United States Principals’ Involvement in Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs: A Social-Ecological Perspective

Principal involvement is essential to the successful uptake of new school programs and initiatives. Recommendations and research underscore the key role of principals in supporting a comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP), which is a coordinated and synergistic approach to ensuring school-age accumulate the nationally recommended amounts of daily physical activity (PA), as well as develop the knowledge, skills and confidence for lifetime participation in PA. Little is known about the extent to which principals in the United States are involved in CSPAPs or about the factors that are associated with such involvement. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine principals’ CSPAP involvement in the United States from a social-ecological perspective, which considers multiple levels of influence on a targeted behavior. Two studies were conducted. In the first study, a survey was developed to measure principal’s CSPAP involvement and social-ecological variables that may be associated with such involvement. Items were constructed using existing literature and pilot tested with content experts in the areas of CSPAP, social-ecology theory, and school leadership. A preliminary version of the survey was then sent to a convenience sample of principals for their feedback and to explore item loadings. Based on the results, the survey was finalized and sent to the main study sample, which was identified using stratified random sampling from a list of all U.S. public schools. The survey remained open for three weeks. A total of 291 principals completed the survey (10% response rate). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) found a four-factor solution to be the best-fitting model for the data. The factors included (a) involvement, (b) intrapersonal level of influence, (c) interpersonal level of influence, and (d) environmental level of influence. All four factors were significantly associated. The second study adopted a person-centered perspective of principals’ CSPAP involvement. Using data from the first study’s main study sample, latent profile analysis incorporating the three social-ecological factors (intrapersonal, interpersonal and environmental levels of influence) was used to distill distinct groups of respondents. The best-fitting model included four groups: (a) high perceptions of environmental support but low perceptions of intrapersonal and interpersonal support, (b) slightly below average perceptions of support at all three levels of influence, (c) lowest perceptions of support, particularly at the intrapersonal and interpersonal levels of influence, and (d) slightly above average perceptions of support at all three levels of influence. In reference to the fourth group, scores on CSPAP involvement were significantly lower for the other three groups. Additionally, in relation to the fourth group, as scores on a scale measuring satisfaction with personal K-12 physical education experiences increased, the likelihood of membership to the third group (arguably the least adaptive group) significantly decreased. Overall, this dissertation provides initial validity and reliability evidence for a survey instrument to assess principals’ CSPAP involvement and social-ecological factors associated with such involvement and shows that a social-ecological perspective has utility in understanding differences in principals’ CSPAP-related perceptions. The results can inform professional development efforts aimed at increasing principals’ involvement in, and support of CSPAPs

Recommendations for Administrators’ Involvement in School-Based Health Promotion: A Scoping Review

School administrator involvement is recognized as a key factor in the extent to which school health promotion programs and initiatives are successfully implemented. The aims of this scoping review are to: (a) Identify existing documents that contain recommendations regarding the involvement of school administrators in school-based health promotion; (b) distill and summarize the recommendations; (c) examine differences in the recommendations by targeted professional level, professional group, health promotion content focus, and by whether the recommendations are evidence-based or opinion-based; and (d) evaluate the research informing the recommendations. We drew upon the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines to conduct the review. Our team conducted a comprehensive literature search with no date or geographic restrictions from January 2018 through April 2018 using four electronic databases: Academic Search Complete, Google Scholar, Physical Education Index, and PubMed. Eligibility criteria included any online documents, in English, that contained recommendations targeting school administrators’ (e.g., principals, assistant principals, superintendents) involvement (e.g., support, endorsement, advocacy) in school health programming (e.g., physical activity, nutrition, wellness). The search yielded a total of 1225 records, which we screened by title, then by abstract, and finally by full text, resulting in 61 records that met inclusion criteria. Data (e.g., recommendations, targeted contexts, targeted administrators) from these records were extracted for a content analysis. Included records contained 80 distinct recommendations, which we summarized into three themes (Collaboration, Advocacy, and Support) using a content analysis. Separate content analyses revealed no qualitative differences in the recommendations by professional level, professional group, or content focus, or by whether the recommendations were evidence-based or opinion-based. Twenty-one of the included records were peer-reviewed research articles. Using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), we appraised qualitative research articles the highest and mixed methods research articles the lowest. This review provides a basis for future research and professional practice aiming to increase school administrators’ involvement in school-based health promotion

Association of Physical Educators’ Socialization Experiences and Confidence with Respect to Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program Implementation

Comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs) are recommended to support physical education (PE) and increase the amount of physical activity (PA) youth receive each day. However, adoption of CSPAPs in the United States is low. PE teachers are well positioned to lead the implementation of CSPAPs, but research is needed to better understand (a) PE teachers’ confidence to assume the multiple roles involved with CSPAP implementation and (b) the factors that are associated with such confidence. This study examined PE teachers’ role breadth self-efficacy (RBSE) as a measure of PE teachers’ CSPAP-related confidence and its association with seminal life experiences as framed within teacher socialization theory. A survey was emailed to a stratified-random sample of 2976 PE teachers and distributed on social media, garnering a total of 259 responses. Exploratory structural equation modeling supported a three-factor solution for teacher socialization variables (acculturation, professional socialization and organizational socialization), in line with the theoretical framework, and a single factor solution for RBSE. Professional socialization and organizational socialization were significant predictors of RBSE, and qualitative data from open-ended survey questions supported these relationships. The results highlight the importance of preservice teacher education and current employment contexts in PE teachers’ CSPAP-related confidence