Generalization of Participation in Parkour From Physical Education to Recess: Analysis of Skill Trials

Abstract

One strategy to connect skills learned in physical education to recess is to create generalization settings in recess that mirror those found in physical education. We investigated the effect of generalization of voluntary participation in parkour from physical education to recess on skill trials.

Full text

Generalization of Participation in Parkour From
Physical Education to Recess: Analysis of Skill Trials
PhD researcher: Shu Cheng1
Kian Vanluyten1, Jan Seghers1, Phillip Ward2, Peter Iserbyt1
1Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium), 2Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio)
Parallel Session 11 (V) ∣Day 2: Thursday June 16th 21:30 -22:45

Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
1
Fig.1. Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behavior (WHO, 2020)
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049567
Promoting Physical Activity Through Schools: Policy Brief (WHO, 2022)

Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
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•Global estimates indicate that over 80% of school-aged youth are not meeting the global
recommendations of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day.
(WHO, 2022)
•Insufficient physical activity among children and adolescents aged 11-17 years, particularly
for girls (Guthold et al., 2020).
• Children’s physical activity level declined from an early age (Farooq et al., 2018).
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049567

Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
3
Fig.2. The six domains of a whole-of-school
approach to promoting PA (WHO, 2021)
Quality physical education (QPE) should focus on
sport and movement skills, establish and sustain
lifelong physical activity. (WHO, 2022)
Providing physical activity opportunities during
recess and recreation time can help to reduce
inactivity and sedentary behaviors. (WHO, 2022)

•To p ro vi d e divers e sc h o o l -based physical
activities for children to reach 60 minutes of
daily MVPA.
•To p ro vi d e coordin at io n components of CS PA P
to maximize application and pratice skills
learned in physical education.
Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
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Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program
(Carson & Webster, 2019)
Physical
Education
Physical Activity
During School

•A transfer of learning needs to take place from physical education setting to non-physical
education setting. (Haerens et al., 2010; Coolkens et al., 2018)
•To m ak e ‘ g e n e ralizati on ’ ha p p e n u s i n g same e qu ip m e n t and pra ct icing same s ki ll s
learned in previous physical education classes in the same context.
Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
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Generalization
Physical education (training setting) Organized recess (non-training setting)
Transfer

•Connecting physical education with organized recess helped elementary and secondary
students achieve higher daily MVPA during school days (Coolkens et al., 2018; Cheng et
al., 2021; Iserbyt et al., 2022).
•Low-skilled students achieved similar MVPA compared to average-, and high-skilled
children in organized recess settings (Coolkens et al., 2018; Iserbyt et al., 2022).
•Both boys and girls spent approximately 14 minutes of MVPA within 20-minute organized
recess sessions compared to 9 minutes of MVPA within 45-minute traditional recess
sessions (Cheng et al., 2021).
Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
6
Previous work on generalization

Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
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Replication studies

•MVPA is not the only variable to measure the quality of physical education,measuring
skill trials is more precisely to see whether children learn skills or not.
•Teaching m ov em e n t in p hy si c a l educati on requires a f ocus o n sk ill tr ia ls. ( Lu nd & van
der Mars, 2022)
•Previous generalization studies on parkour investigated children’s MVPA. (Coolkens
et al., 2018; Cheng et al., 2021)
Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
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Why skill trials?

•RQ: What is the effect of generalization of voluntary participation in parkour from physical
education to recess settings on skill trials as a function of skill level.
èHypothesis:
1. A higher proportion of low-skilled children will voluntarily participate in parkour recess.
2. High-skilled children will perform more parkour skill trials and higher proportion of
successful skill trials in physical education and parkour recess compared to low-, and
average-skilled children.
Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
9
Research question and hypothesis

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Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
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Participants and settings
7 Experimental schools
2nd grade aged 8 years: high-skilled (n=53), average-skilled (n=59), low-skilled (n=32)
PE 1&2 PE 3&4 PE 5&6 PE 7&8 PE 9&10
Parkour recess
1
Parkour recess
2
Parkour recess
3
Parkour recess
4
Parkour recess
5
40
min
20
min

Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
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Systematic observation

Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
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Successful parkour skill trials
Parkour Primitives (Coolkens et al., 2018)

Physical education Parkour recess
Gym Gym
Mean duration: 40 minutes Mean duration: 20 minutes
Mean duration on skill trials: 21 minutes Mean duration on skill trials: 16 minutes
Ta ugh t ne w p ar ko ur sk il ls Without teaching new parkour skills
Recorded ALL sessions & Observed ALL present children
Parkour skill trials/minute
Successful parkour skill trials/minute
Successful/unsuccessful parkour skill trials (%)
(Note: parkour skill trials were measured during practice time)
Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
13
Data collection

14
Results èHypothesis 1
88
73
67 67
70
87
80
88
77
83
96
69
69 67
63
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
Parkour recess 1 Parkour recess 2 Parkour recess 3 Parkour recess 4 Parkour recess 5
Voluntary Participation in Parkour Recess as a Function of Skill Level (%)
(n=144)
High -skilled Average-skilled Low-skilled
voluntary participation %
77%
Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health

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Results èHypothesis 2
4.03
3.61 3.38
1.95 1.67 1.38
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
High -skilled Average-skilled Low-skilled
Physical Education (n=144)
Total skill trials/min Successful skill trials/min
4.04
3.32
2.96
1.76
1.44
0.96
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
High -skilled Average-skilled Low-skilled
Parkour Recess (n=135)
Total skill trials/min Successful skill trials/min
Mean skill trials/min
Mean skill trials/min
∗p=.008
∗p=.004
∗p=.008
∗p=.036
∗p=.001
Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health

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Results èHypothesis 2
48 45
39
52 55
61
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
High -skilled Average-skilled Low-skilled
Physical Education (n=144)
Successful skill trials % Unsuccessful skill trials %
42 41
31
58 59
69
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
High -skilled Average-skilled Low-skilled
Parkour Recess (n=135)
Successful skill trials % Unsuccessful skill trials %
Mean skill trials %
Mean skill trials %
∗p=.007 ∗p=.002
∗p=.002
Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health

•A high proportion of children participated in parkour during recess –probably they enjoy it!
•The content of physical education contributed to the physical activity during recess at
school.
•Less than 50% of skill trials children performed successfully.
Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
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Conclusions

18
QUESTIONS?
shu.cheng@kuleuven.be
Parallel Session 10 (V) ∣Day 2: Thursday June 16th 21:30 -22:45

•Carson, R., & Webster. C. (Eds). (2019). Comprehensive school physical activity programs: putting research into evidence-based
practice. Human Kinetics, Inc, 1st ed.
•Cheng et al. (2021). Generalization from physical education to recess during an elementary sport education season. Journal of
Te ac hi ng i n Ph ysi ca l Ed u ca ti on . (A he ad o f P ri nt)
•Coolkens, R., Ward, P., Serghers, J., & Iserbyt, P. (2018b). Effects of generalization of engagement in parkour from physical education
to recess on physical activity. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 89(4), 429-439.
•Farooq MA, Parkinson KN, Adamson AJ, et al. Timing of the decline in physical activity in childhood and adolescence: Gateshead
Millennium Cohort Study. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(15):1002. PubMed ID: 28288966 doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096933.
•Guthold, R., Stevens, G. A., Riley, L. M., & Bull, F. C. (2020). Global trends in insufficient physical activity among adolescents: A pooled
analysis of 298 population-based surveys with 1.6 million participants. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4(1), 23–35.
•Haerens, L., Kirk, D., Cardon, G., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2010). Motivational profiles for secondary school physical
education and its relationship to the adoption of a physically active lifestyle among university students. European Physical Education
Review, 16(2), 117-139.
•Iserbyt et al. (2021). Generalization of participation in fitness activities from physical education to lunch recess by gender and skill
levels. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education. (Ahead of Print)
•Lund, J., & van der Mars, H. (2022). Physical Education’s Real Brass Ring…Time to Get the Field Back on Track. Journal of Physical
Education, Recreation & Dance, 93(1), 5–7.
•Promoting physical activity through schools: Policy brief. (n.d.). 2022. https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/9789240049567.
Department of Movement Sciences
Research Group: Physical Activity, Sports and Health
19
References