Final Proposal with Proposed Timeline

TO: Dr. Scott Abbott, Dr. Mark Borchelt, Dr. Bret H. Boyr, Dr. Mark Jeffries
FROM: Sarah Dickison
DATE: April 25, 2011
SUBJECT: Proposal to complete a research project on the topic of movement and its affect on cognitive development in children.

Statement of Thesis and Project Summary
This project will explore the way that certain movement patterns positively affect cognitive development in children. The purpose of this project is to bring awareness to the lack of physical activity in the average elementary school setting and promote this by emphasizing its affects on educational development. By researching studies that have been done about the correlation between physical activity and cognitive development I will be able to later defend the physical activity programs I intend to propose.

In order to complete this project I will initially be focusing my attention on how physical activity in general promotes cognitive development in children (primarily between the ages of 6 and 13). This will be the focus of my thesis paper and will legitimize my later developmental movement activities. I will acquire this information by examining research studies and scholarly literature. My main focus in this research will be examples of how an increase in physical activity is directly related to an increase in cognitive capabilities of young children.

When researching the affects of physical activity on cognitive development, I will be comparing data that supports my belief that physical activity enhances cognitive development with materials that contradict my belief. The idea that physical activity promotes cognitive development builds off of both my Physical Education emphasis and my Dance emphasis. This work is a stepping stone on the way to viewing Dance and Physical Education as legitimate teaching tools.

My final project will consist of a paper on the affects of physical activity on cognitive development and a website with ideas, information, and videos on how to incorporate physical activity into daily living. This project will both introduce the idea that physical education helps cognitive development, and give examples of how to incorporate well rounded physical activity into young children’s daily schedules. By approaching this project from these two different points, I will not only raise understanding, but also implementation of physical activity.

Review of Literature

The first article that stirred my interest in the idea that movement enhances cognitive ability was entitled “Facilitating Preschool Learning and Movement through Dance” by Riolama Lorenzo-Lasa, Roger I Ideishai, and Siobhan K Ideishi. This article shows how physical activity has been shown to help Preschool-aged children. Many Preschools have adopted more movement-oriented learning experiences into their curriculum and it has proven beneficial. The next step is to move this movement-oriented approach into the grade schools. This article also intrigued me because while one of the authors was a dancer, another author was a scientist.

Another article that I intend to use in my project is “Why we should not cut PE” by Stewart G. Trost and Hans van der Mars. These authors have not only written many other articles revolving around the same topic, but have also been cited in many of the other scholarly materials that I have looked into while researching this topic. This article focuses on actual research studies that have pointed to the idea that physical education is beneficial to the development of cognitive functioning in young children. This article is helpful because it gives “black and white” information in support of my proposal.

The article that encouraged me to provide different approaches to movement for different children was “Learning games through understanding: New jobs for students!” by J.-F. Gréhaigne, P. Godbout & D. Caty. These authors were very creative in their approach to movement. This article shows how through games and sport children can acquire new learning skills.

Another article that was pivotal to my research was “Relationship between Academic Learning Time in Physical Education and Skill Concepts Acquisition and Retention ” by Vassiliki Derri, Kyriaki Emmanouilidou, Olga Vassiliadou, George Tzetzis, and Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou. These authors were very good at bringing in both "sides" of the research into their explanation. This was an article that seemed to both support and attack my theories on physical activity and cognition.

Another resource that I am going to use for my project is Debra Viadero’s article “Exercise Seen as Priming Pump For Students' Academic Strides”. I see Debra Viadero as being a credible source for my research because she has a lot of experience with controversial topics and education (she is an assistant managing editor for Education Week). This article tells about studies where quality physical activity programs have been shown to increase cognition in children.

“Quality Physical Education: Why the Sport Requirement Can't Do It Alone” by Amanda D. (Stewart) Stanec and Eric Lay is another article that I plan to use in the defense of individualized activity programs. Amanda D. (Stewart) Stanec is the author of many other articles relating to similar topics (such as testing in schools through Physical Education). This article focuses on how when physical activity is only approached through sport, some people feel uncomfortable or left out. This is the reason that I am offering movement experiences through not only sport, but also games and creative movement.

In the article “Children's Health & Academic Performance: Elevating Physical Education's Role in Schools” by B. Sibley and G. C. LeMasurier, four specific studies are described. These four studies have shown how physical activity can improve cognitive development. I plan to dig into each of these studies in depth with future articles.

The remainder of the articles that I will be listing on my bibliography have been primarily used to further my own understanding of the topic. As I continue in my research, I plan to find many other sources that are relevant to my study.

Preliminary Outline
1. Introduction and presentation of thesis.
2. Why physical activity?
a. Current role of physical education in elementary schools.
b. Percentage of physical activity done outside of school.
3. Physical activity’s role on cognition.
a. Viewpoints of various authors.
b. Studies that show link between PA and cognition.
4. What we can do?
a. Examples of how to incorporate movement through sport, game, or creative movement.
b. Information on activity planning website.
5. Conclusion
Proposed Timeline
I will be deferring for a semester while my husband and I live in St George so I will not be taking Capstone 2 until January 2012.This schedule will probably evolve as I am going through the next few months.
-In-depth outline of paper………………………………………...............5/25
-Extremely rough draft 1 …………………………………………………..7/20
-Additional research completed …………………………………………..9/30
-Rough draft 2………………………………………………………………10/18
-Proofreading/editing……………………………………………………….11/10
-Begin brainstorming ideas for the movement website…………………11/10
-Rough draft 3……………………………………………………………….12/24
-Turn in 3rd rough draft to advisors for their opinions……………………1/16
-Rough draft 4 with implementation of advisors suggestions………......2/11
-Turn in rough draft 4 to advisors for additional revision suggestions…2/14
-Begin setting up the movement website…………………………………2/15
-Contact some “movers” to demonstrate ideas I
would like portrayed on the website………………………………………2/21
-Revise paper 5th time……………………………………………………….3/8
-Turn paper in to professors and see where it
stands (additional work decided from there)……………………………..3/9
-Film “movers” and integrate movement activity videos
onto the website…………………………………………………………….3/22
-Collect ideas from other sources about possible games,
sport, or creative movement activities…………………………………...3/24
-Organize website…………………………………………………………...3/26
-Contact advisors about where to take the website from there………...3/28

Works Cited

Derri, Vassiliki, Kyriaki Emmanouilidou, Olga Vassiliadou, George Tzetzis, and Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou. "Relationship between Academic Learning Time in Physical Education (ALT-PE) and Skill Concepts Acquisition and Retention." Physical Educator (2008): n. pag. Web.

Gréhaigne, J. F., P. Godbout, and D. Caty. "Learning games through understanding: New jobs for students! ." Int J Phys Edu (2009): n. pag. Web.

Lorenzo-Lasa, Riolama, Roger I Ideishi, and Siobhan K Ideishi. " Facilitating Preschool Learning and Movement through Dance." entity from which ERIC acquires the content, including journal, organization, and conference names, or by means of online submission from the author. Early Childhood Education Journal (2007): n. pag. Web.

Sibley, B, and G. C LeMasurier. "Children's Health & Academic Performance: Elevating Physical Education's Role in Schools." International Journal of Physical Education (2008): n. pag. Web.

(Stewart) Stanec, Amanda D., and Eric Lay. "Quality Physical Education: Why the Sport Requirement Can't Do It Alone ." Independent School (2008): n. pag. Web.

Trost, Stewart G., and Hans van der Mars. " Why We Should Not Cut P.E.." Educational Leadership (2010): n. pag. Web.

Viadero, Debra. "Exercise Seen as Priming Pump For Students' Academic Strides." Education Week (2008): n. pag. Web.

Annotated Bibliography

Bailey, Richard. "Physical Education and Sport in Schools: A Review of Benefits and Outcomes." Journal of School Health (2006): n. pag. Web.
-This article looks into the “pros” and “cons” of current physical education in the school system. This article also explores ways that physical education in schools could be improved.

Coe, Dawn, James Pivarnik, Christopher Womack, Mathew Reeves, and Robert Malina. "Effect of Physical Education and Activity Levels on Academic Achievement in Children." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (2006): n. pag. Web.
-This article is a review of a study done to see how physical education affects cognitive development in 6th-grade students.

Derri, Vassiliki, Kyriaki Emmanouilidou, Olga Vassiliadou, George Tzetzis, and Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou. "Relationship between Academic Learning Time in Physical Education (ALT-PE) and Skill Concepts Acquisition and Retention." Physical Educator (2008): n. pag. Web.
-This article both seems to support and attack the ideas of my other articles. These authors were very good at bringing in both "sides" of the research into their experiment.

Gréhaigne, J. F., P. Godbout, and D. Caty. "Learning games through understanding: New jobs for students! ." Int J Phys Edu (2009): n. pag. Web.
- This article shows how through games and sport children can acquire new learning skills. These authors are very creative in their approach to movement and learning.

Hall, Erin. "Integration: Helping to Get Our Kids Moving and Learning." Physical Educator (2007): n. pag. Web.
-This article gives specific examples about how integration of physical activity and teaching increase cognitive development.

Lorenzo-Lasa, Riolama, Roger I Ideishi, and Siobhan K Ideishi. " Facilitating Preschool Learning and Movement through Dance." entity from which ERIC acquires the content, including journal, organization, and conference names, or by means of online submission from the author. Early Childhood Education Journal (2007): n. pag. Web.
-This article shows how physical activity has been shown to help Preschool-aged children. Many Preschools have adopted more movement-oriented learning experiences into their curriculum and it has proven beneficial. The reason that I like the views of these authors is because while one of them is a dancer, another is a scientist.

Mohr, Derek, Scott Townsend, and Tony Pritchard. "Rethinking Middle School Physical Education: Combining Lifetime Leisure Activities and Sport Education to Encourage Physical Activity." Physical Educator (2006): n. pag. Web.
-This article describes how by approaching physical activity in a different way, teachers are able to appeal to the interests of more students and encourage lifetime physical habits.

Shen, Bo, and Chen Guan. "Using Achievement Goals and Interest to Predict Learning in Physical Education." Journal of Experimental Education (2007): n. pag. Web.
-This article focuses on the idea that physical activity and motor skill ability directly relate to academic achievement goals.

Peternelj, B, and B Skof J. Strel. " Differences between Slovenian Pupils Attending Sport Class and Those Attending a Regular School Programme." International Journal of Physical Education (2008): n. pag. Web.
- This article shows statistical data collected from several studies done on school children. The main body of the article focuses on how children who took physical activity related classes along with schoolwork compared to children who didn’t take physical activity related classes along with their schoolwork.

Sibley, B, and G. C LeMasurier. "Children's Health & Academic Performance: Elevating Physical Education's Role in Schools." International Journal of Physical Education (2008): n. pag. Web.
-This article tells about four specific studies that have shown how physical activity can improve cognitive development. I plan to go into each of these studies in depth with future articles. G. C. LeMasurier has written many articles from a movement analyst’s perspective.

Tremarche, Pamela, Ellyn Robinson, and Louise Graham. "Physical Education and its Effect on Elementary Testing Results." Physical Educator (2007): n. pag. Web.
-This article reports on a study done on the affect that physical activity played on one school’s standardized test scores.

Simpson, Cynthia, Mark Gaus, Mary Jo Garcia Biggs, and James Williams Jr. " Physical Education and Implications for Students with Asperger’s Syndrome." Teach Except Child (2010): n. pag. Web.
-What I focused on most in this article were the lists for “Instructional Implications of Emotional and Behavioral Characteristics” and “Instructional Implications for Physical and Gross Motor Development” because I think that they not only apply to children with AS, but with children in general. One of the reasons that this article interested me was because one of the authors has AS and had a difficult time with physical activity. He provides what he thought would have been beneficial to him as a student.

(Stewart) Stanec, Amanda D., and Eric Lay. "Quality Physical Education: Why the Sport Requirement Can't Do It Alone ." Independent School (2008): n. pag. Web.
- This article focuses on how when physical activity is only approached through sport, some people feel uncomfortable or are left out. This is the reason that I am offering movement experiences through not only sport, but also games and creative movement

Trost, Stewart G., and Hans van der Mars. " Why We Should Not Cut P.E.." Educational Leadership (2010): n. pag. Web.
- This article helps to demonstrate how movement is an important part of the learning process. This author has written many similar papers and is cited in many of the articles that I have come across in my research.

Viadero, Debra. "Exercise Seen as Priming Pump For Students' Academic Strides." Education Week (2008): n. pag. Web.
- This article tells about studies where quality physical activity programs have been shown to increase cognition in children. I see Debra Viadero as being a credible source for my research because she has a lot of experience with controversial topics and education as an assistant managing editor for Education Week.

Proposal for Capstone 1

Proposal for Capstone 1
Sarah Dickison
Movement and Education
Statement of Thesis and Project Summary
This project will explore the way that certain movement patterns positively affect cognitive development in children. The purpose of this project is to bring awareness to the lack of physical activity in the average elementary school setting and promote this by emphasizing its affects on educational development. By researching studies that have been done about the correlation between physical activity and cognitive development I will be able to later defend the physical activity programs I intend to propose.

In order to complete this project I will initially be focusing my attention on how physical activity in general promotes cognitive development in children (primarily between the ages of 6 and 13). This will be the focus of my thesis paper and will legitimize my later developmental movement activities. I will acquire this information by examining research studies and scholarly literature. My main focus in this research will be examples of how an increase in physical activity is directly related to an increase in cognitive capabilities of young children.

When researching the affects of physical activity on cognitive development, I will be comparing data that supports my belief that physical activity enhances cognitive development with materials that contradict my belief. The idea that physical activity promotes cognitive development builds off of both my Physical Education emphasis and my Dance emphasis. This work is a stepping stone on the way to viewing Dance and Physical Education as legitimate teaching tools.

My final project will consist of a paper on the affects of physical activity on cognitive development and a website with ideas, information, and videos on how to incorporate physical activity into daily living. This project will both introduce the idea that physical education helps cognitive development, and give examples of how to incorporate well rounded physical activity into young children’s daily schedules. By approaching this project from these two different points, I will not only raise understanding, but also implementation of physical activity.

Review of Literature

The first article that peeked my interest in the idea that movement enhances cognitive ability was entitled “Facilitating Preschool Learning and Movement through Dance” by Riolama Lorenzo-Lasa, Roger I Ideishai, and Siobhan K Ideishi. This article shows how physical activity has been shown to help Preschool-aged children. Many Preschools have adopted more movement-oriented learning experiences into their curriculum and it has proven beneficial. The next step is to move this movement-oriented approach into the grade schools. This article also intrigued me because while one of the authors was a dancer, another author was a scientist.



Another article that I intend to use in my project is “Why we should not cut PE” by Stewart G. Trost and Hans van der Mars. These authors have not only written many other articles revolving around the same topic, but have also been cited in many of the other scholarly materials that I have looked into while researching this topic. This article focuses on actual research studies that have pointed to the idea that physical education is beneficial to the development of cognitive functioning in young children. This article is helpful because it gives “black and white” information in support of my proposal.

The article that encouraged me to provide different approaches to movement for different children was “Learning games through understanding: New jobs for students!” by J.-F. Gréhaigne, P. Godbout & D. Caty. These authors were very creative in their approach to movement. This article shows how through games and sport children can acquire new learning skills.

Another article that was pivotal to my research was “Relationship between Academic Learning Time in Physical Education and Skill Concepts Acquisition and Retention ” by Vassiliki Derri, Kyriaki Emmanouilidou, Olga Vassiliadou, George Tzetzis, and Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou. These authors were very good at bringing in both "sides" of the research into their explanation. This was an article that seemed to both support and attack my theories on physical activity and cognition.
Another resource that I am going to use for my project is Debra Viadero’s article “Exercise Seen as Priming Pump For Students' Academic Strides”. I see Debra Viadero as being a credible source for my research because she has a lot of experience with controversial topics and education (she is an assistant managing editor for Education Week). This article tells about studies where quality physical activity programs have been shown to increase cognition in children.
“Quality Physical Education: Why the Sport Requirement Can't Do It Alone” by Amanda D. (Stewart) Stanec and Eric Lay is another article that I plan to use in the defense of individualized activity programs. Amanda D. (Stewart) Stanec is the author of many other articles relating to similar topics (such as testing in schools through Physical Education). This article focuses on how when physical activity is only approached through sport, some people feel uncomfortable or left out. This is the reason that I am offering movement experiences through not only sport, but also games and creative movement.

In the article “Children's Health & Academic Performance: Elevating Physical Education's Role in Schools” by B. Sibley and G. C. LeMasurier, four specific studies are described. These four studies have shown how physical activity can improve cognitive development. I plan to dig into each of these studies in depth with future articles.

The remainder of the articles that I will be listing on my bibliography have been primarily used to further my own understanding of the topic. As I continue in my research, I plan to find many other sources that are relevant to my study.

Preliminary Outline
1. Introduction and presentation of thesis.
2. Why physical activity?
a. Current role of physical education in elementary schools.
b. Percentage of physical activity done outside of school.
3. Physical activity’s role on cognition.
a. Viewpoints of various authors.
b. Studies that show link between PA and cognition.
4. What we can do?
a. Examples of how to incorporate movement through sport, game, or creative movement.
b. Information on activity planning website.
5. Conclusion

Works Cited

Derri, Vassiliki, Kyriaki Emmanouilidou, Olga Vassiliadou, George Tzetzis, and Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou. "Relationship between Academic Learning Time in Physical Education (ALT-PE) and Skill Concepts Acquisition and Retention." Physical Educator (2008): n. pag. Web.

Gréhaigne, J. F., P. Godbout, and D. Caty. "Learning games through understanding: New jobs for students! ." Int J Phys Edu (2009): n. pag. Web.

Lorenzo-Lasa, Riolama, Roger I Ideishi, and Siobhan K Ideishi. " Facilitating Preschool Learning and Movement through Dance." entity from which ERIC acquires the content, including journal, organization, and conference names, or by means of online submission from the author. Early Childhood Education Journal (2007): n. pag. Web.

Sibley, B, and G. C LeMasurier. "Children's Health & Academic Performance: Elevating Physical Education's Role in Schools." International Journal of Physical Education (2008): n. pag. Web.

(Stewart) Stanec, Amanda D., and Eric Lay. "Quality Physical Education: Why the Sport Requirement Can't Do It Alone ." Independent School (2008): n. pag. Web.

Trost, Stewart G., and Hans van der Mars. " Why We Should Not Cut P.E.." Educational Leadership (2010): n. pag. Web.

Viadero, Debra. "Exercise Seen as Priming Pump For Students' Academic Strides." Education Week (2008): n. pag. Web.

Bibliography

Derri, Vassiliki, Kyriaki Emmanouilidou, Olga Vassiliadou, George Tzetzis, and Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou. "Relationship between Academic Learning Time in Physical Education (ALT-PE) and Skill Concepts Acquisition and Retention." Physical Educator (2008): n. pag. Web.

Gréhaigne, J. F., P. Godbout, and D. Caty. "Learning games through understanding: New jobs for students! ." Int J Phys Edu (2009): n. pag. Web.

Lorenzo-Lasa, Riolama, Roger I Ideishi, and Siobhan K Ideishi. " Facilitating Preschool Learning and Movement through Dance." entity from which ERIC acquires the content, including journal, organization, and conference names, or by means of online submission from the author. Early Childhood Education Journal (2007): n. pag. Web.

Peternelj, B, and B Skof J. Strel. " Differences between Slovenian Pupils Attending Sport Class and Those Attending a Regular School Programme." International Journal of Physical Education (2008): n. pag. Web.

Sibley, B, and G. C LeMasurier. "Children's Health & Academic Performance: Elevating Physical Education's Role in Schools." International Journal of Physical Education (2008): n. pag. Web.

Simpson, Cynthia, Mark Gaus, Mary Jo Garcia Biggs, and James Williams Jr. " Physical Education and Implications for Students with Asperger’s Syndrome." Teach Except Child (2010): n. pag. Web.

(Stewart) Stanec, Amanda D., and Eric Lay. "Quality Physical Education: Why the Sport Requirement Can't Do It Alone ." Independent School (2008): n. pag. Web.

Trost, Stewart G., and Hans van der Mars. " Why We Should Not Cut P.E.." Educational Leadership (2010): n. pag. Web.

Viadero, Debra. "Exercise Seen as Priming Pump For Students' Academic Strides." Education Week (2008): n. pag. Web.

Big Step…Back

Quick Update on Last Week’s Post

Last week I had mentioned how my husband and I are moving to St. George for nine months. I was excited that I would be in an environment of High School-aged children who had grown up with movement being an integral part of there lives. I think that I got a little bit over-excited about the idea and didn’t really think it through before I jumped into planning. Since stepping back I have realized that this (although it would be a great opportunity) is not the major focus of my thesis. I have been trying the last few weeks to sort through and narrow my topic and then I jumbled all of my ideas by getting invested in one off-topic idea. Although I plan to still try to work with these kids, I am not planning to use this information in my thesis because I have too much information I am trying to sort through already.

Very Rough Draft Proposal

The thesis “Movement in Education” focuses on the idea that certain movement patterns positively affect cognitive development in children (focused on ages 6-13). There are many studies that show the positive results of movement on the cognition of young children. This thesis will demonstrate the importance of movement in the education process. Movement incorporated into learning through dance, sport, and game can make it more possible for children with different learning styles to benefit from movement exercises in a learning environment. The paper that this thesis project will be based on will focus on studies that have explored the impact that movement has on education. The active thesis project will be a website designed to help parents, teachers, and students understand the role that movement plays on cognition. This website will have video examples of dance, sport, and game activities for each “grade” that can help children to experience learning through movement in their own way. Through this website people will be able to explore the different ways that movement can be used to aid in the learning process.

My Goals
-Write a well-developed research paper on the ways that movement can affect cognition in children. (This paper is meant to be the base of my project and be what I use to defend the legitimacy of my movement project)
-Develop a system of movement categories that can be made progressively more advanced as the child progresses in their learning process.
-Incorporate these movement categories into programs with dance, sport, and game that can be used in each of the specific age categories.
-Film these activities as a reference for the parents, teachers, or students to look to for examples of well-developed full-body movement patterns.
-Set up a website with information from my research paper and the videos of activity examples where people can ask me questions about how to use these patterns in their own lives and learning programs. This website will provide a way for the programs that I have developed to be made available to the community.

(Here are the sources that I have for my bibliography so far (as was listed two blog posts back) if you would like to see them more in detail look further back on my blog.)

• Interesting Article # 1: Facilitating Preschool Learning and Movement through Dance
This article shows how physical activity has been shown to help Preschool-aged children. Many Preschools have adopted more movement-oriented learning experiences into their curriculum and it has proven beneficial. ***The reason that I like the views of these authors is because while one of them is a dancer, another is a scientist
• Interesting Article #2: Physical Education and Implications for Students with Asperger’s Syndrome
What I focused on most in this article were the lists for “Instructional Implications of Emotional and Behavioral Characteristics” and “Instructional Implications for Physical and Gross Motor Development” because I think that they not only apply to children with AS, but with children in general. ***One of the reasons that this article interested me was because one of the authors has AS and had a difficult time with physical activity. He provides what he thought would have been beneficial to him as a student
• Interesting Article # 3: Why We Should Not Cut P.E.
This article helps to demonstrate how movement is an important part of the learning process. ***This author has written many similar papers and is cited in many of the articles that I have come across in my research, I plan to studies these authors further.
• Interesting Article # 4: Learning games through understanding: New jobs for students!
This article shows how through games and sport children can acquire new learning skills ***These authors are very creative in their approach to movement and learning. (look into separate work)
• Interesting Article # 5: Relationship between Academic Learning Time in Physical Education and Skill Concepts Acquisition and Retention
This article both seems to support and attack the ideas of my former articles ***These authors were very good at bringing in both "sides" of the research into their experiment, it may be good to read other studies supported by these authors
• Interesting Article #6: Exercise Seen as Priming Pump For Students' Academic Strides
This article tells about studies where quality physical activity programs have been shown to increase cognition in children. ***I see Debra Viadero as being a credible source for my research because she has a lot of experience with controversial topics and education (she is an assistant managing editor for Education Week)
• Interesting Article #7: Differences between Slovenian Pupils Attending Sport Class and Those Attending a Regular School Programme
This article shows statistical data collected from several studies done on school children. The main body of the article focuses on how children who took physical activity related classes along with schoolwork compared to children who didn’t take physical activity related classes along with their schoolwork. ***One of the things I found most interesting about this article was the people cited at the end, I plan to look into some of those individual articles as well.
• Interesting Article # 8: Quality Physical Education: Why the Sport Requirement Can't Do It Alone
This article focuses on how when physical activity is only approached through sport, some people feel uncomfortable or are left out. This is the reason that I am offering movement experiences through not only sport, but also games and creative movement ***Amanda D. (STEWART) STANEC is the author of many other articles relating to similar topics (such as testing in schools through Physical Education).
• Interesting Article # 9: Children's Health & Academic Performance: Elevating Physical Education's Role in Schools
This article tells about four specific studies that have shown how physical activity can improve cognitive development. I plan to go into each of these studies in depth with future articles. *** G. C. LeMasurier has written many articles from a movement analyst’s perspective. Some of his other articles may be useful in my project

Big Step

This week has been a pretty crazy one! My husband found out that he landed a job in Tuacahn which means that I will be living in St George from the beginning of May until December. Although this means that I will have to defer for a semester this will be an amazing opportunity for me to get observational experience for my capstone! Tuacahn Amphitheater is right next to Tuacahn High School of the Performing Arts. Many of the students that go to that high school have had the opportunity to grow up with movement being a huge part of their education and their lives. This week my main objective has been to see if there is any way that I could work around these students. Everything for this summer is still being planned out so they do not know what jobs are available but I hope to be able to apply for some soon.

Progress as of February 25, 2011

These past two weeks my focus has been on going back through my articles and clarifying why I chose them. Under each article (in the comment section) I have written a post with a short summery of the article, and another post with quotes that I am interested in and brief information on the author.
Here is a list of some of my short summaries (if I end up deciding to keep the articles I will go into greater detail):
• Interesting Article # 1: Facilitating Preschool Learning and Movement through Dance
This article shows how physical activity has been shown to help Preschool-aged children. Many Preschools have adopted more movement-oriented learning experiences into their curriculum and it has proven beneficial. ***The reason that I like the views of these authors is because while one of them is a dancer, another is a scientist
• Interesting Article #2: Physical Education and Implications for Students with Asperger’s Syndrome
What I focused on most in this article were the lists for “Instructional Implications of Emotional and Behavioral Characteristics” and “Instructional Implications for Physical and Gross Motor Development” because I think that they not only apply to children with AS, but with children in general. ***One of the reasons that this article interested me was because one of the authors has AS and had a difficult time with physical activity. He provides what he thought would have been beneficial to him as a student
• Interesting Article # 3: Why We Should Not Cut P.E.
This article helps to demonstrate how movement is an important part of the learning process. ***This author has written many similar papers and is cited in many of the articles that I have come across in my research, I plan to studies these authors further.
• Interesting Article # 4: Learning games through understanding: New jobs for students!
This article shows how through games and sport children can acquire new learning skills ***These authors are very creative in their approach to movement and learning. (look into separate work)
• Interesting Article # 5: Relationship between Academic Learning Time in Physical Education and Skill Concepts Acquisition and Retention
This article both seems to support and attack the ideas of my former articles ***These authors were very good at bringing in both "sides" of the research into their experiment, it may be good to read other studies supported by these authors
• Interesting Article #6: Exercise Seen as Priming Pump For Students' Academic Strides
This article tells about studies where quality physical activity programs have been shown to increase cognition in children. ***I see Debra Viadero as being a credible source for my research because she has a lot of experience with controversial topics and education (she is an assistant managing editor for Education Week)
• Interesting Article #7: Differences between Slovenian Pupils Attending Sport Class and Those Attending a Regular School Programme
This article shows statistical data collected from several studies done on school children. The main body of the article focuses on how children who took physical activity related classes along with schoolwork compared to children who didn’t take physical activity related classes along with their schoolwork. ***One of the things I found most interesting about this article was the people cited at the end, I plan to look into some of those individual articles as well.
• Interesting Article # 8: Quality Physical Education: Why the Sport Requirement Can't Do It Alone
This article focuses on how when physical activity is only approached through sport, some people feel uncomfortable or are left out. This is the reason that I am offering movement experiences through not only sport, but also games and creative movement ***Amanda D. (STEWART) STANEC is the author of many other articles relating to similar topics (such as testing in schools through Physical Education).
• Interesting Article # 9: Children's Health & Academic Performance: Elevating Physical Education's Role in Schools
This article tells about four specific studies that have shown how physical activity can improve cognitive development. I plan to go into each of these studies in depth with future articles. *** G. C. LeMasurier has written many articles from a movement analyst’s perspective. Some of his other articles may be useful in my project.


Information on the specific parts of each article that I would like to focus on are listed in the comment section under each article. Because I started collecting articles before our “google talk” I got most of these from the library database; but since the “google talk” I have been able to find more articles by these same authors that I may not have been able to find on the library database.

Interesting Article # 9: Children's Health & Academic Performance: Elevating Physical Education's Role in Schools

AUTHOR: B. Sibley; G. C. LeMasurier
TITLE: Children's Health & Academic Performance: Elevating Physical Education's Role in Schools
SOURCE: International Journal of Physical Education 45 no2 64-82 2008

(I only posted the part of this article that applies to my topic)
6 Relationship between Physical Activity and Academic Performance
Trudeau and Shephard (2008) recently completed a comprehensive review on the relationship of physical education and physical activity with academic performance. Their overarching conclusions are that "PA can be added to the school curriculum by taking time from other subjects without risk of hindering student academic achievement" (p. 1) and that "adding time to "academic" or "curricular" subjects by taking time from physical education [programs] does not enhance grades in these subjects and may be detrimental to health"(p. 1). Several other authors have reached the same conclusion in their reviews of this topic as well (Carlson et al., 2008; Castelli & Hillman, 2007; Shephard, 1997; Sibley & Etnier, 2003; Taras, 2005). Few studies have systematically examined the effects of increasing physical activity during the school day on academic performance. The paucity of research in this area is likely due to the logistical difficulties of carrying out such research in schools, rather than being due to a lack of interest in the topic. Indeed, there is a relative wealth of correlational studies on this topic, as well as a substantial amount of research on physical activity and cognition. To our knowledge, only four large-scale studies examining the effects of increased physical activity at school on academic performance have been carried out: the Vanves project in Vanves, France (MacKenzie, 1980), the Trois Rivières study in Québec (Shephard, Lavallée, Volle, LaBarre, & Beaucage, 1994), the School Health, Academic Performance, and Exercise (SHAPE) study in Australia (Dwyer, Coonan, Leitch, Hetzel, & Baghurst, 1983), and the SPARK program in Southern California (Sallis et al., 1999).
The Vanves project (MacKenzie, 1980) was carried out in France in the early 1950's. School administrator were concerned about overburdening students with academics, so academic time was scaled back 26%, being limited primarily to the morning hours, and students participated in a variety of physical activities and extra-curricular activities instead. Students also received vitamin supplementation. It was reported that students demonstrated improved academic performance and fewer class absences as a result of the program. Unfortunately, this study has never been published in a peer reviewed journal.
In the Trois Rivierès study (Shephard et al., 1994), physical education time was increased from 40 minutes once per week to 60 minutes five days per week for 546 elementary students for six years of elementary school. Approximately 14% of this increased time for PE was taken from other academic time (Trudeau & Shephard, 2008). Students in the experimental group performed better academically than control students during years two through six of the study. At the end of the intervention, students in the experimental group also performed better on the math portion of the provincial achievement tests.
In the SHAPE study (Dwyer et al., 1983), students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: fitness, skill, or control. Fitness and skill groups received 75 minutes of physical activity time daily, 15 min of this being in the early morning, while control groups received their usual 30 minutes of physical education three times per week. There was approximately a 14% decrease in classroom teaching time in the experimental groups. Following 14 weeks of observation there were no differences in academic performance between groups, despite the decrease in classroom academic time in the groups. At the two-year follow-up, the experimental groups showed a trend for improvement in both arithmetic and reading scores compared to the control group.
Finally, in the SPARK (Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids) project (Sallis et al., 1999), students received 30 minutes of physical activity 3 times per week as part of an enhanced health-related school curriculum. Physical education classes were either taught by trained PE specialists, classroom teachers trained in the SPARK curriculum, or untrained classroom teachers who continued to teach their existing programs. Students who were taught by SPARK-trained classroom teachers showed better performance on the Language, Reading, and Basic battery of the Metropolitan Achievement Tests than students in the control condition, and students taught by PE specialists performed better in Reading, but worse in Language, than did students in the control condition. As with all of the previously discussed studies, increasing time in PE at the expense of time in academic subjects did not compromise academic performance.
There is a body of literature which supports a positive overall relationship between physical activity or exercise and cognitive performance. Two fairly recent reviews summarize this literature well. A meta-analytic review of the literature on physical activity and cognitive performance in children by Sibley and Etnier (Sibley & Etnier, 2003) found there to be a significant positive relation between physical activity and cognitive performance with an ES = 0.32. This means that across all of the research that has addressed this issue, a small but significant effect exists, equivalent to approximately 1/3 of a standard deviation. Analysis of moderator variables suggests that a wide variety of physical activities provide benefit across many types of cognition. Tomporowski (2003) examined the literature on acute exercise and cognitive performance and behavior in youths in a narrative review. Findings of this review suggest a positive effect of exercise on both cognition and behavior. The author, however, tempers this conclusion, noting that there is a need for more quality research on the topic.
There have been some noteworthy correlational studies published in the last few years relevant to this topic. One that has received a fair amount of attention is a study carried out by the California Department of Education (CDE) examining the relationship between fitness test and Stanford achievement test performance in 884,715 5th, 7th, and 9th grade students (Grissom, 2005). It was found that students who performed better on the FITNESSGRAM physical fitness test (by passing more test items) had higher scores on the Stanford achievement tests. The relationship appeared to be stronger for females than males and for higher socio-economic status (SES) students than lower SES students. While this study is purely correlational, and therefore no causation can be inferred from the results, it is the largest study of its kind to show a positive relationship between fitness and academics.
Castelli and colleagues (2007) provided some confirmation of these findings in a study that showed a positive relationship between aerobic fitness and achievement test scores in 259 3rd and 5th grade students. In addition to replicating the results of the CDE study, this more rigorously controlled study found that aerobic performance (PACER test) was positively related to achievement test performance, and the BMI was negatively related (higher BMI = lower test performance). Again, causation cannot be inferred from these results, but this study supports the notion that children with higher fitness levels perform better academically.
In another study that utilized data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, it was found that spending more time in physical education may be positively related to academic performance in young children (Carlson et al., 2008). Data from a nationally representative sample of 5316 elementary students were analyzed. Minutes of physical education per week and academic performance in math and reading were examined at five time points: fall of kindergarten, spring of kindergarten, spring of 1st grade, spring of 3rd grade, and spring of 5th grade. It was found that girls enrolled in a higher amount of PE (70-300 min/wk) had slightly better academic achievement in reading and math than did girls enrolled in less PE (0-35 min/wk). For boys, time in PE had neither a positive or negative effect on academic achievement.
Lastly, there is evidence that a classroom-based physical activity program can increase on-task behavior of students during academic time (Mahar et al., 2006). In this study, the physical activity levels and classroom behavior of 243 3rd and 4th grade students were assessed. Students in the intervention group (n=135) participated in classroom-based physical activity program. Teachers were asked to lead students in at least one 10-minute physical activity session during the school day. Training in leading the activity sessions and a manual of activities were provided for the teachers. Physical activity was assessed using pedometers, and on-task behavior was systematically observed and scored by trained external observers both before and after each physical activity session. It was found that physical activity levels were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (ES=0.49). On-task behavior in the intervention group increased significantly by 8% following participation in physical activity sessions. Additionally, on-task behavior of the least on-task students (students who were off-task more than 50% of the time before program implementation) improved by 20%. Improving on-task behavior of students by using short activity breaks clearly can impact academic achievement when the effects are summed over time.
If we are to say that physical activity has a positive effect on cognition and academic performance, we must also show that there is a viable biological or psychological reason that this would happen. There are, in fact, numerous reasons, or mechanisms, through which physical activity might impact cognition. Some of these are biological in nature, and some are related to psychology and the ways humans learn.
One of the most frequently cited reasons that physical activity could lead to improved cognitive performance is known as the aerobic fitness hypothesis (North, McCullagh, & Tran, 1990). The brain uses 20 to 25 percent of the body's oxygen and 25 percent of the body's glucose (Friedland, 1990), and research has shown that a decrement in either of these nutrients can impair cognitive functioning (Gold, 1995; Moss, Scholey, & Wesnes, 1998). Since the cardiovascular system transports oxygen and glucose to the brain, any improvement in aerobic fitness should bolster their delivery and lead to improved brain function.
In addition to aiding the delivery of oxygen and glucose to the brain, physical activity can also affect the physiological goings-on inside the brain. Physical activity has been shown to increase serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain (Sutoo & Akiyama, 1996; Wilson & Marsden, 1996). These neurotransmitters play a crucial role in the regulation of a variety of cognitive processes and mood states. Physical activity also increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF; Neeper, Gomez-Pinilla, Choi, & Cotman, 1996), which helps neurons in the brain form new connections, and insulin-like growth factor (Carro, Trejo, Busiguina, & Torres-Aleman, 2001), which protects brain cells from damage. In addition, research shows that neurogenesis, which is the formation of new brain cell connections, occurs as a result of exercise (van Praag, Kempermann, & Gage, 1999).
There are also a variety of psychological mechanisms through which physical activity impacts cognitive performance. A number of studies have shown that people are better able to focus their attention following a bout of exercise (Hillman, Snook, & Jerome, 2003; Sibley & Beilock, 2007; Sibley, Etnier, & Le Masurier, 2006). That is, after exercise we are better able to block out distractions and focus on the task at hand. It is not hard to imagine how easily distracted a child might be after sitting at his or her desk for hours on end with no physical activity. This is likely due, in part, to the child's arousal level being too low from the prolonged period of inactivity. As discussed previously, a recent study showed that elementary students were less likely to have behavior problems following short exercise bouts during the school day (Mahar et al., 2006).
Providing young children with frequent opportunities for physical activity throughout the day is a developmentally appropriate practice that will positively impact cognitive development and learning. Youngsters need physically interact and move throughout their environment for proper cognitive development to occur (Eaton, McKeen, & Campbell, 2001; Gibson, 1988). Physical activity breaks during the school day, whether they be in the form of physical education, in-class activity sessions, or recess, provide necessary variety in the learning process (Pellegrini & Bjorklund, 1997; Pellegrini, Huberty, & Jones, 1995), which has been shown to aid in student learning (Dempster, 1988). Subtle shifts in content, for example switching from reading to math, do not provide a distinct enough change in content to provide the varied practice needed to enhance learning. Physical activity, however, does provide that distinct change in content and at the same time can make an important contribution to health and fitness.
Physical activity makes a positive impact on psychological health as well as physical health. Physical activity has been shown to decrease depression (Craft & Landers, 1998; Dunn, Trivedi, Kampert, Clark, & Chambliss, 2005), decrease anxiety (Crews & Landers, 1987; Landers & Petruzzello, 1994), improve sleep quality (Youngstedt, O'Connor, & Dishman, 1997), improve mood (Ekkekakis, Hall, VanLanduyt, & Petruzzello, 2000), and increase self-esteem (Nelson & Gordon-Larsen, 2006). In addition to all of the direct mechanisms discussed above through which physical activity affects academic performance, it also affects all of these other psychological variables, which will likely have an impact on student academic performance.

Interesting Article # 8: Quality Physical Education: Why the Sport Requirement Can't Do It Alone

Author -Amanda D. (Stewart) Stanec: Eric Lay

Title-Quality Physical Education: Why the Sport Requirement Can't Do It Alone

Source- Independent School 68 no1 112-22 Fall 2008

In attempting to educate students about the importance of healthy living, many independent schools offer health and physical education (PE) programs that include age- and developmentally-appropriate physical education, drug education, human sexuality, and nutrition. The evolution in physical health education is one of the better advances in precollegiate education over the last two decades. However, most of this work is being done at the elementary school level. When students enter upper school (and, many times, middle school), quality physical education programs frequently morph into a traditional sport requirement--under the belief that the sport requirement will provide students with sufficient mental and physical health benefits. While the sport requirement certainly has its value, we believe that it's a mistake to continue to equate athletics with a quality physical education--especially considering what we know today about quality PE and health programs.
If we are serious about supporting the physical and mental well-being of all students, and if we believe it is our job to give students the tools they need to be physically active throughout their lives, we need to adjust what we're doing at the middle and upper school levels.
Issues with the Sport Requirement in Lieu of Quality Physical Education
In years past--when PE curricula were mostly sports-based--offering high school sports in lieu of PE made perfect sense. The perceived benefits of the sport requirement include: an increase in school spirit, an opportunity for students to make new friends in other grade levels, a chance to learn important lessons in time management, and, for those who excel at sports, a chance to experience the joy of competing at a high level. With effective coaching, students also learn key lessons in character development, appropriate sportsmanship, and working effectively with others.
The overarching problem with the classic sport program in lieu of PE, however, is twofold. First, sport focuses on winning, not on mastery of skills for all students. Second, it primarily benefits a small group of students while doing very little for many others. Competition is important and students learn many lessons through their experiences in sport, but we should not assume that sport magically teaches all students lessons that will be useful throughout life.
Winning vs. Mastery of Skills
The achievement goal theory postulates that there are two types of goal orientation--ego and task (Nicholls, 1989). Ego-orientation defines success as "winning" and "doing better than others" and is based on social comparison. Conversely, task-orientation defines success as "mastery" and "improvement." In sport, the motivational climate is typically ego-involved, thus promoting environments where success is clearly defined as winning. When a quality PE program is delivered effectively, the motivational climate is predominately task-involved, whereby all students can experience success. This task-orientation may also be fostered in lifetime activities such as kayaking, cycling, and yoga.
Some colleagues (typically former athletes) have questioned the idea of shifting the focus in school PE away from competitive sports toward more task-oriented physical activities, suggesting that it makes schools "too soft" and that students need to learn how to lose, too. While we agree that experiencing defeat is an important lesson for students, we believe that it should not be a higher priority than the goal of providing all students with the opportunity to experience success in the psychomotor and fitness domains. While we are certainly not suggesting the elimination of athletics, we believe that a sport program and quality PE are not synonymous. To understand this difference, all one needs to do is look at one's own community of adults. Think about a teacher in your school, for example, who is sedentary and too intimidated to adopt a physically active lifestyle. It is likely that he or she never had a chance to become physically competent enough to develop physical literacy (competency in motor skills and movement patterns). Now, he or she does not know how to assess his or her own fitness, or know what to do about improving it. Athletes, generally, grow up to be adults who feel good about their abilities in the psychomotor and fitness domains. We suggest that schools should make it a priority to help all students receive the opportunity to do the same.
Student Involvement
The relative inactivity of many students in sport programs is also an issue. Take the role of student managers on athletic teams. Student managers carry out a variety of supportive duties, such as helping with water and equipment. Having student managers may be beneficial to the team, but not necessarily to the managers themselves. Because they do not have a "playing" role on the team, they generally do not exercise before, during, or immediately after practices and games.
Some schools try to address this problem by encouraging managers to practice with their respective teams, but this often turns out to be a humiliating experience for the student managers. Most often, their primary objective in being a manager is to fulfill the sport requirement without actually doing any physical activity. It's not as much a matter of laziness as it is a lack of ability or confidence. To then ask such students to actually participate in the sport during practice time, once all their duties are completed, can be psychologically damaging--and certainly unlikely to encourage participation in physical activity in future years.
Conventional wisdom tells us that the sport requirement offers all students the chance to he physically active. But reality suggests otherwise. In order for all students to meet the sport requirement, junior varsity and varsity coaches are forced to keep large numbers of players on their teams. As a result, a significant number of team members are not able to participate in most games, meets, or matches, and, therefore, do not receive vigorous activity on game days. This effect is multiplied in the days leading up to and following big games when coaches administer "light" practices--for the benefit of the starters.
These students also suffer the emotional effects of riding the bench. During adolescence, a lack of playing time can hinder students' lives socially and academically. For example, students who play little or not at all may feel marginalized by the team since they do not contribute on the field and/or court. Additionally, even some athletic students suffer emotional stress if, for instance, they lose their starting positions. The result of such stress can affect everything from social interaction to academic performance to future engagement in athletics. One might argue that students learn from such experiences. And, to a degree, this is true. However, if we are turning them away from future physical activity, due to the stress they experience in school, we are doing them a disservice. It's also ironic that, without a quality PE program, these student managers and frustrated athletes who do not play much have no physical activity to turn to, as healthy and physically active adults do, in order to relieve the stress--and are not likely to find such outlets for themselves in the future.
In addition, students with interests outside the sport realm often only have to participate in one sport per academic year. For example, in some independent schools, thespians in their junior or senior year only have to participate in sports during one season so that they have more time to participate in the school theatre productions. While we support the arts, we think that schools can also better support these students and provide opportunities for them to be physically active during the school day; two-and-a-half months of physical activity (if the student is even competent enough to receive adequate playing time for health benefits) out of a 12-month calendar is not enough physical activity for health benefit. Indeed, it's hard to see how any school can justify this position.
With an increase in scholarships for students of lower socioeconomic status, it also becomes a social justice issue. Independent schools should offer quality PE so that all students are afforded the opportunity to become physically literate and not just those who can afford participation in out-of-school activities such as travel sports or other lifelong activities.
In recent years, we've learned how to shape quality PE programs so that they focus on a broad array of essential skills in the physical, psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains. Within this comprehensive PE model, people of all skill and fitness levels--not just the good athletes--learn how to live healthy lives. When it comes to physical and mental health, schools should make this their primary focus.
Additional supports and resources should be afforded to those students who are not fortunate enough to participate in sport due to lack of skill level and/or interest.
So What Does a Quality Physical Education Program Look Like?
Marian Franck describes a quality PE program as one that "(a) develops for each student a level of competence that instills a sense of capability necessary to influence lifelong decisions for regular participation in physical activity; (b) provides experiences to improve significantly the health-related fitness of each student; and (c) has the necessary support resources" (Franck, 2007).
We'd also add an assessment component to the list. Quality PE programs assess student competencies in psychomotor, fitness, cognitive, and affective domains in a way that is much more effective and meaningful than the more traditional PE programs many of us participated in. For example, teachers of quality PE programs assess according to criterion-reference standards (what physiologists determine are healthy target zones) rather than the norm-referenced standards favored in years past. Moreover, in quality PE programs, students' learning is documented according to their ability to understand the importance of making healthy choices as well as their ability to self-assess their health, fitness, and skill level and their plan for how to improve or maintain in each of these areas (Stewart Stanec, 2008). Students are not taken into classrooms to be tested on these things; rather, for example, they might use the last minute of a six-minute fitness station to complete a task card about their understanding of the task. Here, as in the classroom, teachers are able to determine what their students know and understand and how their future instruction should be planned accordingly.
At the elementary school level, quality PE programs have evolved in recent years to offer a systematic approach to movement and skill development. Ideally, they provide experiences for children that are developmentally and instructionally appropriate; include genuine opportunities to learn and become physically literate; emphasize the psychomotor domain, but also focus on the cognitive and affective domains; create multiple opportunities for children to experience successes in physical activity, and; are realistic and incorporate time, space, and equipment allocations into their design (Graham, Holt-Hale, & Parker, 2001).
In other words, lower school students should partake in units that, first, help them gain competence in body control, body awareness, and posture. Then, they should advance to units that emphasize locomotor movement, rhythm skills, object control skills, and fundamental motor skills. As a result, students will have competence in the basic building blocks for both traditional sports and lifelong physical activities.
Once a quality lower school PE program is completed, students are ready for activities that combine basic manipulative and non-manipulative motor skills through lead-up games and modified sport. Quality middle school PE programs may offer units that include traditional sports. However, these units should be modified, and students should rarely, if ever, play the actual sport. In modifying these sports, students will have the ability to improve/master the skills within the sport--ideally through the Teaching Games for Understanding (Thorpe & Bunker, 1997) framework. For example, in a traditional sport such as basketball, students may be focused on the chest pass, bounce pass, and overhand pass. Thus, rather than play a five-on-five game with original rules, students would play three-on-three games with the objective to have three complete passes in a row for a point with every student touching the ball at least every other play. In doing this, students are given more opportunity to practice, and the passing concept, which was the objective of the lesson, is reinforced through the activity.
While modified traditional sport experiences should exist through the middle school years, they should do so merely as one component of the program. Additionally, non-traditional sport (e.g., ultimate Frisbee) should also be provided, as well as dance and outdoor educative pursuits. In all of these additional facets, the "playing field" among students is more often leveled. In other words, the star of the local travel soccer team may experience being a beginner in dance. This helps teach our more gifted traditional sport athletes to become comfortable in learning new things and take risks outside their comfort zone. In turn, it will only help our athletes become more skillful movers and more positive learners when they are representing our schools in athletics.
Quality Upper School Physical Education
Once students enter upper school, the unfortunate trend is to offer no physical education. While some schools provide opportunity for physical activity after school, this is an option that is available to students who do not make an athletic team--as a result, it may carry a negative stereotype along with it. Why is it that many schools have time available for PE in lower and middle school but not in upper school? Given all the research on healthy physical development, we believe it is time for upper schools to treat quality PE with the respect it deserves; it is the sole place where our students can truly learn how to live healthy and balanced lives.
Like any school curricula, careful planning must occur with scheduling in order for quality PE to become a reality. Since we both have ample independent school experience at K-12 institutions, we are fully aware of scheduling issues. However, rather than use issues as barriers, we encourage creative thought in order to provide a program that can deliver the following.
Upper school quality PE programs should shift their primary focus from sports to lifetime skills. Research has called for a change that includes formal sports; but, typically, they should be no more than one-fifth of a curriculum. In upper school PE programs, students should also learn how to monitor their own health and activity through setting personal fitness trackers such as the Fitnessgram and Activitygram program (see www.fitnessgram.net). Goals should be achieved through many areas of physical activity including jogging, hiking, kayaking, yoga, and dance, to name a few. Triathlons, road and mountain biking, and adventure racing are growing in popularity for individuals in their late 20s and 30s. By providing students with these experiences during school, we afford students opportunities to develop competence that will encourage them to join clubs in college or get involved in community-based physical activities. This is vital, since the majority of students who participate in sports during upper school do not play a sport in college. Without teaching these important healthy life skills, college students are more at risk of eating disorders to shed weight gained at college and of alcohol and drug use to handle stress.
Given that quality PE programs in the upper school are not yet standard practice, we also suggest the following steps:
* Establish a committee that can examine the school schedule and determine areas where a PE program can be offered. This committee could also contact other schools that offer nontraditional sport activities such as biking, yoga, etc. It should establish a discussion forum so that successes in overcoming scheduling conflicts and limitations could be shared.
* Survey upper school students. Since interests and resources vary greatly throughout the U.S., it's important that upper school students are surveyed to determine where their interests lie. Students should be encouraged to list as many activities as possible and also be offered examples of activities that they might not have thought of.
* Think outside the box. You don't need a gym or a playing field to teach physical education. When available, get outside and utilize nature. This can provide wonderful collaboration with environmental science educators and can help offset the many scheduling issues we often hear about. You also need to be flexible in terms of when these classes are offered and the duration and frequency of the classes.
* Start small. It is likely easier for folks to consider the idea of offering one to two modules of PE in the upper school rather than implementing an entire program.
* Revamp drivers' education. We simply do not understand why, at a time when student physical activity decreases due to teenagers receiving their driving licenses, physical educators are the ones assigned to teach drivers' education classes. A common response to this question is that parents want drivers' education taught at school. While that's fine, we're not certain that classroom teachers would be willing to give up teaching their academic subjects to teach the drivers' education curriculum. When PE teachers teach drivers' education, they are scheduled to be off campus often during the school day and their schedule has no room for PE courses. We encourage schools to find others to teach drivers' education classes so that the PE teachers can do what they are educated to do.
* Offer choice. In a coeducational independent school, activities might be offered both coeducationally, as well as single-sex. While research tells us that girls are more likely to participate in physical education when electives are offered as "girls only," this could be because girls-only programs are always nontraditional while many coeducational programs are traditional (that is, sports-based). Let's remember that not all boys enjoy traditional sports and so we need to offer a balanced curriculum to meet all students' needs. Keep in mind that sports (modified versions of both traditional and nontraditional) do belong in a quality and balanced program--they just should not be the sole focus.
* Don't think of quality upper school PE as competing with athletics. If implemented properly, quality PE will undoubtedly help athletic teams reach their potential more efficiently. For example, fitness assessments can identify where students need to set personal goals in terms of health-related physical fitness. Time during electives could be dedicated to developing an individualized plan to improve this fitness component, such as upper-body strength. Moreover, if the activity level intensity during PE classes is monitored with heart-rate monitors, the PE teacher could appropriately assign intensity levels. For example, if a group of students has a lacrosse game after school and they are in a mountain biking class earlier in the day, the teacher could assign a target at the low end of the aerobic zone in terms of the intensity of the biking. If another group of students in the class does not compete on a sports team, those students could be assigned an interval workout that puts their heart rate in a more strenuous zone. Both groups of students will be given opportunity to improve the technical skills required for mountain biking. This type of individualized instruction exists every day in a quality PE lesson.
* Be innovative. In independent schools, the word "innovative" is often tied to topics such as the construction of new buildings, technology, new athletic complexes, etc. Schools should think in innovative terms when considering PE and faculty wellness as well. Innovation in these fields could lead to better productivity as well as happier students and faculty.
Is the sport requirement mandated at your school in lieu of quality health and PE effective in terms of preparing students to be healthy citizens in years to come? Perhaps at the next alumni event, you can look around and/or survey individuals on their physical activity.
Failing to offer physical activity opportunities at moderate to vigorous levels throughout lower, middle, and upper school indirectly plants the notion in our students' minds that everything other than personal health should come first. As a result, we have millions of North Americans who do not feel they have time to exercise rather than understanding that they would be more happy and efficient once they take care of themselves first. We must realize that this is a problem and acknowledge that quality physical education can help. Through this process, we are confident that school communities will be happier and more joyful places to grow, learn, and work.

End of Week

So, some things came up this week and I was not able to get as far along as I would have liked. I didn’t add any new articles but I have gone through my articles from the beginning to briefly summarize what the article was about, outline some of the information that seemed most relevant to me, and try to get info on how legitimate the authors of the articles are. (I ended up writing this info in the comment boxes underneath each article) Although my blog doesn’t look as nice and full as it usually does, I feel that I accomplished a lot in the organization of my ideas this week.

Mini Post: What I am working on Feb 14 - Feb 21

My goals for this week are to continue researching about my topic, and to write what I have written on the hard copies of my previous articles underneath my blog entries so that I can keep all of the information about my thesis in one location. By the end of this next week I would like to have gone through all of my articles and written in the comments what stood out to me and why I trust the authors as sources. I also plan to have at least five more interesting articles to work with.

Interesting Article #7: Differences between Slovenian Pupils Attending Sport Class and Those Attending a Regular School Programme

AUTHOR: B. Peternelj; B. Skof J. Strel
TITLE: Differences between Slovenian Pupils Attending Sport Class and Those Attending a Regular School Programme
SOURCE: International Journal of Physical Education 45 no3 144-51 2008
COPYRIGHT: The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article in violation of the copyright is prohibited. To contact the publisher: http://www.hofmann-verlag.de/
ABSTRACT
The aim of the study was to establish whether there were any differences between groups of pupils attending a 'sport class' for eight years and those attending a 'regular class', and which of the included variables contributed most to these differences. Three generations of pupils participated in the experiment, that is 134 pupils in total. 68 pupils attended the 'sport class' (the experimental group) and 66 were in the regular school programme (the control group). The sample of variables consisted of selected tests of pupils' motor abilities and morphological characteristics, grades in individual school subjects, values, attitude to physical activity, motivational orientation in physical education and their social status. The discriminant analysis confirmed the statistical significance of the differences between the groups of pupils attending the sport class and the regular school programme (Wilks' lambda = 0.51; F(l 1.122) = 10.68; p<0.000) and the significance of the discriminant power of the canonical discriminant function (own lambda = 0.91; Wilks' lambda. = 0.51; Hi[sup2] = 85.32; df =11; p<0.000). The largest and only significant correlation with the canonical discriminant function was recorded in the variable 'parents' education', based on which the function was named 'family educational level'.
It is evident that in a family environment, where high levels of knowledge and education are perceived as values, parents show a greater interest in and care for both education and for their children to develop a healthy lifestyle.
1 Introduction
The fundamental specific tasks of physical education in school as an important element of the education system include the development of motor abilities and sport knowledge, the promotion of a positive self-image as well as socialisation and growth in youth's psychophysical state and health (Auweele, Bakker, Biddle, Durand, & Seiler, 1999; Kovac & Novak, 1998). The keen interest of school management and sport teachers in changes that are adapted to the developmental characteristics and motivational structure of today's children and youth as well as adequate material resources in schools play an important role in the implementation of the planned programmes and objectives (Kovac & Strel, 2002; Kovac, Stare, & Jurak, 2003).
In Slovenia since the 1985/86 school year, when a school programme with additional sport subjects was allowed by the law (the first such programme was officially launched in the same school year), this programme has already been implemented in about 30 primary schools so as to contribute to the quality of the school's educational work in different periods of compulsory schooling.
The purpose of these programmes is not only to variegate the school curriculum but also to exploit the possibility of making organised education in the public school a way to compensate certain drawbacks of a non-stimulating family environment (Kroflic, 2000). The core aim of the study was to establish whether there are any differences between groups of pupils attending a 'sport class' for eight years and those attending a 'regular class'. Another aim was to determine which of the included variables concerning motivational orientation, attitude to physical activity, values, morphological characteristics, motor abilities, final grade and social status contribute the most to these differences.
2 Methods
2.1 Sample of Subjects
The sample was monitored longitudinally for eight years, from the age of 7 (1[supst] grade) to 15 (8[supth] grade). The sample included three generations of pupils who enrolled in the 1[supst] grade of primary school in Postojna, Slovenia, in the 1995/96, 96/97 and 97/98 school years and completed their schooling in the 2002/03-2004/05 school years. The sample consisted of 134 male and female pupils. The experimental group included 68 subjects who attended the programme with additional sport subjects. The control group consisted of 66 subjects who attended regular classes.
2.2 Programmes
In the period from 1[supst] to 4[supth] grade, pupils in the experimental group (EG) had five lessons of physical education a week, which were delivered concurrently by two teachers (a sport teacher and single class teacher). The control group (CG) had three lessons of physical education a week, which were delivered by their class teacher alone. In the 5[supth] and 6[supth] grades, the EG pupils had five lessons of physical education a week and, in the 7[supth] and 8[supth] grades, three lessons a week. The CG pupils had three lessons a week in the 5[supth] and 6[supth] grades and two lessons a week in the 7[supth] and 8[supth] grades. In the period from the 5[supth] to 8[supth] grade, lessons were delivered concurrently by two sport teachers, namely in experimental and control groups.
Table 1: Differences between the experimental and control groups in terms of number of physical education lessons in the eight-year schooling period
Group 1[supst]-4[supth] % 5[supth] and % 7[supth] and % 1[supst]-8[supth] %
grade 6[supth] grade 8[supth] grade grade
CG 420* 100 210** 100 150** 100 780 (360**) 100 (46% **)
EG 700** 167 350** 167 210** 140 1260** 162 (100% **)
Note: The baseline (100%) is the number of lessons in the CG (regular classes); * a single class teacher delivers the lesson; ** a single class teacher and sport teacher deliver the lesson concurrently
Pupils of sport classes (EG) also took part in additional sport activities of several hours' to several days' duration (hiking, cycling, bivouacking, cross-country skiing, dance courses, archery, bowling, boules etc.) and one open-air school a year. Pupils of the regular classes (CG) only had one summer (swimming course) and one winter (skiing course) open-air school and a prescribed number of sports days a year, which is the same as their schoolmates attending the sport programme.
2.3 Instruments
The dependent variables that were monitored for eight years include the pupils' grades in all subjects as well as selected tests for measuring motor abilities and morphological characteristics prescribed by the Sport-education Record (Strel, Ambrozic, Kondric, Kovac, Leskosek, Stihec & Sturm, 1996).
The sample of variables concerning values, attitude to physical activity and motivational orientation in physical education was acquired at the end of the 8[supth] grade, as follows:
(1) The questionnaire Musek's Scale of Values (MLV; Musek, 2000) was used to establish which of the stated items (values) the pupils appreciated the most. The reliability of the MLV is very high as the Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient is 0.94.
(2) The questionnaire on the pupils' motivational orientation in physical education was used to establish when pupils feel most successful in physical education. The questionnaire is a Slovenian adaptation (Cecic Erpic, Skof, Boben, & Zabukovec, 2002) of the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (Duda, Chi, Newton, Walling, & Catley, 1995). It is based on the target orientation theory in the context of motivation of achievements, assuming the existence of two dominant targets on the basis of which one assesses one's achievement. One of the targets is 'task orientation' (Cronbach's alpha is 0.72) and the other is 'ego orientation' (Cronbach's a is 0.82).
(3) The Attitude Towards Physical Activity Questionnaire (Kenyon, 1968) was translated and adapted to the Slovenian sport and cultural environment and physical education (Marcina, Cecic Erpic, Skof, Boben, & Zabukovec, 2004). The questionnaire measures five dimensions of youth's attitudes to physical activity: excitement and risk, aesthetic dimension, social experience and relaxation, health and fitness and ascetic dimension (Cronbach's alpha for these dimensions are 0.83, 0.84, 0.62, 0.87 and 0.73, respectively).
(4) The questionnaire on the social and economic status of pupils' families was adapted for the purpose of this study and completed by the parents of the pupils participating in the study at the time they completed the 8[supth] grade. We wanted to establish how strongly the environment impacts on the investigated dimensions.
2.4 Statistical Methods
The basic statistical parameters for all used variables were calculated and the t-test for calculating statistical significance of the differences between the EG and the CG in terms of individual variables was carried out. To identify which variables best distinguish the two groups in the final phase, we additionally used discriminant analysis (the Forward method), whereby variables were added to the discriminant function one by one until the F of the variable exceeded the value of the required 'F to enter'.
3. Results
3.1 Basic Statistical Data
Table 2: Differences between pupils attending sport classes and those attending regular classes in terms of dependent variables
Dependent variables Experimental group Control group
M SD M SD t-value df p
Values
Hedonic 78.93 10.4 79.94 8.8 -0.61 132 .545975
Potency-related 63.49 18.5 68.25 16.1 -1.59 132 .114512
Moral 87.33 8.2 88.51 7.7 -0.86 132 .390948
Fulfilment-related 68.85 16.0 71.55 17.7 -0.93 132 .354077
Dionysian 73.78 12.1 76.04 10.4 -1.16 132 .249504
Apollonian 83.90 8.6 85.37 8.1 -1.01 132 .312190
Attitudes
Risk dimension (A_RD) 3.70 0.88 3.16 0.97 3.37 132 .000976
Aesthetic dimension (A_AE) 2.35 0.73 2.76 0.97 -2.76 132 .006620
Relaxation and 3.94 0.61 3.86 0.56 0.74 132 .461333
entertainment (A_RE)
Health and fitness(A_HF) 3.96 0.85 4.15 0.72 -1.40 132 .164917
Ascetic dimension (A-ASC) 3.10 0.95 2.87 0.84 1.62 132 .106804
Motivation
EGO orientation 2.64 0.98 2.79 1.16 -0.81 132 .418550
TASK orientation 3.78 0.81 3.72 0.72 0.44 132 .658337
Grade in:
Slovenian language 3.94 0.96 3.41 1.14 2.93 132 .003986
Mathematics 3.75 1.04 3.30 1.15 2.36 132 .019781
Art class 4.29 0.75 4.36 0.75 -0.54 132 .592912
Music Class 4.32 0.75 4.32 0.75 -0.02 132 .987720
Physical education 4.63 0.70 4.45 0.73 1.38 132 .170238
Final grade 4.15 0.64 3.87 0.76 2.38 132 .018939
Morphology
Body height 1696.19 76.60 1682.53 76.61 1.02 129 .642058
Body weight 585.97 78.27 638.00 139.30 -2.65 129 .002659
Skinfold 12.18 4.31 15.95 6.24 -4.06 130 .012847
Motor abilities
Tapping (TAP) 46.12 4.08 42.24 5.27 4.71 128 .000006
Standing broad jump (SBJ) 201.86 24.36 180.46 32.03 4.24 125 .000043
Polygon (POL) 104.20 20.18 132.48 31.87 -5.98 125 .000000
Sit-ups (SU) 50.20 10.19 39.90 10.37 5.67 126 .000000
Touch toes (TT) 48.77 6.28 46.67 6.82 1.83 127 .070303
Bent arm hang (BAH) 55.35 23.26 29.37 21.57 6.54 126 .000000
60m run 91.70 10.32 98.83 11.10 -3.65 119 .000387
600m run 140.06 23.24 154.00 23.32 -3.26 118 .001438
Social and economic status
S_SOC 2.92 0.54 2.68 0.70 2.17 124 .031686
S_EDL 4.47 0.98 3.71 0.98 4.36 124 .000027
S_FMB 7.09 8.17 4.17 4.43 2.54 129 .012280
S_HC 3.90 0.52 3.96 0.80 -0.49 124 .622356
Note: M = mean value; SD = standard deviation; p = statistical significance; df = degree of freedom; S_SOC = parents' average relative evaluation of family social status (scale of 1-5); S_EDL = parents' average education level (scale of 1-7); S_FMB = % of family's monthly budget spent on sport and recreation; S_HC = parents' average relative evaluation of their own health condition
The basic statistical data and the results of the t-test (Table 2) show that, at the end of the schooling, the groups of pupils attending different programmes statistically significantly differ in terms of their motor abilities, body characteristics and final grade. Statistically significant differences between the two groups were also discovered in the parameters of the family's social status and in some dimensions of pupils' attitudes to physical activity. No statistically significant differences were found in motivational orientation and values.
3.2 Results of the Discriminant Analysis
Wilks' lambda = 0.51; F(l 1.122) = 10.68; p<0.000 corroborates the statistical significance of differences between the groups of pupils attending sport and regular classes as well as the significance of the discriminant power of the model used for comparing both groups of pupils (Table 3).
Likewise, the results confirm the statistically significant discriminant power of the calculated canonic discriminant function (Table 3).
Table 3: Discriminatory characteristic of the discriminant function
Function Own Canonic Wilks' Hi[sup2] df p
lambda correlation lambda
1 0.96 0.70 0.51 85.32 11 0.00
The discriminant analysis (the Forward method) eliminated nine variables (Table 4) characteristically contributing to discernment between the groups of pupils attending the sport classes and the regular programme. These are: bent arm hang, parents' education level, aesthetic dimension of the attitude, health and fitness dimension of the attitude, touch toes, risk dimension of the attitude, percentage of family's monthly budget spent on sport and recreation, standing broad jump and polygon.
Table 4: Variables that most differentiate the experimental and control groups
Wilks' lambda Partial lambda F-ods 1-Tolerance
(-1.122) p Tolerance (R-Sqr.)
BAH 0.553 0.921 10.393 0.002 ** 0.577 0.423
S_EDL 0.545 0.934 8.607 0.004 ** 0.937 0.063
A_AE 0.549 0.928 9.495 0.003 ** 0.714 0.286
TAP 0.517 0.986 1.792 0.183 0.783 0.217
A_HF 0.549 0.928 9.473 0.003 ** 0.538 0.462
TT 0.549 0.929 9.386 0.003 ** 0.768 0.232
A_RD 0.526 0.968 4.005 0.048 * 0.738 0.262
S_FMB 0.529 0.962 4.791 0.031 * 0.914 0.086
SBJ 0.535 0.952 6.126 0.015 * 0.365 0.635
POL 0.527 0.966 4.248 0.041 * 0.373 0.627
A_ASC 0.517 0.985 1.908 0.170 0.459 0.541
Note: VZG_8A = bent arm hang; S_EDL = parents' average education level (scale of 1-7), A_AE = aesthetic dimension; TAP = tapping; A_HF = health and fitness; TT = touch toes; A_RD = risk; S_FMB = % of family's monthly budget spent on sport and recreation; SBJ = standing broad jump; POL = polygon; A_ASC = ascetic dimension; p = statistical significance.
*p<0.5; **p<0.01
The discriminant analysis (the Forward method) eliminated nine variables that characteristically contributed to the discernment between the groups of pupils attending the sport classes and the regular programme. The discriminant function (Table 5) statistically significantly distinguishes between the two groups of pupils.
Table 5: Centroids of the canonic discriminant function
Group Function 1
Experimental group 0.96
Control group -0.99
The position of centroids for individual groups of pupils (Table 5 and Figure 1) confirm the differences between the groups. The standard coefficients of the canonic variable show that the differences are mostly due to the following: bent arm hang, health dimension of the attitude to physical activity, standing broad jump, aesthetic dimension of the attitude towards physical activity, touch toes and polygon.
Table 6: Correlations between independent variables and the canonic discriminant func
Variables Correlation with the function
S_EDL 0.398
A_HF 0.133
A_AE 0.089
TT 0.068
A_RD 0.053
A_ASC 0.049
S_FMB 0.045
TAP 0.042
BAH 0.024
SBJ 0.019
POL 0.016
In view of the correlations between the independent variables and the canonic discriminant function (Table 6) this function can also be termed the 'family's education level' which is an important factor of family education.
4 Discussion and Conclusions
At the end of primary school those pupils attending the sport classes differ statistically significantly from those attending the regular programme.
After completing their 8-year schooling, the pupils from sport classes are more efficient in motor terms and have more appropriate body dimensions in medical terms. The characteristically lower body mass along with higher body height and less fat tissue shows that the body composition of pupils from sport classes is considerably more favourable. Many studies have established a correlation between body fitness and the health status of children and youth (Skof, Zabukovec, Cecic-Erpic, & Boben, 2005; Currie, Roberts, Morgan, Smith, Settertobulte, Samdal, & Rasmussen, 2004; Malina, 1996). In the present study, it was found that pupils attending a programme with additional sport subjects attained 9% to 22% better results in individual motor tests. This merely supports the finding that additional sport activity at school clearly increases children's body fitness and thus improves their health.
The discriminant analysis (DA) shows that nine variables statistically significantly contribute to the discernment between the EG and the CG. Three variables concern attitudes to physical activity (health and fitness component, aesthetic component and excitement/risk component), four belong to motor tests (polygon, standing broad jump, touch toes and bent arm hang) and two to one's family's social and economic status (parents' education level and percentage of family's monthly budget spent on sport and recreation).
The discriminant model confirmed the effect exerted by the different programmes (and, of course, the effect of differences established upon enrolment in the school) since 90% of the pupils were correctly classified in the experiment and 80% in the control groups.
The results of the study also showed that one's parents' education level exerts the strongest effect on the canonic discriminant function, which statistically significantly differentiates between the EG and the CG. This is not surprising given that many studies and our everyday practice confirm the importance of one's family's economic status and, even more, one's parents' education level and their correlation with access to various curricular and extracurricular educational, cultural, sport and other programmes for children. Likewise, the parents' education level correlates with their children's final grade.
It is evident that in a family environment, where high levels of knowledge and education are perceived as values, parents show a greater interest in and care for education (they also have better possibilities for this) as well as for their children to develop a healthy lifestyle.
The key conclusions of the study are:
a) Many significant differences exist between the group of pupils attending the sport programme and the regular programme group.
b) The most important effect on the canonic discriminant function, which statistically significantly differentiates between the EG and the CG, is that of one's parents' education level.
If this extremely positive effect of the programme on selected motor and partly morphological parameters is expected, then other positive effects (a better final grade, some positive trends in motivational orientation and youth's attitudes to physical activity) bear even greater importance.
However, the finding that school programmes with additional sport subjects are attended by pupils from families with a higher socioeconomic status shows that the public school is failing to fully exploit the potential of successful compensation of school socialisation. This finding underscores the need for a further consideration of the quality development of the investigated classes.
References
Auwele, Y. V., Bakker, F., Biddle, S., Durand, M., Seiler, R. (1999). Psychology for physical educators. Human Kinetics.
Cecic Erpic, S., Boben, D., Skof, B., Zabukovec, V., (2002). Differences in pupils' motivation for physical education classes. In: Milanovic, D., Prot, F. (ed.), 3rd International Scientific Conference:
Kinesiology--New Perspectives, Opatija, Zagreb, Faculty of Kinesiology (pp. 141-144).
Currie, C, Roberts, C, Morgan, A., Smith, R., Settertobulte, W., Samdal, O., Rasmussen, V.B. (20049: Young people's health in context. Health Behaviour. In School-aged Children (HBSC) study: international report from the 2001/2002 survey. Copenhagen: WHO.
Duda, J. L., Chi, L., Newton, M., Walling, M. D. & Catley, D. (1995). Task and ego orientation and intrinsic motivation in sport. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 26, 40-63.
Kovac, M. & Novak, D. (1998). Ucni nacrt. Program osnovnosolskega izobrazevanja. Sportna vzgoja, [Curriculum. Primary Education Programme. Physical Education], Ljubljana: Office for Education.
Kovac, M., Strel, J., (2002). Spremembe v solskem sportu v Sloveniji [Changes in school sport in Slovenia], Ljubljana, Sport, 50, 2, 11-16.
Kovac, M., Stare, G., Jurak, G. (2003). Medpredmetno in medpodrocno povezovanje pri sportni vzgoji [Intra-curricular and inter-sectoral connection in physical education], Ljubljana, Sport, 51, 2, 11-15.
Kroflic, B. (2000). Naravne meje vzgoje v javni soli (Kaj je vzgoja in kaj ni?) [Natural boundaries to education in a public school (What education is and what it is not)], Ljubljana, Sodobna pedagogika, 1, 28-40.
Malina, R. M. (1996). Tracking of physical activity and physical fitness across the lifespan. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 67 (Suppl. 3), 48-57).
Marcina, P., Skof, B., Cecic Erpic, S., Boben, D., Zabukovec, V. (2004). The formation of attitudes toward physical activities: A questionnaire for Slovenian youth, In: Young Researcher Seminar, Innsbruck 2004: Book of Abstracts (pp.100-111). Innsbruck: Institute for Sport Science, University of Innsbruck.
Musek, J. (2000). Nova psiholoska teorija vrednot [New psychological theory of values], Ljubljana, Educy d.o.o., Ljubljana, and the Institute for Personality Psychology.
Pecek, M., Luksic-Hacin, M. (2003). Uspesnost in pravicnost v osnovnih solah v Sloveniji [High performance and impartiality in primary schools in Slovenia], In M. Pecek, & P. C. Razdesek. (Eds.), Uspesnost in pravicnost v soli [High performance and impartiality in school], Ljubljana: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education.
Strel, J., Ambrozic, F., Kondric, M., Kovac, M., Leskosek, B., Stihec, J. & Sturm, J. (1996). Sportnovzgojni karton [Sport-education record]: Ljubljana, Ministry of Education and Sport.
Skof, B., Zabukovec, V., Cecic Erpic, S. & Boben, D. (2005). Pedagosko-psiholoski vidiki sportne vzgoje [Pedagogical and psychological aspects of physical education]. Ljubljana: Faculty of Sport, Institute of Kinesiology.
ADDED MATERIAL
B. Peternelj, B. Skof J. Strel (Postojna*/Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Figure 1: Graphic presentation of centroids of individual groups and their variables