Students’ Physical Activity, Physical Education Enjoyment, and Motivational Determinants through a Three-Year SchoolInitiated Program

Thesis Overview

<p> <b></b><b>1.1 INTRODUCTION&nbsp;</b></p><p>The World Health Organization (2010) has identified physical inactivity as the fourth highest risk factor for global mortality. International guideline propose that children and youth should engage themselves in 60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) to accrue necessary health benefits (World Health Organization, 2010; 2013). However, less than one third of 13- year-olds, for instance, in Canada, France, Germany, Russia, U.S. and Finland meet the recommendation and physical activity (PA) continues to decline with age (Currie et al., 2012; Dumith et al., 2011; Telford et al., 2013; Troiano et al., 2008; Veitch et al., 2010; Yli-Piipari, 2011). Thus, the promotion of health and PA has become a universal challenge (Coulter &amp; Woods, 2011). Patterns of activity in adulthood are often established during adolescence (Telama et al., 2005), making this an important period for promoting PA. School physical education (PE) is the only structured setting with a possibility to ensure that all children can engage in activities to meet the recommendations, as these institutions are capable of providing knowledge and skills to the target population at minimal additional cost to the community (McKenzie, 2007). Previous research has found that PE motivation is a key factor underlying PA (Chen, 2001; Hagger et al., 2003; Ntoumanis et al., 2004) and corresponds to transfer of behavior across contexts for greater total PA (Ferrer-Caja &amp; Weiss, 2000; Hagger, 2014; Kalaja, 2012; Yli-Piipari, 2011). Several scholars have advocated that schools should place a higher priority on encouraging young people to engage greater daily physical activity, especially out-of-school (e.g., Flohr, Todd, &amp; Tudor-Locke; 2006; Hagger et al., 2009; Lytle et al., 2009). Furthermore, a number of interventions have shown school-based PA interventions to be successful in terms of health related outcomes (Dobbins et al., 2013; Strong et al., 2005) and PA engagement (e.g., Carrell et al., 2005; Schneider Jamner et al., 2004; Simon et al., 2004; Ward, 2011; Webber et al., 2008). However, multilevel interventions including the most widely used social-cognitive motivational theories have not been implemented in school PE settings. To address this, the European Union funded Sotkamo Physical Activity as Civil Skill Program (2010-2014) was implemented to prevent long-term effects of inactivity on children’s and youth’s wellness and health. Grade 5 to 9 students’ PA participation was enhanced during school days. This study was designed to examine the effects of the current program. The present study extends the previous findings by investigating the associations of students’ PE motivation and MVPA using the essential features of the Achievement goal theory (Nicholls, 1989), the Self-Determination theory (Deci &amp; Ryan, 1985; 1991; 2000), and the Expectancy-value theory (Eccles et al., 1983) in order to understand exercise motivation in a way that a single perspective may not be completely able to capture (Hulleman et al., 2008). The study, therefore, yields important information about the development of MVPA from childhood to early adolescence and the social-cognitive motivational processes behind MVPA engagement. Such information can be utilized in various practical applications, as PE teacher education and supplement training by giving better understanding of the development of adolescents´ MVPA patterns and their motivational determinants. <b></b> <br></p>