Abstract
Nationally, 76% of school-aged children fail to meet recommendations for 60 minutes of daily physical activity (PA). To increase school-based PA, a comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) is recommended. A CSPAP is a multicomponent, “whole-of-school approach” that includes five components: (a) quality physical education, (b) PA during school, (c) PA before and after school, (d) staff involvement, and (e) family and community engagement. Of the school faculty, physical educators possess the qualities of a physical activity leader (PAL; i.e., organize, lead, and promote PA) which are recommended to be an implementor of CSPAP but prerequisite training for specialized PAL skills is needed. Physical education teacher education (PETE) programs are viewed as an ideal setting for such training to occur. Research on the association of PAL and CSPAP training during PETE and current CSPAP involvement of physical educators is sparse. Additionally, limited research has investigated how physical educator experiences with PA promotion as a K-12 student or how school contexts during employment are associated with CSPAP involvement. To adequately explore these gaps in the literature, teacher socialization in physical education theory (socialization) is a recommended theoretical lens to use. Thus, the purpose of research was twofold: (1) develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a survey instrument measuring the association of socialization and physical educator’s self-reported CSPAP involvement, and (2) to examine in-service physical education teachers’ CSPAP involvement from the perspective of socialization using a sample of physical education teachers in the United States.
In the first study, survey instrument items were constructed organically using validated instruments in the existing CSPAP and socialization literature, then they were reviewed by experts in the areas of CSPAP and socialization for content validity. Next, a convenience sample of physical education teachers (N=70) was contacted to complete the survey as a pilot test to evaluate the survey’s psychometric properties. A total of 28 physical education teachers (40% response rate) submitted completed surveys. Evaluation of the psychometric properties of survey items was accomplished using two methods: (1) principal component analysis (PCA) and (2) Bayesian exploratory factor analysis (BEFA). In addition, an analysis of the open-ended survey questions was conducted to understand participants’ perceptions with more detail and further explain the quantitative results. Pilot test data exemplified quality measures of corresponding components, survey scales had high internal consistency coefficients, and a review of open-ended questions provided contextual value to survey constructs and further clarified close-ended survey responses.
The purpose of the second study was to examine in-service physical education teachers’ CSPAP involvement from the perspective of socialization using the previously developed survey instrument. The survey was sent to a sample of physical education teachers (N=2,976), which were identified using stratified random sampling from a list of all United States public schools. The survey remained open for five weeks and a total of 199 physical educators completed the survey (7% response rate). Due to a low response rate from the stratified sample, the survey was distributed by a link via social media (i.e., Facebook). The survey was posted on social media two times within a period of 21 days and generated an additional 60 responses. In combination, the stratified sample and social media response total was N=259 in-service physical education teachers within the United States.
Descriptive statistics were calculated, and an exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) framework was used to identify the factors underlying the data and examine structural relationships. A total of 31 survey variables were used to examine the socialization factors (i.e., acculturation [AC], professional socialization [PS], organizational socialization [OS]) underlying the data, and three variables to separately estimate a single factor measuring role breadth self-efficacy (RBSE) of physical educator confidence to be a PAL and implementor of CSPAP. In addition, four open-ended survey questions were analyzed to better understand the participant’s experiences related to each factor.
The survey variables had an approximately normal distribution and exploratory procedures yielded a 3-factor solution that clearly described distinct dimensions of socialization. The ESEM results showed that the PS and OS factors were significant predictors of RBSE factor scores, whereas the AC factor was not a significant predictor of RBSE factor scores. In addition, the open-ended qualitative responses from physical education teachers supported PS and OS predictors of RBSE factor scores.
The results of this study provide an initial glimpse into the socialization factors associated with physical education teacher’s CSPAP involvement. In-service physical education teachers who receive PS experiences with PAL and CSPAP training are confident to be a PAL in their school and are confident to implement a CSPAP. In addition, support from students, faculty, and administration, and having available facilities and resources were associated with physical educators’ involvement and confidence leading CSPAP initiatives. Our results suggest, (1) PETE program training of pre-service teachers to be PALs and implementors of CSPAP is of value and (2) continued support from school contexts are necessary to increase physical educator confidence to be involved with CSPAP and sustain program longevity.