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The purpose of the current study was to examine student and teacher physical activity-related behavior using the theory of planned behavior and self-efficacy theory. Although teachers reported an overwhelmingly positive attitude toward teaching physical activity lessons to promote fitness development, they only devoted 4% of their class time to actually demonstrating and promoting fitness. Students were quite sedentary during class spending 61% of class time sitting, standing or lying down. Using hierarchical regression analyses, teachers’ attitudes toward teaching physically active physical education classes accounted for 50% of the variance in teachers’ intention. Teachers who demonstrated/promoted fitness and who limited their general instruction and management of students were more likely to have students involved in moderate to vigorous physical activity than teachers who spent less time demonstrating/promoting fitness and more time in general instruction and management.

Background: Environmental provisions can boost students’ discretionary participation in physical activity (PA) during lunchtime at school. This study investigated the effectiveness of providing PA equipment as an environmental intervention on middle school students’ PA levels and stakeholders’ perceptions of the effectiveness of equipment provisions during school lunch recess. Methods: A baseline–intervention research design was used in this study with a first baseline phase followed by an intervention phase (ie, equipment provision phase). A total of 514 students at 2 middle schools (school 1 and school 2) in a rural area of the western United States were observed directly using the System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth instrument. Interviews were conducted with stakeholders. Paired-sample t tests and visual analysis were conducted to explore differences in PA levels by gender, and common comparison (with trustworthiness measures) was used with the interview data. Results: The overall percentage of moderate to vigorous PA levels was increased in both schools (ranging from 8.0% to 24.0%). In school 2, there was a significant difference in seventh- and eighth-grade students’ moderate to vigorous PA levels from the baseline. Three major themes were identified: (1) unmotivated, (2) unequipped, and (3) unquestionable changes (with students becoming more active). Conclusions: Environmental supports (access, equipment, and supervision) significantly and positively influenced middle school students’ lunchtime PA levels.

Purpose: Grounded in the behavioral ecological model, and to address a lack of park space, this study looked at community members’ use of public high school physical activity (PA) facilities during nonschool hours while considering the effects of seasonality. Method: Data included 3,959 observation sweeps across 19 public high school campuses over 1 year (all seasons) in Arizona. Results: Differences in contextual supports were evident between seasons, with facilities being more accessible, usable, and lighted in spring than summer or fall. Accessible facilities were most often outside (68.6% of the time). The highest frequency of sedentary behavior was in summer. Conclusion: The present study expands our understanding about the influence of seasonality as related to community access to PA facilities. During times of extreme temperatures, it may be beneficial to find ways to make indoor PA facilities more accessible to support increased PA levels of community members.

Purpose: Mobile applications (apps) may help students develop their motor skills by using instant, augmented feedback. This study incorporated an app technology that may support students’ skill and game play development during a badminton unit. Methods: Two eighth-grade classes participated in the study (the teacher only used the app in Class A; students used the app in Class B). The Poole forehand overhead clear shot skill test, game performance assessment instrument, and opportunity to respond observation tool were used to measure students’ skill and game improvement in the study. Students in both intervention classes improved in the clear shot skill, game performance assessment instrument scores, and opportunity to respond rates throughout the badminton unit. Further research on the use of such app technologies should focus on how the apps can be innovative to foster student learning in game play within a variety of contexts in physical education settings.

Purpose: Given the emphasis on the important role of physical education within Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAPs), the purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) prepares teacher candidates for CSPAP roles. Methods: A total of 144 PETE program completed the online survey about curriculum and learning experiences on CSPAP. Descriptive statistics and frequency analyses were used, and open-ended questions were summarized to extract common answers. Results: Of the 144 PETE programs, 107 (74.3%) included no CSPAP learning experiences. The prevalent type of learning experience was incorporating CSPAP components in the existing courses, while field experiences were not frequently used. PETE personnel expressed the utility of field experiences as an ideal CSPAP preparation. Conclusion: Few PETE programs offer CSPAP-related learning experiences. When it was present, the prevalent way to teach CSPAP implementation was infusing CSPAP concepts into current courses.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspective of school personnel regarding the impact of social–ecological factors and to identify salient ways to support school personnel in sustaining Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs. Methods: In this mixed-methods longitudinal study, stakeholders were surveyed at two points in time (n = 67) and interviewed in semistructured interviews (n = 41) using card sorting to understand the influence of social–ecological factors on Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs sustainability. Results: Across time, the perceived influence of social–ecological levels varied considerably: individual, t(78.86) = −4.22, p < .001, d = 0.52, interpersonal, t(88.20) = −2.32, p = .023, d = 0.09, organizational, t(80.56) = −2.38, p = .02, d = 0.29, and the community factor, t(83.24) = −3.05, p = .003, d = 0.30. Stakeholders rated ecological levels from greatest to least influential as individual, organizational, interpersonal, community, and policy. Themes within levels provided a deeper understanding of these influences. Conclusion: To successfully sustain Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs in schools, balanced support from all social–ecological levels may be needed.