Effects of gender, activity type, class location and class composition on physical activity levels experienced during physical education classes in British secondary schools: a pilot cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Pupils in secondary schools do not meet the targets for physical activity levels during physical education (PE) sessions, and there is a lack of data on the vigorous physical activity domain (VPA) in PE known to be positively associated with cardio metabolic health While PE session intensity depends on a variety of factors, the large majority of studies investigating these factors have not taken into account the nested structure of this type of data set. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between various factors (gender, activity type, class location and class composition) and various activity levels during PE classes in secondary schools, using a multi-level statistical approach. Methods Year eight (12–13 years old) adolescents (201 boys and 106 girls) from six schools were fitted with accelerometers during one PE session each, to determine the percentage (%) of the PE session time spent in sedentary (SPA), light (LPA), moderate (MPA), vigorous (VPA) and moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) intensity levels. Two- and three-level (pupils, n = 307; classes, n = 13, schools, n = 6) mixed-effect models were used to assess the relationship between accelerometer-measured physical activity levels (% of class time spent in various activity levels) and gender, activity type, class location and composition. Results Participants engaged in MVPA and VPA for 30.7 ± 1.2% and 11.5 ± 0.8% of PE classes, respectively. Overall, no significant association between gender or class composition and PA was shown. A significant relationship between activity type and PA was observed, with Artistic classes significantly less active than Fitness classes for VPA (5.4 ± 4.5 vs. 12.5 ± 7.1%, p = 0.043, d:1.19). We also found a significant association between class location and PA, with significantly less time spent in SPA (24.8 ± 4.8% vs. 30.0 ± 3.4%, p = 0.042, d:0.77) and significantly more time spent in VPA (12.4 ± 3.7% vs. 7.6 ± 2.0%, p = 0.022, d:1.93) and MVPA (32.3 ± 6.7% vs.24.8 ± 3.8%, p = 0.024, d:1.33) in outdoors vs. indoors classes. Conclusions The results suggest that class location and activity type could be associated with the intensity of PA in PE. It is essential to take into account the clustered nature of this type of data in similar studies if the sample size allows it.

Importance of Providing Additional Choices in Relation to Pupils' Happiness, Mastery, Well-Being, Contentment, and Level of Physical Activity in Physical Education

“…By giving the adolescents‘ self-organized PE the focus was to increase their intrinsic motivation in PE. Delextrat et al ( 2020 ) concluded that activity type could be associated with the intensity of PA in PE. By giving the adolescents‘ self-organized PE the purpose was to see if MVPA increased or went down in relation with the activity itself.…”

“…A study by Kalajas-Tilga et al ( 2020 ) concluded that to enhance adolescents' daily MVPA, special focus should be put on increasing their intrinsic motivation toward physical education. Delextrat et al ( 2020 ) concluded that activity type could be associated with the intensity of PA in PE.…”

Exploring activity levels in physical education lessons in the UK: a cross-sectional examination of activity types and fitness levels

“… 47 48 The ‘Fit to Study’ pilot study (Delextrat, 2019) recorded an average figure of 30.7% MVPA when considering ‘effective’ PE time. 49 …”

“…47 48 The 'Fit to Study' pilot study (Delextrat, 2019) recorded an average figure of 30.7% MVPA when considering 'effective' PE time. 49 It has been suggested that a pursuit of PA alone may result in teachers prioritising fitness-based activities, at the expense of enjoyment and developing physically literacy. 50 However, our observations during the summer curriculum was that fitness-based activities were not prioritised, and that fielding and striking games lessons, one of the least active lesson types, were most commonly observed.…”

Efectos agudos de distintas estrategias de calentamiento sobre el rendimiento físico y las habilidades motrices en escolares (Acute effects of different warm-up strategies on physical performance and motor skills in schoolchildren)

“…Lamentablemente las clases de educación física muestran una baja adherencia y tiempo de compromiso motor tanto en niños como adolescentes (Hollis et al, 2017;Reyes et al, 2020), lo que podría estar asociado a una baja motivación o baja percepción de autoeficacia (Arribas-Galarraga et al, 2020;Fraile et al, 2019;García et al, 2020;Wing et al, 2016). Dado el contexto actual, en el que cada vez existen menos oportunidades de acceder a un ambiente amigable que contribuya al desarrollo de habilidades motrices (Davids et al, 2016), es necesario que los profesores de educación física, diseñen sesiones que contribuyan a generar respuestas afectivas que motiven la participación y la percepción de autoeficacia con el fin de hacer de sus sesiones más efectivas (Baños et al, 2020;Delextrat et al, 2020;Lakicevic et al, 2020).…”