A systematic review of the effectiveness of physical education and school sport interventions targeting physical activity, movement skills and enjoyment of physical activity
Abstract
This article presents a systematic review of published literature on the effectiveness of physical education in promoting participation in physical activity, enjoyment of physical activity and movement skill proficiency in children and adolescents. The review utilized a literature search, specifically publications listed in Ovid, A+ Education, ERIC, Sports Discus, Science Direct, PsychInfo from 1990 to June 2010. The literature search yielded 27,410 potentially relevant publications. Twenty-three articles met the inclusion criteria established for this review and applied by three independent reviewers. Articles were rated independently by three reviewers using a 10-item methodological quality scale derived from the CONSORT 2010 statement. The results of the review detail the nature, scope and focus of intervention strategies reported, and reported outcomes of interventions. The most effective strategies to increase children’s levels of physical activity and improve movement skills in physical education were direct instruction teaching methods and providing teachers with sufficient and ongoing professional development in using these physical education (PE) instruction methods. However, the review revealed a lack of high quality evaluations and statistical power to draw conclusions concerning the effectiveness of interventions conducted in physical education and school sport to improve enjoyment outcomes. It is argued that adequately powered interventions that target movement skills in secondary schools and evaluate school sport curriculum are urgently needed.
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Physical activity during childhood may promote cognitive development and improve academic performance.
“Recent research also suggests that physical activity during childhood may also promote cognitive development and therefore improve academic performance.”
From Does Learning Through Movement Improve Academic Performance in Primary Schoolchildren? A Systematic Review (2022) · cites this paper as [10]
Teacher training and capacity building are effective strategies to promote physical activity in school children.
“Third, and strongly connected to higher quality PE lessons, reviews specified teacher training and capacity building as effective strategies to promote PA in school children (15, 66, 69, 74–76).”
From How can physical activity be promoted among children and adolescents? A systematic review of reviews across settings (2019) · cites this paper as [76]
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Self-citationAn approach to re-skilling of in-service teachers in Physical Education in South African schools
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- Authors
- Dudley, D., Okely, A., Pearson, P., & Cotton, W.
- Affiliations
- Charles Sturt University (AU)
- University of Wollongong (AU)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Dudley, Dean
- Venue
- European Physical Education Review
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2011-10
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 353-378
- ISSN
- 1356-336X (ISSN-L)
- 1741-2749
- OpenAlex
- W2168033399
- Cited by
- 176
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 0.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Physical Education Review (publishedVersion)
- Research Online (University of Wollongong) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Physical Education and Pedagogy
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Children's Physical and Motor Development
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Keywords
- physical education intervention, school sports, physical activity participation, enjoyment of physical activity, children and adolescents, direct instruction, teacher professional development, intervention effectiveness
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