Middle school students’ attitudes toward physical activity and physical education, intentions, and physical activity behavior

Mercier, Kevin; Simonton, Kelly L.; Centeio, Erin E.; Barcelona, Jeanne; Garn, Alex C.

doi:10.1177/1356336x221106051

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The change in attitude toward physical exercise will stimulate the development of health-related behaviors (e.g., regular sleep and eating, controlled smoking, and drinking). The result is consistent with previous research [ 56 , 57 ], in which people with positive attitudes toward physical exercise tended to be more disciplined and had fewer unhealthy behaviors. In short, maintaining a positive attitude toward physical exercise is of great significance in cultivating awareness of health-related behaviors.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Impact of Metacognition on Health-Related Behavior: A Mediation Model Study

Tang

et al. 2023

Journal of Environmental and Public Health

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Objective. The study aims to explore the correlation mechanism among metacognition, attitude toward physical exercise, and health-related behavior in high school students. Methods. A total of 869 students (17 ± 1.70) from Anhui, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Fujian provinces were selected by stratified sampling to complete the Metacognition Questionnaire, Health-Related Behavior Self-Rating Scale, Attitude Toward Physical Exercise Scale, and Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale (Simplified Chinese version, DASS-21). Results. (1) Metacognition was negatively predictive of attitude toward physical exercise and health-related behavior (β = −0.236, P < 0.01; β = −0.239, P < 0.01) but positively predictive of negative emotion (β = 0.496, P < 0.01); (2) attitude toward physical exercise was positively predictive of health-related behavior (β = 0.533, P < 0.01) but negatively predictive of negative emotion (β = −0.336, P < 0.01); and (3) negative emotion was negatively predictive of health-related behavior (β = −0.389, P < 0.01). Conclusions. Metacognition not only has a directly predictive effect on health-related behavior but also predicts it through attitude toward physical exercise. Negative emotion also mediates the relationship between metacognition and attitude toward physical exercise.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Impact of Metacognition on Health-Related Behavior: A Mediation Model Study

Tang

et al. 2023

Journal of Environmental and Public Health

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“…The prevalence of overweight or obese children and adolescents aged 5–19 years, has surged from 4% in 1975 to an alarming 18% in 2016 ( 7 ). To mitigate or forestall obesity, precautionary measures, such as fostering a positive disposition toward physical activity, should be implemented for children and adolescents ( 46 ). In this context, the primary objective of this investigation was to scrutinize the correlation between attitudes towards physical activity and weight gain among students in elementary and middle schools.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conversely, in the domain of negative attitudes, students at the age of 9 scored higher than their peers in other age categories. An analogous study, albeit with a different focus, conducted by Mercier et al ( 46 ), examined variations in attitudes towards physical activity with respect to grade levels. Their findings revealed that 6th-grade students exhibited a more favorable positive attitude and a less pronounced negative attitude compared to 7th and 8th-grade students.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between attitude toward physical activity and weight gain in children and young adolescence

Özer,

Uyhan,

Devrilmez

et al. 2024

Front. Pediatr.

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IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to investigate the association between attitudes toward physical activity and weight gain among children and young adolescents with an additional focus on the impact of gender on these attitudes.MethodsEmploying a descriptive survey method, data were systematically gathered via purposive sampling from 11 specific cities in Türkiye, ensuring representation from all seven regions. A total of 3,138 students, aged between 9 and 14 years, participated in this study, with a distribution of 46% girls and 54% boys. To assess the attitudes of children and young adolescents toward physical activity, the Youth Physical Activity Attitude Scale was utilized. Height and body weight measurements were taken to determine the body mass index of participants. SPSS 26.0 software facilitated the statistical analyses, including Pearson correlation analysis to explore relationships between variables. Multivariate Analysis of Variance was employed to evaluate the impact of age, BMI, and gender on attitudes toward physical activity.ResultsParticipants classified as normal weight exhibited a more positive attitude towards physical activity compared to their obese and overweight counterparts. Moreover, a significant gender difference emerged, with boys demonstrating significantly higher positive attitudes toward physical activity than girls. However, no significant difference was observed in negative attitudes based on gender. The study also revealed that an escalation in negative attitudes towards physical activity correlated with students being categorized as underweight, overweight, or obese, as opposed to having a normal weight status. Additionally, a statistically significant divergence in both positive and negative attitudes towards physical activity was found based on age. Specifically, the results indicated that students aged 9 and 14 exhibited lower levels of positive attitude when contrasted with their counterparts of different age groups. Conversely, in the domain of negative attitudes, students at the age of 9 scored higher than their peers in other age categories.DiscussionAttitudes towards physical activity can serve as a convenient indicator and guide for assessing the effectiveness of various practices or interventions aimed at promoting physical activity, with recognition of the significant gender difference in positive attitudes among children and young adolescents.

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“…Through the intentional construction of positive challenges using physical literacy in PE, participants also suggested this supported student engagement, motivation, and continued participation within their PE classes. Ultimately, given repeated provision of positive movement experiences in the PE context, this could lead to the association of happiness with physical activity as students emerge into adulthood ( 9 , 32 ). The combination of these pedagogical practices over the course of a PE program supports the activation of the physical literacy cycle and the various feedback pathways, in a variety of different movement and social contexts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Shifting away from the dehumanizing physical activity promotion strategies to support intrinsic valuation of movement ( 6 ), as exemplified in physical literacy through concurrent development of competence and psychological characteristics such as confidence and motivation ( 7 ), may be a way to support more sustainable behaviour change. One of the contexts in which this shift in thinking may be particularly impactful is in schools where positive movement experiences can be supported ( 8 , 9 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Where was this when I was in Physical Education?” Physical literacy enriched pedagogy in a quality physical education context

Houser

Kriellaars

2023

Front. Sports Act. Living

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IntroductionIn recent years, there has been a call to restructure physical education (PE) practices and outcomes. A physical literacy enriched pedagogy approach would support this change by more intentional design of lesson planning that includes concurrent development of competence & confidence and inclusion of students of all levels of ability, leading to holistic development of the student. Despite this potential, there is little research to date that outlines PE pedagogical practices with physical literacy as a foundation. The purpose was to explore pedagogical practices and perspectives from elementary PE teachers through a physical literacy enriched pedagogy lens in a high-quality PE context.MethodsOne-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of elementary PE teachers within one school division. Interviews with all participants focused on questions related to PE and physical literacy. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected from the audio-recorded interviews.ResultsFour themes were generated based on the semi-structured interviews from six elementary PE teachers from one school division. The results identified key physical literacy enriched pedagogical practices based on four themes: supporting a holistic PE experience based upon physical literacy as an outcome; movement within and beyond PE; inclusive and individualized experiences; and physical literacy practices bringing the school community together. The findings were then connected to the physical literacy cycle and UNESCO components of quality PE.ConclusionsAll participants spoke to how their pedagogy focused on the holistic development and inclusion of their students based upon activation of various feedback pathways of the physical literacy cycle. The themes that emerged and subsequent insight gained from teachers went beyond existing physical literacy cycles, in particular by discussing development of students from cognitive, affective, social and creative (problem solving) perspectives, supporting an expansion to the existing physical literacy cycle as presented.

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Middle school students’ attitudes toward physical activity and physical education, intentions, and physical activity behavior

Cited by 11 publications

References 41 publications

Impact of Metacognition on Health-Related Behavior: A Mediation Model Study

Impact of Metacognition on Health-Related Behavior: A Mediation Model Study

The relationship between attitude toward physical activity and weight gain in children and young adolescence

“Where was this when I was in Physical Education?” Physical literacy enriched pedagogy in a quality physical education context

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