Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Physical Education

Sub-Department

College of Education

First Advisor

Collin Webster

Abstract

This dissertation consists of two studies pertaining to comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAP) that function in tandem to advance the knowledge base. The lack of an empirical basis for moving forward with CSPAP efforts and the lack of objective measures of CSPAP implementation are intertwined limitations currently stemming the potential for wide scale program adoption.

The purpose of Study 1 was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of multi-component PA interventions through schools that could be mapped onto at least two components of the CSPAP model. Electronic databases were searched to identify published studies that (1) occurred in the US; (2) targeted K-12; (3) were interventions; (4) reflected ≥2 CSPAP components, with at least one targeting school-based PA during school hours; and (5) reported outcomes as improvements in daily PA. Standardized mean effects (Hedge’s g) from pooled random effects inverse-variance models were estimated. The overall impact of interventions was small (0.11, 95CI 0.03 to 0.19) with more CSPAP components related to increased effectiveness (effect size of 0.06, 0.19, and 0.29 corresponding with 2, 3, and 4 components, respectively). Studies employing objective measures of PA (n=3) resulted in smaller effects (0.02 vs. 0.12) than those using self-report (n=14). Studies including PADSD (0.19 vs. 0.07) and SW (0.21 vs. 0.09) were associated with a larger effect size than interventions not including these components. As designed, there is limited evidence of the effectiveness of multi-component interventions to increase youth total daily PA. Results suggest that taking a multi-component approach to increasing youth PA is an appropriate path, but strategies within and across components may need to be reconsidered for maximal impact.

The purpose of Study 2 was to describe instrument development, reliability, and validity of the System for Observing Student Movement during Academic Routines and Transitions (SOSMART). An extensive literature review and Delphi survey were used in developing an a priori framework to guide live observations of purposefully selected classroom teachers. Examples of movement integration (MI) were considered in light of the initial framework and expanded and/or refined as needed. Reliability was tested using intra and interobserver percent agreement. Two validity procedures were used in this study. The Delphi survey was used to further examine content validity, and multilevel random effects logistical regression models were estimated for each of the MI variables to test construct validity of the instrument by examining the presence/absence of teacher MI compared with students’ activity and/or sedentary behaviors as measured with accelerometers.

Intraobserver agreement across two weeks resulted in 97.5% agreement and interobserver agreement exceeded 80% in live and video reliability testing. Results support the hypothesis that a student was more likely to be in activity when MI variables were present in the same minute with 8 out of 11 variables achieving statistical significance. Three MI variables were not sufficiently observed (i.e. reward, other movement (academic), physical environment); therefore, reliability and construct validity was not calculated for these variables. Continued use of SOSMART is needed to further validate these variables. Future research utilizing SOSMART can provide descriptive information about the extent of MI in classrooms, which MI strategies may be more or less effective in certain contexts, and explore reasons for any differences in activity outcomes as a result of MI. This information can also be used to create a national benchmark for MI in the classroom and potentially influence the practice of teacher evaluations by administrators.

Together, these studies contribute to the foundational knowledge for CSPAP research and have potential to impact policy and practice decisions in pre-service teacher education, in-service teacher development, and future PA research.

Rights

© 2015, Laura B. Russ

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