Are Physical Education Policies Working? A Snapshot From San Francisco, 2011

Details

• Journal Article:
  Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD)
• Personal Author:
  Thompson, Hannah R. ; Linchey, Jennifer ; Madsen, Kristine A.
• Description:
  Introduction ; School physical education (PE) has been identified as a critical public health tool to increase physical activity among youths. We sought to objectively assess compliance with PE quantity mandates and quality recommendations in a large urban California school district. ; Methods ; We collected PE schedules and systematically observed PE lessons (n = 154) in 20 elementary, 4 middle, and 4 high schools from February through May 2011. ; Results ; On the basis of schools’ master schedules, 83% of elementary schools met the California state mandate of 100 PE minutes per week. Teachers' actual schedules indicated that 20% of schools met the mandate, and observation showed that only 5% were in compliance. All middle and high schools met the mandated 200 minutes per week. On average, classes at all school levels met the recommended 50% of PE lesson time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. No teacher- or school-level factors significantly predicted PE quantity, but credentialed elementary PE teachers spent more time building students’ motor skills. ; Conclusions ; Our results suggest that current national estimates of PE, which are based on schools’ self-report, overestimate the amount of PE provided in elementary schools. Although more than half of PE class time was spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, total physical activity in elementary schools from PE is minimal and may do little to contribute to students’ overall health.
• Subjects:
  • Original Research
  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Female
  • Guideline Adherence
  • Health Policy
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Motor Activity
  • Physical Education and Training
  More +
• Source:
  Prev Chronic Dis. 10.
• ISSN:
  1545-1151
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  10
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/20674/cdc_20674_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 594.87 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Preventing Chronic Disease
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9d3552ca15c2b0f784b5c23cf52b2b6ea9b85772304c535c8a95b9e50516719b0ab4ec567fae7ebaa5437b743aafa9a76f8bd4c8736e11877c3e5cdee46186cc