Influence of cooperative strategies and mindfulness on the perception and control of emotions in primary physical education. A proposal to improve sustainability in the social dimension

Background: Today, the world we live in poses challenges, such as poverty, inequality, climate change, etc. All these issues that surround us are framed within the SDGs. With the aim of finding new strategies and ways of teaching with which to achieve the SDGs, an intervention is proposed that uses emotions and feelings as a framework, as well as control and attention to these in Primary Education. Method: This proposal is based on the implementation of different strategies and learning styles (cooperative learning, guided discovery, discovery learning, mindfulness, and yoga) divided into sessions in which the students participate. The research is framed within the field of sustainable development and aims to analyze the effect that students receive when applying these strategies, in order to check whether they are valid for contributing to the SDGs. The study obtains its results through the questionnaire "Trait Meta Mood Scale-24, TMMS-24 Spanish version" (Fernández-Berrocal and Extremera, 2005), which is carried out on a sample of students to whom the experimental model is applied and to the students who are included as the control group. Results: The paired samples T-test shows in the experimental group, the difference shows a noticeable decrease in the attention factor in the post-test compared to the pre-intervention test, while in the control group the difference also decreases, but it is not as noticeable. In the clarity factor, the difference increases very slightly in both groups in the post-test compared to the pre-test. Finally, in the repair factor, the results of the experimental group decrease notably with respect to the control group in the post-test, with respect to the pre-test. Conclusions: Due to the limitations of the study, the results were neither significant nor conclusive. It is of great importance to carry out this type of study in order to make further progress in ESD

Game on for gender equality: an evaluation of ultimate team in primary physical education

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a pedagogical model that utilized the game of Ultimate Team to promote gender equality among primary school students. This study's goals aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 4, 5, and 10, aiming to enhance the students' understanding of equality and the necessity of sustainable development. Previous research has indicated the presence of persistent gender stereotypes and sexist notions in education, thereby necessitating new methods of teaching to foster an environment of inclusivity and equality. Methodology: A quantitative, comparative study design was employed, with 50 primary school students comprising the study sample. The students were divided into an experimental group, which received the intervention, and a control group, which did not. The intervention was a didactic proposal based on the game of Ultimate Team, conducted over seven sessions. The evaluation tool was a self-developed questionnaire, which gauged students' attitudes and perceptions toward gender equality before and after the intervention. This questionnaire consisted of items that were directly related to gender stereotypes and equality. Results: The data analysis showed no significant changes in the overall egalitarian attitudes of students between the pre- and post-intervention stages. Both the experimental and control groups exhibited similar attitudes toward gender equality. However, there were some notable changes observed in certain items (2, 4, and 9). Discussion: Although the intervention did not significantly change the students' overall attitudes towards gender equality, the study yielded interesting insights. The intervention brought to the forefront some persistent stereotypes and sexist notions in the students' responses. Additionally, it was observed that the students struggled to connect their experiences in the game with the broader concept of gender equality. This observation could potentially be attributed to a variety of factors, such as maturity levels, socio-familial influences, or the short duration of the intervention. The need for a more extended and in-depth intervention is highlighted by these results. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the necessity of more extensive and interdisciplinary interventions to instill a deeper understanding of gender equality among students. It suggests that games like Ultimate Team could be leveraged as powerful tools to foster an egalitarian society, particularly within the context of Physical Education. Future research might consider these factors to ensure the efficacy of gender equality interventions. There is a need for longitudinal studies that can monitor the long-term effects of such interventions on students' attitudes and behaviors

Educación de calidad e igualdad de género como objetivos del desarrollo sostenible en la educación: una experiencia con docentes en España

This paper aims to assess the opinions of Physical Education teachers (PET) about their teaching intervention at a coeducational level. A further objective was to analyse PETs self-perceptions of their mixed and training interventions to describe possible training gaps. The qualitative study involved 191 high school PET from Andalusia (Spain). Some questions were conducted about three dimensions: gender stereotypes and attitudes in PE; teaching performance in coeducation, and coeducational teachers’ professional development in PE. The study's main results indicated that most teachers had neither different expectations of boys and girls nor a different way of treating them and, more than half of the participants considered themselves to be competent in coeducation. They preferred to receive training other than coeducational training. However, almost three-quarters of the sample had not received any coeducation training, or it was self-taught. The main conclusion is that PET consider that they have proper coeducational behaviour. The results showed that current teachers had improved their teaching intervention regarding gender equality compared to previous studies. The present study has had a contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG )goals 4 and 5, quality education and gender equality, respectively and can be a reference for future research related to coeducation for teachers.Este trabajo tiene como objetivo evaluar la opinión de profesorado de Educación Física (PET) sobre su intervención docente en un nivel coeducativo. Otro de los objetivos fue analizar las autopercepciones de los PET (del inglés Physical Education Teacher, “PET") sobre sus intervenciones coeducativas y formativas para describir posibles lagunas formativas. En este estudio cualitativo han participado 191 PET de secundaria y bachillerato de Andalucía (España). Se realizaron preguntas sobre tres dimensiones: estereotipos y actitudes de género en EF; desempeño docente en coeducación y desarrollo profesional del profesorado coeducativo en EF. Los principales resultados del estudio indicaron que la mayoría de los docentes no tenían expectativas diferentes entre niños y niñas ni una forma diferente de tratarlos y más de la mitad de los participantes se consideraban competentes en coeducación. Preferían recibir cursos de especialización distintos a cursos de coeducación. Sin embargo, casi las tres cuartas partes de la muestra no había recibido ninguna formación en coeducación o era autodidacta. La principal conclusión es que los PET consideran que tienen un comportamiento coeducativo adecuado. Los resultados mostraron que los docentes actuales habían mejorado su intervención docente en materia de igualdad de género en comparación con estudios previos. El presente estudio pretende contribuir a las metas de los Objetivos del Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) 4 y 5, educación de calidad e igualdad de género respectivamente y puede ser un referente para futuras investigaciones relacionadas con la coeducación en docentes

Effects of Self-Construction of Materials on the Ecological Awareness of Physical Education Primary School Students

Physical Education (PE) has unique features to expand the students’ sustainability awareness. Being active in natural environments has been described as an opportunity to contribute on this matter. However, there is lack of related research. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a didactic proposal for PE based on the self-construction of materials on the ecological awareness of primary school students. A total of 111 students participated in this quasi-experimental study that lasted 4 weeks (eight sessions). The Mann-Whitney U test was applied for comparisons between groups, experimental and control, (SELF vs. CON) on two factors (PRE and POST). No significant differences were observed in any of them (p ≤ 0.05). On the other hand, to compare the data from the pre and post questionnaires within the same group (PRE vs. POST), the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used. No significant differences in any of the groups were observed (p ≤ 0.05). Although SELF improved on some scores such as reusing things after picking up litter from yards, the differences were not significant. This could be explained by the brevity of the intervention. These results could contribute to increasing research on the integration of sustainability in PE.This work was supported by the University of Alicante. Through the project: ODSEF PROJECT. Design and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals for Physical Education (REDES ICE-2021-5489). This research is one of the research projects resulting from the doctoral thesis of the doctoral student Paula Botella

A new vision of mindfulness in physical education. Contributing to the social dimension of sustainable development

Background: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to address a series of challenges facing humanity, seeking to achieve a sustainable, peaceful, prosperous and just life on Earth. This global strategy has three dimensions: environmental, economic and social. In relation to the latter, one of its areas lies in improving health in general (SDG 3, health and well-being) and mental health in particular (target 3.4, prevention and treatment of mental health and well-being). In this sense, some techniques such as yoga have proven to be effective in improving cognitive capacity and emotional regulation, key aspects that should be reinforced in children, and why not do so through PE. Methodology: Therefore, the aim of this research is to analyse changes in the psychological well-being of PE pupils. A total of 24 pupils in the 4th year of Primary Education (9.5 years old with a deviation of 1.2) participated in the study. The research is based on an experimental design where two randomised groups were established; a control group that followed the standard PE routine (n=12) and an experimental group (n=12) that underwent a yoga intervention. The intervention lasted two weeks spread over four sessions. The Levene test, with a reliability of 0.86, showed a non-parametric distribution of the sample. Due to the sample size, the data obtained were measured using the paired samples t-test. Results: The statistics showed significant differences, indicating a better result in the experimental group for the dimensions: external, internal and conscious attention, observing, describing, acting with awareness and accepting oneself without judgement after the yoga practice intervention. Conclusions: These results could indicate that bringing yoga and mindfulness into the classroom as an additional PE content could be beneficial for students' mental and physical well-being. These findings could contribute to raising awareness of the integration of sustainability through PE

Integrating Mindfulness into the Subject of Physical Education. An Opportunity for the Development of Students’ Mental Health

Stress, uncertainty, and the abuse of technologies are components that have a negative impact on the physical, social, and psychological health of young people. One of the aims of the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is to empower individuals to reflect on their actions, and mindfulness arises as one tool with an important potential to contribute on this matter. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the effects of mindfulness practices on the ability of students to focus their attention on external, internal or kinesthetic factors, awareness in acting, and acceptance. Consequently, a quasi-experimental study was developed to compare groups between the pre and post condition. The study participants were a total of 127 students (52 women) from 4th year of secondary school and 1st year of a achelor’s degree (16.5 ± 1.5 years). The sample was assigned by academic convenience, with 54 students in the experimental group and 73 in the control group. The intervention was carried out for 4 weeks. During this period, the experimental group participated in mindfulness activities such as guided meditations at the end of the PE session or challenges that stimulated the student in daily actions. The control group continued with the planned programming in physical education class. These groups were subjected to the following test: (1) Mindfulness for School Scale (MSS) and (2) Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). To analyze the results, the normality of the sample was evaluated through the Mann–Whitney U test, resulting as non-parametric. The search for possible differences between the groups was carried out by using the Wilcoxon test. The statistics showed that the experimental group presented significant improvements (p ≤ 0.05) in most of the measured parameters: external attention, kinesthetics attention, and mean of the CAMM. These results seem to show that the use of mindfulness could be an appropriate tool to be implemented in the school context in order to directly contribute to the mental health of high school students, and thus to an education for the sustainable development.This work was supported by the University of Alicante. Through the project: ODSEF PROJECT. Design and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals for Physical Education (REDES ICE-2021-5489)

Recomendaciones de actividad física durante la pandemia de COVID-19: un enfoque práctico para diferentes grupos objetivo

Ensuring health and well-being during this pandemic is essential according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Physical exercise has an important role in the preservation of the immune system, which is vital to prevent infections. To promote physical exercise and maintain a healthy status, recent studies have suggested general exercise routines to be implemented during the quarantine period. However, to improve the health-related physical fitness components, any specific prescription should include intensity, volume, duration, and mode. Controversy persists about which is the best intensity of physical activity, while performing exercise at a moderate intensity could bring important benefits to asymptomatic people. High intensity or unaccustomed exercise should be restricted for older people, and for people of all ages with chronic diseases or compromised immune system, obesity, or upper respiratory tract infection with limited symptoms. Besides, physical activity guidelines should be particular to each population group, giving special consideration to those vulnerable to COVID-19 who are much more likely to suffer more self-isolation. Therefore, the present study is to provide specific physical activity recommendations for different populations during this pandemic.En este periodo de pandemia es vital garantizar la salud y el bienestar según indican los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de la ONU. El ejercicio físico desempeña un papel importante en la mejora del sistema inmunológico, siendo vital en la prevención de infecciones. Por todo ello, se recomienda la realización de actividad física de manera regular para preservar la salud mental, neuromuscular, cardiovascular, metabólica y endocrina. Para promover el ejercicio físico y mantener un estado saludable, estudios recientes han sugerido que se apliquen rutinas generales de actividad física durante el período de cuarentena. Sin embargo, para mejorar los componentes de la aptitud física relacionados con la salud, la prescripción específica debe matizar la intensidad, el volumen, la duración y el modo. Se ha detectado cierta controversia acerca de cuál es la intensidad adecuada de la actividad física durante el periodo de pandemia, ya que la realización de ejercicios de intensidad moderada podría aportar importantes beneficios. Se debería ser cauteloso con el ejercicio de alta intensidad en las personas no entrenadas o incluso limitarse en los grupos de riesgo. Se deben establecer pautas de actividad física adaptadas para cada grupo de población, prestando especial consideración a los vulnerables a la COVID 19, ya que tienen más probabilidades de volver a aislarse. Por lo tanto, el presente estudio proporciona recomendaciones específicas de actividad física para diferentes poblaciones y su estado de condición física durante esta pandemia

Cooperative learning and SDG 5. An intervention for physical education in secondary schools

Background: Nowadays, there is great concern about gender inequality in many areas of the recent scenario; an aspect that is being pursued through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), exactly through SDG 5; cooperative learning seems to be one of the ways to achieve gender equality in secondary school students. It is essential to investigate new methodologies to try to curb many of the problems that have been active for many years, and it is crucial to promote and encourage these values in society at the educational stages. However, there is still not enough research that has been carried out on this subject, so there is still much to learn. Therefore, the aim of this research is to analyse whether the effect of a didactic unit of Physical Education through cooperative learning shows improvements in the attitudes of coeducation in secondary school students. Method: A total of 131 secondary school students (74 females), with a mean age of 14.46 ± 0.64 years, carried out the study. A quasi-experimental, pre-post study was carried out using a control and experimental group. The sample was not randomised. For 5 weeks, the control group maintained normal Physical Education sessions, following a more traditional methodology based on direct command. Results: The experimental group, on the other hand, carried out the 5 sessions of the didactic unit based on the cooperative learning methodology, through mixed groupings. To assess the normality of the sample, the Kolmogorov Smirnov test was used to confirm that the sample was non-parametric. To measure the effect of the intervention, Mann Whitney and Wilcoxon tests were performed. The statistics showed that the experimental group was significantly higher than the control in two of its factors in the pre, but no significant differences were shown in the post. Conclusions: These findings do not verify the main objective of the study, perhaps as a consequence of the quantitative difference of the samples between groups and between stages (pre-post), or as a consequence of insufficient or erroneous programming. Finally, it would be interesting to evaluate the same results by segmenting by gender to see if more significant differences are shown

Is positive self-perception a determinant of cardiovascular performance? A didactic and sustainable view in female university students

Traditionally women have been less active and physically active than men. Although the recent literature indicates this gender gap, the sexes' difference when practicing sport seems to be decreasing. This study framework's importance could be reflected in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) proposed by UNESCO, which highlight the need to generate strategies to improve health (SDG 3) and equalize opportunities between men and women (SDG 4). The reasons for these differences are multifactorial, with intrinsic and extrinsic motivations indicated as requiring further research. Self-perception in physical performance has been documented to influence women to perform the exercise and physical activity. Therefore, this research aimed to identify and healthy women's self-perception and motivations to perform in a VO2max test. A total of 31 women (21.12 ± 2.01) completed the research. The study was divided into two principal tests. On the one hand, the measurement of a sub-maximal incremental stress test following established ASCM indications. Heart rate and ventilatory parameters were measured during the stress test using a metabolic measurement system and a gas analyser. After the test, the study sample completed the self-completed Healthy Lifestyle Questionnaire and the International Short Form Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF), and the Self Report of Reasons for Physical Activity (AMPEF). Correlation between VO2Max and average weight and body image (r = .001) was detected, showing the positive relationship between both values. The results obtained help confirm the importance of a positive self-perception in women regarding their weight and body image for better physical performance. Although these findings cannot be generalized, they establish a potential relationship between better physical performance and self-perception in most adults.Work carried out by Research Group, Pontifical University of Comillas, CESAG, Palma, Spain and SICA Research group HUM 564 (Expresión Corporal) Project PROMOTEX (University of Málaga)

Teaching intervention in physical education during quarantine for COVID-19

El objetivo de este estudio fue describir el cambio producido en la intervención docente del profesorado de Educación Física como consecuencia de la cuarentena por COVID-19. Los datos de la investigación procedieron de una encuesta online realizada a 191 docentes en activo. La encuesta se compuso de 15 preguntas agrupadas en tres dimensiones principales, la reorganización de los contenidos, el análisis de la evaluación y los cambios metodológicos realizados. Los principales resultados del estudio indican que la mayoría de los docentes no han continuado con el horario de docencia previo a la cuarentena. La evaluación se destacó como la dimensión de mayor controversia, existiendo un alto porcentaje de docentes que no tenían previsto como evaluar e incluso no lo veían factible. El bloque de contenidos relacionado con la condición física y la salud fue el más utilizado por el profesorado. Adicionalmente, se describen una serie de dificultades detectadas con la implementación de la enseñanza virtual. Finalmente, la gran mayoría de encuestados consideró que la cuarentena ha podido suponer un problema psicológico y de salud a su alumnados. Estos resultados pueden servir de referencia para futuras investigaciones que se realicen relacionadas con la docencia virtual de la Educación Física.The aim of this study was to describe the changes in teaching intervention in Physical Education because of the quarantine caused by COVID-19. Data was collected from 191 active teachers by an online questionnaire, which consisted of 15 questions grouped into three main dimensions: contents reorganization, evaluation analysis and methodological changes. The main results of this study indicated that most of the teachers did not continue with the teaching hours prior quarantine. Regarding the evaluation, a high percentage of teachers neither planned it nor found it feasible. Contents of Physical condition and health were the most commonly used among teachers. Additionally, several difficulties were detected regarding the implementation of virtual teaching. Finally, the majority of teachers answered that quarantine could involve psychological and health problems for their students. These results could be considered for future research focused on Virtual Physical Education