The Contribution of Physical Education to Physical Activity Within a Comprehensive School Health Promotion Program

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Little is known about the role of physical education (PE) in a school health promotion model, particularly where wellness is placed at the forefront. The purpose of this study was to understand how PE contributes to the overall amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) that children receive in a school recognized for health promotion. Methods: As part of an in-depth case study, participants in grades 4–8 (N = 105) wore ActiGraph wGT3X+ accelerometers over 7 days to assess activity levels. Data were scored using ActiLife software. Using SPSS statistics software, students were grouped into low, moderate, and high activity through calculating tertile splits of average daily MVPA. Two 2 × 2 ANCOVA (sex x activity level) tests were conducted to determine the ratio of MVPA in PE to school and daily MVPA, controlling for age. Results: Participants accrued 8 min MVPA on average during PE with differences among low (6.4 ± 2.5), moderate (8.3 ± 3.7), and highly active participants (10.1 ± 4.0). ANCOVA analyses revealed non-significant interactions between sex and activity level explaining variance in contribution of PE to school MVPA (F(2, 99) = .235, p = .791, partial ŋ² = .005) and daily MVPA (F(2, 99) = .299, p = .742, partial ŋ² = .006), but significant main effects between high and low activity for daily MVPA were observed F(2, 99) = 5.118 p = .008, partial ŋ² = .094. Conclusions: PE remains a priority in supporting children’s PA, particularly for those least active. Despite relatively low levels of MVPA, findings provide rationale for policy change supporting more frequent PE in schools.

KEYWORDS:

• Health behavior
• PE
• physical activity
• school health promotion

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Illinois Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (IAHPERD). The authors wish to acknowledge the students who participated in this study, the parents who provided informed consent, and the teachers and administrators of Greenlite Academy (fictitious name) who allowed researchers to work with their students.

Data availability statement

Data available upon request. Email Gabriella M. McLoughlin at [email protected] for dataset.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.