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Interviews were conducted with 16 elementary school teachers across Canada (eight generalists and eight physical education [PE] specialists) to explore their experiences when instructing PE. Questions were phrased to encourage exploration of the perspectives of generalists and specialists, with a particular focus on teaching philosophy, barriers faced while instructing PE, facilitators and resources that enhance PE instruction, and the teachers' self-efficacy when teaching PE. Generalists noted perceived lack of time, inadequate facilities and equipment, insufficient training, lack of knowledge, and low self-efficacy as barriers. Conversely, specialists noted that their advanced training, professional development opportunities, high self-efficacy, and technology use positively supported their teaching practices.

Early childhood educators (ECEs) are highly influential role models in the childcare setting with respect to encouraging physical activity and outdoor play, and minimizing sedentary behavior among children in childcare. Measuring ECEs' behavioral intention (BI) and perceived behavioral control (PBC) is one way to monitor their determination and ability to support these health behaviors. The ECE Movement Behavioral Intention and Perceived Control (ECE-MBIPC) questionnaire (56 items) was developed via expert consensus to fill the noted gap in tools used to measure these constructs among ECEs. A test-retest approach, via an online survey administered twice (1-week apart) was adopted to evaluate the reliability and factorial validity of the questionnaire with ECEs in Canada (n = 165). Cronbach's alpha and test-retest statistics were used to assess reliability, while exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to examine factorial validity. The ECE-MBIPC questionnaire demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha > 0.85 across subscales) and acceptable temporal stability (> 0.70). A seven-factor solution was proposed by the EFA, with each of the seven behaviors loading onto their own factor; this solution explained 71% of the variability in the data. As the first reliable and valid tool to measure ECEs' BI and PBC to promote physical activity and outdoor play and to minimize sedentary behavior in childcare, the ECE-MBIPC questionnaire will help to standardize the manner in which these psychosocial variables are measured in early years research.

Early childhood educators (ECEs) play a vital role in encouraging healthy physical activity (PA) in childcare. As such, measuring ECEs' self-efficacy to facilitate such programming is important. The "ECE Confidence in Outdoor Movement, PA, and Sedentary and Screen Behaviors" (ECE-COMPASS) questionnaire (30 items) was developed via expert consensus. A test-retest design was used to assess the reliability and validity of the questionnaire with 165 Canadian ECEs via an online survey administered twice, one week apart. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and test-retest statistics, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed to determine factorial validity. Internal consistency and factorial validity of a revised version of the tool (31 items) was also tested with 120 additional ECEs. The ECE-COMPASS questionnaire showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha > 0.90 across subscales) and modest temporal stability (test-retest statistics > 0.62). A two-factor solution was identified by the EFA for both versions of the tool, with the two-factor solution explaining 10% more variability within the revised version, compared with the original tool. The revised ECE-COMPASS questionnaire was found to be valid and reliable and is recommended for use to measure ECEs' self-efficacy to promote PA and outdoor play and minimize sedentary behaviors in childcare.

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures have interrupted the daily routines of parents and children. The purpose of this study was to explore parents' attitudes regarding their children's play/sport during COVID-19. A secondary objective was to explore the influence of parent demographics and parent-reported physical activity levels and risk tolerance on these attitudes. Ontario parents of children aged 12 and younger completed an online survey (August-December 2020) that assessed their attitudes (grouped by support, safety and socialization-related attitudes; n = 14 items) regarding their child(ren)'s play/sport, their physical activity levels (n = 2 items), and demographic details (n = 16 items). Two open-ended items were used to gather a deeper understanding of attitudes. Parents' tolerance for risk was measured via the validated Tolerance of Risk in Play Scale. Descriptive statistics were calculated to describe attitudes and risk tolerance. Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator regressions were conducted to examine factors influencing parents' attitudes. Multiple linear models were computed using the identified predictors for each attitude category. Deductive content analysis was undertaken on open-ended responses. Participants (n = 819) reported the highest scores for safety-related attitude items (M = 3.54, SD = 0.63) followed by socialization and support, which all influenced attitudes regarding children's play/sport (p < 0.05). Demographics and parents' physical activity levels were identified as important predictors of parents' attitudes. Qualitative data revealed that parents had mixed levels of comfort with respect to their children's return to play/sport. Findings from this study reveal that increased support is needed to guide future play/sport decision-making.

Educators strongly influence young children's behaviors, and their perspectives regarding physical activity (PA) and screen-viewing (SV) may influence their provision in childcare. This study gathered early childhood education (ECE) candidates' perspectives regarding: (1) the importance of their role(s) in promoting PA/reducing SV; (2) how their ECE program and personal PA may influence these perspectives; and (3) their interest in PA/SV training. An online survey was completed by 1,292 ECE candidates from 61 programs. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests explored these perspectives by PA/SV courses taken and by meeting the Canadian adult PA guideline. ECE candidates with PA-related training reported higher perceived importance (n=2 items; p<0.05*) and personal responsibility (n=4 items; p<0.05) for items related to teaching PA, compared to those without training. SV training was not reported to influence their perspectives. Candidates who reported meeting the PA guideline reported higher importance (n=3 items; p<0.05) and personal responsibility (n=3 items; p<0.05) for items related to promoting PA, than those not meeting the guidelines. Most candidates (77.5%-93.3%) showed interest in further PA/SV training. Findings underscore the benefit of PA-related training, and personal PA habits, with regard to positively influencing ECE candidates' values and perceptions of their role in promoting PA in childcare.

Background: COVID-19 caused closures of movement supporting environments such as gyms and schools in Canada. This study evaluated the association between Ontario parents' and children's physical activity levels across time during COVID-19, controlling for variables that were identified as significant predictors of children's and parents' physical activity (e.g., children's age, parents' employment status). Methods: Parents (n = 243; mean age = 38.8 y) of children aged 12 and under (n = 408; mean age = 6.3 y) living in Ontario, Canada completed 2 online surveys, the first between August and December 2020 and the second between August and December 2021. At baseline, parents were asked to recall prepandemic physical activity levels. To determine the association between parent and child physical activity during COVID-19, a cross-lagged model was estimated to determine the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between parents' and children's physical activity across time. Results: Bivariate associations revealed that parents' and children's physical activity levels were significantly related during lockdown and postlockdown but not prelockdown. The autoregressive paths from prelockdown to during lockdown were significant for children (β = 0.53, P <.001) and parents (β = 1.058, P <.001) as were the autoregressive paths from during lockdown to postlockdown for children (β = 0.61, P <.001) and parents (β = 0.48, P <.001). In fully adjusted models, the cross-lagged association between parents' physical activity prelockdowns was significantly positively associated with their children's physical activity during lockdowns (β = 0.19, P =.013). Conclusions: Resources are needed to ensure that children and parents are obtaining sufficient levels of physical activity, particularly during a pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early childhood educators' (ECEs) self-efficacy is often predictive of their ability and likelihood of promoting healthy activity behaviors in childcare settings. To date, ECEs' physical activity and sedentary behavior-related self-efficacy has been measured in a variety of ways in childcare-based research, creating difficulty when comparing across studies. To identify the different approaches ECEs' self-efficacy is assessed, the current study aimed to compare all existing tools that quantitatively measure physical activity and sedentary behavior-related self-efficacy of pre- and in-service ECEs. Seven online databases were searched for original, peer-reviewed, English-written journal articles. Articles were deemed eligible if they employed a tool which measured physical activity and/or sedentary behavior-related self-efficacy of pre- or in-service ECEs. A total of 16 studies were included in this review, and 13 unique tools were identified. All tools measured task self-efficacy (n = 13), while only 1 tool measured barrier self-efficacy, and approximately half of the tools (n = 7; 54%) reported on the validity and reliability. Great variability existed among the self-efficacy items included in the tools; however, common constructs included: teaching/leading physical activity, fundamental movement skill development, and physical activity programming. Very few tools mentioned sedentary behavior (n = 2) and outdoor/risky play (n = 2). Given the low number of studies that tested validity and reliability of their self-efficacy tools, the lack of consideration for barrier self-efficacy, and the paucity of tools that fully encompassed physical activity, sedentary behavior, and outdoor play considerations for ECEs, future research is needed to validate a new, reliable tool.

Background: Physical activity and sedentary time are independently associated with health and developmental outcomes in preschool children. However, the integrated nature of these behaviours on early life outcomes, particularly during childcare hours, is currently understudied. As such, the aim of this study was to examine the association between preschool children's physical activity and sedentary time during childcare and various developmental outcomes (psychosocial, cognitive and fundamental movement skills). Methods: A total of 107 preschool children (Mage: 41 ± 6 months) recruited from London, Canada, wore ActiGraph wGT3X‐BT accelerometers during childcare hours to measure their sedentary time, light intensity physical activity (LPA) and moderate‐to‐vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA). Developmental outcomes, including psychosocial health (internalising, externalising, prosocial behaviour), indicators of cognitive development (memory, inhibitory control) and fundamental movement skills (locomotor control, object control, total fundamental movement), were assessed using validated tools. Compositional regression and isotemporal substitution models were estimated to examine how movement compositions in childcare were associated with developmental outcomes. Results: Engaging in more MVPA relative to LPA and sedentary time was associated with fewer internalising symptoms and better total fundamental movement skills and object control skills, whilst spending more time in LPA relative to MVPA and sedentary time was associated with more internalising symptoms and worse object control skills. Isotemporal substitution models suggested that theoretically increasing sedentary time or engaging in MVPA at the expense of time engaging in LPA during childcare is associated with lower internalising symptoms. Conclusion: The findings of this study provide preliminary evidence that engaging in MVPA during childcare, at the expense of time in LPA or sedentary time, is associated with children's fundamental movement skills and psychosocial development. Further longitudinal research is required, with larger samples of young children, to assess the mechanisms through which childcare movement behaviour compositions may interact with developmental outcomes, including contextualising both sedentary time and LPA. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05359536 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early childhood educators (ECEs) are ideally positioned to support the development of children's fundamental movement skills (FMS). However, ECEs have little specialised training to support the development of FMS in young children. This study aimed to assess the impact of an e-Learning course on the FMS of preschool-aged children. 145 Preschool-aged children and 42 ECEs from 12 childcare centres participated in the study. ECEs in the experimental group were asked to complete the e-Learning course. A subsample of children (n = 48) was objectively assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development 3rd Edition (TGMD-3). Additionally, parents of all participating children reported perceptions of their child's FMS to understand if they knew how well their child was progressing. Findings showed a significant increase in TGMD-3 assessed locomotor skills from baseline to follow-up in the intervention group compared to the control group and total FMS but not objective control skills. Parent-reported FMS increased in the intervention group for all locomotor, object control skills, and total FMS. However, the intervention effect for all three measurements was not significant. The results from this study highlight the potential utility of online professional development for ECEs as an approach to improving young children's FMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) offers many health benefits for preschoolers (2.5–5 y). In childcare, MVPA is predominantly accumulated outdoors, with higher rates purported among children within the first few minutes outside. The Supporting Physical Activity in the Childcare Environment intervention included shorter, more frequent outdoor play sessions; this study sought to explore children's activity levels during various outdoor play schedules. Methods: During the final week of the Supporting Physical Activity in the Childcare Environment intervention, preschoolers wore an Actical™ accelerometer for 5 days during childcare and staff logged outdoor times. Separate linear mixed effects models were run to explore the effect of the intervention on preschoolers' physical activity (total and MVPA) and sedentary time during outdoor play. Sex was entered as an interaction effect. Results: Preschoolers (n = 292) were significantly more active in the first 10 minutes outdoors compared with remaining time (P <.0083). For total outdoor time, children in the experimental group engaged in significantly less sedentary time than those in the control group (P <.017), and experimental group boys and girls engaged in higher MVPA than boys and girls in the control group (P <.017). Conclusions: Findings support scheduling more frequent outdoor play sessions in childcare to increase physical activity participation among young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]