Biography & Scholarship
Currently, youth are not meeting national PA recommendations, despite the numerous documented health benefits of regular PA (National PA Plan, 2018). Schools are identified as ideal settings for whole of school health and PA programs because of their existing infrastructure and access to children (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2021). Capitalizing on the positive influence the school setting has on a child’s cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development, the CDC (2021) developed the WSCC model, which has 10 components. Much of my research focuses on the Physical Education/PA component of the WSCC model. Within this component, is the Comprehensive School PA Program (CSPAP), which is a whole of school approach aimed at helping students achieve 60 minutes a day of PA. The CSPAP model has five components: (1) physical education (e.g., age-appropriate instruction, assessment of student learning), (2) staff involvement (staff wellness programming), (3) PA during school (recess, classroom-based PA), (4) before and after school PA (active transportation to schools, intramurals) and (5) community and family engagement (active homework with family, joint use agreements). My specific focus within CSPAP is on component (1) physical education and (3) during school PA (classroom teacher PA promotion). My research questions include: (a) what are the facilitators and barriers of classroom-based PA promotion (b) how do we prepare preservice physical educators for their expanded roles as PA leaders (c) evaluations of CSPAP effectiveness (with a sustainability lens) and (d) what is the current fitness and health status of Idaho students? I employ both qualitative and quantitative methodologies in my research and have been invited to collaborate in research projects across the nation because of my expertise. My research questions inform each other creating a feedback loop. For example, answers to research question B inform research question A, research question C informs research question A and B, and research question D is informed by research question B. Figure 1. Illustrates my research agenda and the feedback loop.
