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Move to Achieve: Establishing a Statewide Baseline of Physical Education and Physical Activity Practices and Examining Impact on Elementary Students' Academics and Health
Methods:Principal reports from 2012-2013 recounting the physical education and physical activity practices, resources, challenges, and achievements were collected for all elementary schools including fifth grade classrooms. A complementary survey from principals and physical education teachers is also being collected to assess challenges associated with the new requirements. Aggregate student standardized academic test scores and behaviors (suspensions, attendance) will be compared with the principal reports to examine associations between practices and student outcomes.
Results: Data from more than 500 elementary schools (n~ 15,000 fifth grade students) will illustrate physical activity and physical education practices and their association with academic achievement, classroom behaviors, and various health indicators. Moving forward, these baseline data will enable longitudinal tracking of the impacts of the 2014 enacted additional physical activity time requirements.
Conclusions: WV is joining other states in heeding the Institute of Medicine’s call for more physical activity during the school day, but has not yet established a baseline of current practices. These findings will meet that need and explore the implications of increasing physical activity for students’ academics and will outline potential practice and policy recommendations.
Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programsSocial and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Define and describe historical policies and practices for providing physical education and physical activity statewide in WV; and
Compare and contrast schools based on policy and practice differences in terms of student academic performance, health indices, and behavior
Keyword(s): Physical Activity, School-Based Health
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a developmental psychologist with more than 15 years experience studying children's physical activity and obesity risks. I am a co-author on this work and the Co-PI on the research study.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.