools provided align with American recommendations, but different educational priorities between Japan and the United States might make implementing these opportunities more challenging in American schools.

Recommendations for increasing children’s daily physical activity (PA) call on classroom teachers to assume an activist role at school. This study examined relationships among preservice classroom teachers’ (PCT; n = 247) biographical characteristics, perceptions and attitudes regarding school PA promotion (SPAP). Results indicated participants who completed SPAP-related college coursework and had PA-related teaching/coaching experiences reported higher SPAP competence. Significant relationships were found among BMI, personal PA competence and SPAP competence in the contexts of PE and extracurricular settings. Personal PA competence and SPAP competence at recess and in the classroom predicted 19% of the variance in SPAP attitudes. Experiences in PA settings and preservice training may have important implications for the overall success of efforts to enhance school PA promotion.

Little research has examined mechanisms leading to the utilization of compulsory physical education content in future contexts. This study tested a model in which motivation to be in physical education class functions as a predisposition influencing perceptions of teacher communication of content relevance, perceptions of course relevance to one’s personal life, affect for physical education and intentions to apply class content in the future. High school students (N = 636) enrolled in compulsory physical education classes completed questionnaires assessing each of these variables. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated the questionnaire items were adequate indicators of the five constructs. Structural equation modeling with diagonally weighted least squares estimation supported the hypothesized model. The results suggest that continued use of knowledge and skills learned in physical education might hinge on teachers making physical education appealing to students and communicating how class content connects with students’ personal interests.

Purpose: Whole-of-school approaches to physical activity (PA) promotion are recommended internationally, but there remains little descriptive research detailing the implementation of such approaches, especially at the secondary level. The purpose of this case study, which drew upon a social-ecological perspective, was to examine a whole-of-school approach used by one secondary school in England. Method: Participants (N = 30) included three members of the school’s senior leadership team, eight teachers, 15 students, and four parents. Data were collected during 5 months using open-ended questionnaires that all participants completed, 14 staff interviews with staff, three focus groups with students, six observations, and attendance records from various PA opportunities. Results: Thematic analysis identified five key PA opportunities and uncovered four themes in relation to these opportunities: Student Autonomy, Support from Leadership, New School, and Physical Education Time. Discussion/Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of targeting multiple levels of influence when implementing whole-of-school PA programming.