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Background: Studies have acknowledged the limitations of short-term service-learning programs. This highlights the importance of examining the influence of evidence-informed sustainable service-learning programs on preservice teachers' learning outcomes. Purpose: To explore the short-term influence of a sustainable service-learning program on first-year physical education teacher education (PETE) preservice teachers. Methods: Written reflections from 15 students (73% women and 27% men) in the first year of a PETE course were analyzed using Butin's conceptual model. Results: The service-learning experiences allowed first-year PETE preservice teachers to extend and refine their general pedagogical content, curriculum, and policy knowledge. However, PETE preservice teachers' learning was limited in terms of cultural, political, and postmodern perspectives. Discussion: This study provides recommendations for improving preservice teachers' learning in a sustainable service-learning program embedded in a PETE course.

Despite increased popular and research interest in youth development and outdoor education, very little research has focused upon the design principles that enhance the effectiveness of these programs. This article presents a scoping review of the literature discussing youth development activities occurring in outdoor environments, in order to identify the design principles of effective activities. This review is based upon a literature search utilising A+ Education, ERIC, PsychINFO and SPORTDiscus and sought references published between 1990 and June 2019. The literature search yielded twenty-five references that met the selection criteria established for this review. The review discerned ten design principles of effective youth development occurring in outdoor environments. A number of opportunities for further theoretical and empirical research are highlighted within the review.

Background: School-based programs represent an ideal setting to enhance healthy eating, as most children attend school regularly and consume at least one meal and a number of snacks at school each day. However, current research reports that elementary school teachers often display low levels of nutritional knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills to effectively deliver nutrition education. Methods: The purpose of this review was to understand the availability and quality of resources that are accessible for elementary school teachers to use to support curriculum delivery or nutrition education programs. The review included 32 resources from 4 countries in the final analysis from 1989 to 2014. Results: The 32 resources exhibited 8 dominant teaching strategies: curriculum approaches; cross-curricular approaches; parental involvement; experiential learning approaches; contingent reinforcement approaches; literary abstraction approaches; games-based approaches; and web-based approaches. The resources were accessible to elementary school teachers, with all the resources embedding curriculum approaches, and most of the resources embedding parental involvement strategies. Conclusions: Resources were less likely to embed cross-curricular and experiential learning approaches, as well as contingent reinforcement approaches, despite recent research suggesting that the most effective evidence-based strategies for improving healthy eating in elementary school children are cross-curricular and experiential learning approaches.

In this paper, we investigate the effects of a community- and school-based service learning experience (SLE) on pre-service physical education teachers' Indigenous knowledge, cultural competency and pedagogy. Informed by the theoretical tenets of Indigenous research methodologies, experiential learning and critical reflection, we examine 55 final-year pre-service physical education teachers' (age: 21.9 [8.3]; 10.7% low SES; 68% females) cultural learning and competency in a core unit of study with a six-week SLE. Measures of their experiences included reflective journals, multicultural teaching competency scales and focus group interviews. Findings support the design of the SLE, with statistically significant changes in pre-service teachers' perceptions of their cultural competency (p < 0.001). Pre-service teachers were able to challenge their assumptions about Indigenous students, plan and implement student-centred and culturally relevant pedagogies. Attention is drawn to the design of this SLE and demonstrates the importance of using Indigenous community members and teachers as mentors, which has not been explored in previous SLE studies.

Physical activity affords a host of physical and cognitive benefits for children. Physical education classes are one such venue where children can reap recommended amounts of physical activity. However, little research has explored evidence-based physical education instruction, particularly in culturally and linguistically diverse schools. No studies to date have provided recommendations for a range of educational stakeholders that serve these students. The Physical Activity in Linguistically Diverse Communities study examined the evidence-based physical education opportunities and barriers at six culturally and linguistically diverse high schools in New South Wales, Australia. This article provides implications and synthesized recommendations based on Phase One (systematic review) and Phase Two (prospective cohort study of students in six schools) of Physical Activity in Linguistically Diverse Communities for school leadership and psychologists targeting policy and practice changes on a systems level.

Background: Studies have acknowledged the limitations of short-term service-learning programs. This highlights the importance of examining the influence of evidence-informed sustainable service-learning programs on preservice teachers' learning outcomes. Purpose: To explore the short-term influence of a sustainable service-learning program on first-year physical education teacher education (PETE) preservice teachers. Methods: Written reflections from 15 students (73% women and 27% men) in the first year of a PETE course were analyzed using Butin's conceptual model. Results: The service-learning experiences allowed first-year PETE preservice teachers to extend and refine their general pedagogical content, curriculum, and policy knowledge. However, PETE preservice teachers' learning was limited in terms of cultural, political, and postmodern perspectives. Discussion: This study provides recommendations for improving preservice teachers' learning in a sustainable service-learning program embedded in a PETE course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Recent data show that only 15% of Australian adolescents participate in adequate amounts of physical activity (PA) and those students from Asian and Middle-Eastern backgrounds in Grades 6–12 are significantly less active than their English-speaking background peers. Schools have recently been recognised as the most widely used and cost-effective setting for promoting PA among youth and one domain within schools where PA can occur regularly for all youth, regardless of cultural background or socio-economic status, is during physical education (PE). Methods This study describes changes in physical activity (PA), lesson context and teacher interaction in physical education over the first two years in culturally and linguistically diverse secondary schools. Grade 7 PE classes in six schools were randomly observed using systematic direct observation (n = 81) and then followed up over the same period (n = 51) twelve months later. Results There was no significant decline in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during PE (MD = −4.8%; p = .777), but a significant decline and medium negative effect in time spent in vigorous physical activity (VPA) (MD = −7.9%; p = .009) during PE was observed. Significant declines and large negative effects over time in percentage of PE time spent in management (MD = −8.8%; p < .001) and the number of observations where teachers promoted PA (MD = −20.7%; p Conclusions The decline of VPA and teacher promotion of PA in culturally and linguistically diverse schools is of concern. Given the declines in VPA and the increases in time spent in game play, further research is needed to ascertain whether PE instruction could be improved by focussing on skill instruction and fitness in a games-based PE instruction model. Further research for increasing teacher promotion of PA during PE is needed.

Abstract Background Physical activity levels decline markedly among girls during adolescence. School-based interventions that are multi-component in nature, simultaneously targeting curricular, school environment and policy, and community links, are a promising approach for promoting physical activity. This report describes the rationale, design and baseline data from the Girls in Sport group randomised trial, which aims to prevent the decline in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) among adolescent girls. Methods/Design A community-based participatory research approach and action learning framework are used with measurements at baseline and 18-month follow-up. Within each intervention school, a committee develops an action plan aimed at meeting the primary objective (preventing the decline in accelerometer-derived MVPA). Academic partners and the State Department of Education and Training act as critical friends. Control schools continue with their usual school programming. 24 schools were matched then randomized into intervention (n = 12) and control (n = 12) groups. A total of 1518 girls (771 intervention and 747 control) completed baseline assessments (86% response rate). Useable accelerometer data (≥10 hrs/day on at least 3 days) were obtained from 79% of this sample (n = 1199). Randomisation resulted in no differences between intervention and control groups on any of the outcomes. The mean age (SE) of the sample was 13.6 (± 0.02) years and they spent less than 5% of their waking hours in MVPA (4.85 ± 0.06). Discussion Girls in Sport will test the effectiveness of schools working towards the same goal, but developing individual, targeted interventions that bring about changes in curriculum, school environment and policy, and community links. By using community-based participatory research and an action learning framework in a secondary school setting, it aims to add to the body of literature on effective school-based interventions through promoting and sustaining increased physical activity participation among adolescent girls. Trial Registration Number Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ANZCTR): ACTRN12610001077055

Although the importance of healthy eating is well known, eating patterns among school-aged children and adolescents rarely meet dietary guidelines. Schools are an effective and efficient setting for nutrition education; however, there is a dearth of research focusing on the key role of the teacher. In this study, we identified the role of professional development (PD) for elementary school teachers in delivering nutrition education programs. Methods: We used the results of a systematic literature search and meta-analysis to synthesize PD content reported in successful elementary school nutrition education programs (ie, ones reporting positive and significant changes in elementary school students' nutritional outcomes). Results: Few studies provided evidence or methodologic descriptions of teacher PD. Of the 23 nutrition education programs assessed for descriptions of teacher PD, 14 provided print and electronic information or people resources, 12 detailed who delivered the teacher PD, and 11 described the PD duration. Conclusions: Our findings from this content synthesis suggest that whereas teachers can make improvements in nutritional outcomes, the teacher PD component is not only underreported but also understudied. Therefore, the role of teacher PD is not widely understood, particularly the extent to which teacher PD influences teacher pedagogical practices and student nutritional outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growth of research on rugby sevens since its inclusion into the 2016 Olympic Games, some performance aspects of the game remain in their infancy. The ruck is one such area that has had little examination. The aim of this research was to examine the relationships between ruck actions and ruck success. A series of men’s (N = 2521) and women’s (N = 1474) rucks were coded from a sample of men’s (N = 117) and women’s games (N = 65) played within the World Rugby Sevens Series in 2014. Both attacking and defensive ruck actions were analysed. Variables included player numbers in the ruck, the actions of the first players to the ruck, ball placement from the tackled player, the body height, weight distribution and position of the attacking player in the ruck. Chi squared analysis identified that one versus one rucks were most commonly formed. If an attacking player arrived first, then there was a greater chance of maintaining possession compared with the first arrival being from the defensive side (p < 0.001). Findings suggest that the squeeze ball placement technique is risky due to its association with turnovers and penalties against the attacking team in men’s rugby sevens (p < 0.001). The body position of the first arriving attacking player requires the attacking player to lower their shoulders below the opposition shoulders (p < 0.001), use the tackled player to support their weight (p < 0.001) and aim to ruck to a position past the ball rather than stopping with their bodies over the ball (p < 0.001). Analysis of opposition actions identified that an early jackal was most successful at producing turnovers (p < 0.001). Results illustrate successful ruck strategies in rugby sevens from both an attacking and a defensive viewpoint. Successful ruck actions are similar in both men’s and women’s rugby sevens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the effects of a community- and school-based service learning experience (SLE) on pre-service physical education teachers’ Indigenous knowledge, cultural competency and pedagogy. Informed by the theoretical tenets of Indigenous research methodologies, experiential learning and critical reflection, we examine 55 final-year pre-service physical education teachers’ (age: 21.9 [8.3]; 10.7% low SES; 68% females) cultural learning and competency in a core unit of study with a six-week SLE. Measures of their experiences included reflective journals, multicultural teaching competency scales and focus group interviews. Findings support the design of the SLE, with statistically significant changes in pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their cultural competency (p < 0.001). Pre-service teachers were able to challenge their assumptions about Indigenous students, plan and implement student-centred and culturally relevant pedagogies. Attention is drawn to the design of this SLE and demonstrates the importance of using Indigenous community members and teachers as mentors, which has not been explored in previous SLE studies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study compared birth date distributions of all Olympians in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Australian and Spanish teams (n =1733) to investigate if a RAE existed within and between nations. Official websites including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as well as other international, national and state sporting bodies and institutes both in Australia and Spain were utilized for the collection of athlete biographical data. Data were collected for variables including gender, sport, birth date, Games placing, and junior international representation. Chi square analyses and odds-ratios determined a RAE (p <.05) was present amongst Spanish female Olympians and all team sports participants from both nations. No RAE was found amongst junior international competitors or when comparing medalists, finalists and non-finalists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]