Rethinking adventurous activities in physical education: models-based approaches.

Adventurous activities are established as an integral aspect of The National Curriculum for 5-16 year olds in all the devolved administrations of the UK. Securing a place in the curriculum provides adventurous activities with an un-paralleled opportunity to reach more pupils than any other form of delivery during these formative years. However, little consideration has been given to adventurous activities as curriculum pedagogy in recent years. This paper contributes to our understanding of the current and future curriculum relationship between adventurous activities and physical education pedagogy. It refers to an alternative models-based approach to teaching and learning that presents adventurous activities with the best opportunity to fully realise the specific contribution it makes to young people’s physical education learning. Secondly, it considers some of the key challenges that a models-based approach to adventurous activities might present for schools and teachers and suggests ways to build a rigorous evidence base to underpin its continued inclusion in the curriculum as an essential component of physical education. The intention being to allow every pupil the chance to gain experience of adventurous activities that are authentic and meaningful to their lives in school and to encourage lifelong participation and enjoyment in later life

Well-being resources and mass participation sports events in Pembrokeshire

Mass participation sport events (MPSEs) have grown in popularity. Specifically, in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, participation has seen a continued increase in athlete numbers and events over the last decade. Moreover, extremely high numbers of Pembrokeshire residents are participating in MPSEs. Current research provides a narrow demonstration of the role of MPSEs in supporting health and well-being. A qualitative approach was used as contrast to most methodology in the literature to better understand the embodied experiences of individuals taking part in MPSEs. This article draws on interview data from within a larger study to explore the emerging theme of well-being. Eighteen individuals, 12 females and 6 males, aged between 34 and 58 took part in the research. Findings show that firstly, exercise in several MPSE contexts strengthen psychological resources. Secondly, connections made in MPSEs provide social resources and, finally, nature and the physical environment act as a physical resource. In conclusion, many MPSE contexts, from 5K parkrun to long-distance events, provide an opportunity for people in society to develop resources to support well-being. Further analysis is ongoing to fully explore the contribution that MPSE make to the well-being of athletes and the wider communit

Playful pedagogy for deeper learning: exploring the implementation of the play based Foundation Phase in Wales.

The foundation phase in Wales is a play based curriculum for 3 – 7 year olds advocating the use of the outdoors and experiential approaches to learning (DCELLS, 2015). Play based outdoor learning increases interaction with a range of affordances giving opportunities for movement in learning. Children assign activities as either play or not play based on a series of cues (Howard, 2002). Teaching approaches that incorporate cues associated with play can influence pupil engagement and involvement in learning. This paper draws on data from a three year study of the implementation of the foundation phase. Analysis of data from observations, field notes and video suggest pupils were more involved in tasks with higher levels of well-being when tasks were perceived as play. Leavres (1993,1997,2000, 2005) suggests increased involvement in learning may result in deeper learning

Developing children’s motor skills in the Foundation Phase in Wales to support physical literacy

Interest has grown internationally in the concept of physical literacy [Dudley, D. 2015. “A Conceptual Model of Observed Physical Literacy.” The Physical Educator 72: 236–260; Edwards, L., A. Bryant, R. Keegan, K. Morgan, and A. Jones. 2017. “Definitions, Foundations and Associations of Physical Literacy: A systematic Review.” Sports Medicine 47 (1): 113–126] acknowledging holistic embodied learning. This notion of embodied learning resonates with the play based approach of the Foundation Phase in Wales for children aged 3–7. With early childhood being the optimum age for developing Fundamental Motor skills, the primary purpose of this paper is to describe a programme (SKIP-Cymru) for developing pupils’ motor skills in the Foundation Phase. Drawing on Successful Kinaesthetic Instruction for Pre-schoolers (SKIP) [Goodway, J. D., and C. F. Branta. 2003. “Influence of a Motor Skill Intervention on Fundamental Motor Skill Development of Disadvantaged Preschool Children.” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 74 (1): 36–46] and playful pedagogy [Howard, J., and K. McInnes. 2010. “Thinking Through the Challenge of a Play-based Curriculum, Increasing Playfulness via Co-construction.” In Thinking about play, edited by J. R. Moyles. Berkshire: Open University Press], SKIP-Cymru combines advocacy with leadership, training and mentoring for staff and parental engagement. Early exploratory data from an initial evaluation suggest SKIP-Cymru is a positive experience for staff and parents which improves pupils’ motor competence in both locomotor and object control skills. Limitations of the research design are discussed along with implications for future research

MiniMovers: An Initial Pilot and Feasibility Study to Investigate the Impact of a Mobile Application on Children’s Motor Skills and Parent Support for Physical Development

The MiniMovers (MM) APP combines motor development theory with creativity expertise and has been designed to provide parents with developmentally appropriate activities to support children’s motor skills. This study investigates how MiniMovers activities enabled parents to suppport their children’s physical development. Families participated in an 8-week MM programme of activities from the MM APP (Mini, Mighty and Mega levels), with pre- and post-intervention data collected using multiple tools (e.g., motion capture system, force plate, eye-tracking glasses, and videos). Mixed research methods were applied among children (N = 8; aged 21–79 months) and their parents, providing quantitative analysis on children’s performance (running, throwing, jumping, kicking, balancing and catching), as well as qualitative analysis on parents’ attitude and behaviour (two-weekly feedback surveys and interviews). Lab-based measures showed significant improvements in run time, underarm throwing distance, and horizontal jump distance. Test of Gross Motor Development-3 showed a significant gain in running, underarm and overarm throwing, horizontal jump and kicking. Further, developmental stages indicated significant improvements in running, kicking and catching. Parents reported increased enjoyment and knowledge, children’s enjoyment, independence and confidence. This pilot study provides support for the research and development of the MM App and suggests more research into the use of APPs to support home activities among families with young children

Results From Wales’ 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

This is the third Active Healthy Kids Wales (AHK-Wales) Report Card following the inaugural and second report card published in 2014 and 2016 respectively.1,2 The 2018 report card (Figure 1) consolidates and translates research related to physical activity among children and young people in Wales. The report card aimed to raise the awareness of children and young people’s engagement in physical activity behaviours and influences, and advocate for children’s right to be active and healthy

Development, explanation, and presentation of the Physical Literacy Interventions Reporting Template (PLIRT)

Background The physical literacy (PL) concept integrates different personal (e.g., physical, cognitive, psychological/ affective, social)determinants of physical activity and has received growing attention recently. Although practical efforts increasingly adopt PL as a guiding concept, latest evidence has shown that PL interventions often lack specification of important theoretical foundations and basic delivery information. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to develop an expert-based template that supports researchers and practitioners in planning and reporting PL interventions. Methods The development process was informed by Moher etal.’s guidance for the development of research reporting guidelines. We composed a group of ten distinguished experts on PL. In two face-to-face meetings, the group first discussed a literature-driven draft of reporting items. In the second stage, the experts anonymously voted and commented on the items in two rounds (each leading to revisions)until consensus was reached. Results The panel recommended that stakeholders of PLinitiatives should tightly interlock interventional aspects with PL theory while ensuring consistency throughout all stages of intervention development. The Physical Literacy Interventions Reporting Template (PLIRT) encompasses a total of 14 items (two additional items for mixed-method

Laying the foundations for physical literacy in Wales: the contribution of the Foundation Phase to the development of physical literacy

ABSTRACT Background: The Foundation Phase in Wales is a play-based curriculum for pupils aged 3–7 years old. Children learn through more holistic areas of learning in place of traditional subjects. As such, the subject of physical education in its traditional form no longer exists for pupils under the age of 7 in Wales. In light of the role of physical education in developing physical literacy and in particular the importance of this age group for laying the foundations of movement for lifelong engagement in physical activity, the disappearance of physical education from the curriculum could be deemed to be a concern. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the Foundation Phase as a naturalistic intervention and examine its contribution to the development of physical literacy. Participants and setting: Participants included year 1 pupils (N = 49) aged 5 and 6 from two schools in contrasting locations. A smaller group within each class was selected through purposive sampling for the repeated measures assessments (N = 18). Research design and methods: A complementarity mixed-method design combined quantitative and qualitative methods to study the Foundation Phase as a naturalistic intervention. Quantitative data were generated with the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 administered to the sample group of children from both schools as a quasi-repeated measure, the physical competence subscale of the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance and the Leuven Involvement Scale for Young Children. Qualitative data were generated throughout the study from the analysis of video and field notes through participant observation. Data from the mixed methods were analysed through complementarity to give a rich insight into pupils’ progress and experiences in relation to physical literacy. Results: Overall analysis of the data from TGMD-2 showed significant improvements in the Gross Motor Quotient and Locomotor skills from T1 to T3, but no significant improvement in object control. Data from qualitative methods were analysed to explore processes that may account for these findings. Video and field notes complement the quantitative data highlighting that children were developing their locomotor skills in many aspects of their learning. Observations using the Leuven Involvement Scale indicated that children had high levels of involvement in their learning and apparent in video and field notes was pupils’ motivation for movement. Paired sample t-tests (N = 18) conducted on the Harter and Pike perceived physical competence sixitem score subscales (T1 and T3) indicated a significant difference in the mean perceived physical competence scores on the six-item scale between T1and T3. Qualitative data explored pupils’ confidence for movement in many areas of learning. Conclusion: The combination of quantitative and qualitative data indicates that the Foundation Phase is an early childhood curriculum that lays the foundations of physical literacy with the exception of aspects of the physical competence, specifically object control skills. Although these skills only contribute to psychomotor aspects of physical literacy they are strongly associated with later engagement in physical activity. The development of specific physical skills such as object control skills may need more specialist input with early childhood pedagogy teachers trained in motor development to see significant improvement

The foundation phase in Wales, outdoor learning and motor development

Introduction: Wales is a small country in the United Kingdom which has devolved government powers for Education. Since 2008 the curriculum in Wales has moved away from the traditional subject based approach in England with the development of The Foundation Phase. The Foundation Phase in Wales is a play-based curriculum for three- to seven-year-olds that emphasises the use of the outdoors. Research highlights the many benefits that are associated with learning in the outdoors for children’s development in relation to physical activity, motor development, and wider holistic development. Physicalactivity in early childhood is associated with motor development which in turn is associated with later physical activity in both later childhood and adolescents.Therefore, physical and outdoor experiences in early childhood education are important in relation to both children’s development and health. Material and Methods: Existing research in the field of outdoor education, motor development and playful pedagogy are examined in relation to the play based Welsh Curriculum. Original research into the implementation of the Foundation Phase in Wales whichexamined the contribution of the Foundation Phase to children’s physical development and wider learning is also examined. Results: The studies identified found that whilst supporting children’s engagement, well-being and locomotor skills, the Foundation Phase pupils were not developing proficiency in object control skills. Discussion: This paper discusses the implications of this in relation to pupils’ development and health. It outlines a programme of professional development that has been implemented in some regions in Wales to address this issue. However, motor development of children in Wales remains a cause for concern where staff have not yet received professional development to address this

Interventions targeting motor skills in pre-school-aged children with direct or indirect parent engagement: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

Competency in fundamental movement skills (FMS) lays the foundation for developing more complex motor skills and supporting a physically active future. Preschoolaged children are at a crucial window of development, so intervening with motor skill programmes increases the likelihood of future physical activity (PA) participation. Parents/carers are principal gatekeepers for children's PA during the early years and influence their motor competence. Interventions that involve parents have shown to be effective in mediating improvements in FMS, yet to date, no studies have reviewed types of parental engagement within interventions in relation to motor competence outcomes. This review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of motor skill interventions for preschoolers with the inclusion of a parental/home component. Literature searches were completed in PubMed, Sports Discuss and the Cochrane Library. Studies that implemented an intervention with direct or indirect parental engagement and evaluated FMS as an outcome measure were included. Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria and a narrative synthesis of results suggested type of parent engagement may be associated with improvements in preschoolers' motor skills. It can be recommended that early years' motor skill interventions should include parents, ideally encouraging their active participation which may be the most influential form of parent engagement