Exploring common stressors in physical education

Daily stressors, or hassles, refer to the everyday environmental demands that constitute a threat or challenge, or exceed an individual’s biological or psychological capacities (Cohen et al., 1995). Increasing evidence suggests that daily stressors have a significant impact on adolescents’ educational outcomes, for example, performance, wellbeing and negative attitudes toward school, however there is limited research examining the concept of common stressors in PE lessons. As early-adolescence is a developmental period associated with decreased engagement in PE, it is important to identify the environmental stressors that may be associated with increased disengagement. The study comprised 54 secondary school students and six PE teachers from five schools in the English Midlands. Semi-structured focus groups were conducted and a thematic analysis was applied to interview transcripts. Three higher order themes were identified from the data: the social environment, the physical and organisational environment, and the performance environment. Common stressors within the social environment included, interpersonal transactions between peers, differences in effort levels during PE, and working outside one’s peer group. Stressors within the physical and organisational environment consisted of, environmental situations within the changing facilities and the availability of activities. Finally, performance environment stressors included, situations involving the difficult acquisition of physical skills, and situations where physical appearance and physical competencies were exposed. The study extends previous findings by identifying potentially threatening and frustrating, environmental demands that have not been identified in the previous literature. The current study is the first to explore the typical stressors that are experienced by students in PE

Perceived physical competence towards physical activity, and motivation and enjoyment in physical education as longitudinal predictors of adolescents’ self-reported physical activity

Objectives The aim of the study was to investigate if adolescents’ perceived physical competence towards physical activity (PA), and autonomous motivation and enjoyment in physical education (PE) during early adolescence can predict amount and intensity of self-reported physical activity six years later. Design This study utilized a 6-year longitudinal data set collected within Finnish school settings. Students responded to questionnaires measuring their perceived physical competence towards physical activity, and autonomous motivation and enjoyment in PE during their first year at middle school (Grade 7), and their PA engagement during their last year in high school (Grade 12). Methods A sample of 333 students (200 girls, 133 boys; M age = 12.41, years, SD = .27) participated in the study. Perceived physical competence in physical activity was assessed by the sport competence dimension of the Physical Self-Perception Profile, autonomous motivation in PE was assessed by the Sport Motivation Scale and enjoyment in PE by the Sport Enjoyment Scale. Students’ self-reported metabolic equivalent (MET) and PA intensity (light [LPA], moderate [MPA], vigorous [VPA]) was calculated from the short form of International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results Perceived physical competence towards physical activity significantly predicted total METs (β = .28), MPA (β = .18) and VPA (β = .29) six years later. Autonomous motivation and enjoyment in PE at Grade 7, however, were not significant predictors of later PA. Conclusions The results of this study support the proposition that self-perception of an individual's abilities arising from interactions with the environment related to PA during early puberty has an influential effect on later PA behaviour.peerReviewe

Longitudinal associations among cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, motor competence and objectively measured physical activity

Objectives. This study aimed to investigate cross-lagged associations in motor competence, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular fitness and accelerometer-based moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) engagement. Design. One-year prospective follow-up study. Method. A sample was 491 (275 girls;M at baseline = 11.27, SD = .32) Finnish physical education students. Students’ motor competence was assessed by 1) two-legged jumping from side to side test, 2) throwing-catching combination test and 3) 5-leaps test. Their cardiorespiratory fitness was analyzed by a 20-meter shuttle run test and muscular fitness by curl-up and push-up tests. Additionally, students’ MVPA was measured objectively by hip-worn accelerometers. Results. Results demonstrated that: 1) cardiorespiratory fitness measured at Grade 5 was the only significant predictor of later MVPA and this association appeared only in the boys’ group, 2) MVPA assessed at Grade 5 significantly predicted cardiorespiratory fitness in the girls’ group, 3) cardiorespiratory fitness collected at Grade 5 associated with muscular fitness, locomotor and stability skills in both girls and boys, and 4) locomotor skills measured at Grade 5 predicted significantly muscular fitness, locomotor and manipulative skills in both sex groups. Conclusions. Elementary school years are important in providing students with experiences in physical activity (PA) which leads to improvements s in cardiorespiratory health. Additionally, this study showed that cardiorespiratory fitness collected at Grade 5 associated with later muscular fitness, and locomotor and stability skills in both sex groups. These findings are noteworthy because muscular fitness in youth has several health-related benefits and motor competence in childhood and adolescence has positive association with later PA engagement.peerReviewe

Effect of self-determined motivation in physical education on objectively measured habit physical activity : a trans-contextual model

Grounded in the trans-contextual model, the purpose of the present study was to examine the role of self-determined motivation in Physical Education (PE) on self-determined motivation in Physical Activity (PA), PA intention, and accelerometer-measured habitual PA behavior among high-school aged adolescents. A sample of 394 Spanish high-school students (211 males and 183 females; aged 12-16 years) participated in the present study. The outcome measure of PA was established using accelerometry, whereas motiva- tion toward PA and PE as well as PA intention were measured using validated questionnaires. Path analyses supported in part the central propositions of the trans-contextual model. Self-determined motivation in PE predicted the self-determined motivation in PA (β=.45, p<.001, R2=.26). Self-determined motivation in PA predicted PA intention (β=.51, p<.001, R2=.41). The predictive strength from PA intention to behavior was weak (β=.11, p=.011, R2=.21) with a statistically non-significant mediational model from self-determined motivation in PA via PA intention to PA behavior (β=.28, p=.231). This weak-to-non-significant relationship does not fully support the previous findings that have shown the feasibility of the trans-contextual model in charting the pathways from self-determined motivation in an educational context to behaviors in an out- of-school context.peerReviewe

The trans-contextual model of autonomous motivation in education: Conceptual and empirical issues and meta-analysis

The trans-contextual model outlines the processes by which autonomous motivation toward activities in a physical education context predicts autonomous motivation toward physical activity outside of school, and beliefs about, intentions toward, and actual engagement in, out-of-school physical activity. In the present article, we clarify the fundamental propositions of the model and resolve some outstanding conceptual issues, including its generalizability across multiple educational domains, criteria for its rejection or failed replication, the role of belief-based antecedents of intentions, and the causal ordering of its constructs. We also evaluate the consistency of model relationships in previous tests of the model using path-analytic meta-analysis. The analysis supported model hypotheses but identified substantial heterogeneity in the hypothesized relationships across studies unattributed to sampling and measurement error. Based on our meta-analysis, future research needs to provide further replications of the model in diverse educational settings beyond physical education and test model hypotheses using experimental methods