Using Physical Education to Promote Out-of School Physical Activity in Lower Secondary School Students – A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol

Background. Given the documented decline in levels of physical activity in early adolescence, promoting physical activity in young people is a priority for health promotion. School physical education (PE) is an important existing network in which participation in physical activity beyond school can be promoted to the captive young people. The objective of current article is to present the protocol for a PE teacher-delivered theory-based trial to promote secondary school students’ participation in physical activity out-of-school contexts. The intervention will be guided by the trans-contextual model explaining the processes by which PE teachers’ support for autonomous motivation in the classroom promotes students’ motivation to engage in out-of-school physical activity. We hypothesize that school students receiving the teacher-delivered intervention to promote autonomous motivation toward physical activity will exhibit greater participation in physical activities outside of school, relative to students receiving a control intervention.
Methods. The trial will adopt a waitlist-control design with cluster-randomization by school. PE teachers assigned to the intervention condition will receive a two-week, 12-hour training program comprising basic information on how to promote out-of-school physical activity and theory-based training on strategies to promote students’ autonomous motivation toward physical activity. Teachers assigned to the waitlist control condition will receive an alternative training on how to monitor physical functional capacity in children with special needs. PE teachers (n = 24) from ten schools will apply the intervention program to students (n = 476) in PE classes for one month. Physical activity participation, the primary outcome variable, and psychological mediators from the trans-contextual model will be measured at pre-trial, post-trial, and at one-, three- and six-months post-trial. We will also assess teachers’ autonomy-supportive techniques and behaviours by observation.
Discussion. The study will make a unique contribution to the literature by testing a theory-based intervention delivered by PE teachers to promote school students’ participation in out-of-school physical activity. Information will be useful for educators, community stakeholders and policy makers interested in developing programs to promote students’ out-of-school physical activity.

背景。鉴于青少年早期体力活动水平已出现显著下降的文献记载，推动年轻人群体的体力活动已成为健康促进工作的重中之重。学校体育教育（PE）作为一项现有的重要网络，可在其中推广超越校园的体力活动，以吸引那些被动的青少年。本文旨在阐述一项由体育教师在理论指导下进行的试验方案，旨在促进中学学生在校园外参与体力活动。该干预措施将由跨情境模型指导，该模型阐释了体育教师在课堂上对自主动机的支持如何促进学生在校园外参与体力活动的动机。我们假设，接受教师提供的旨在促进对体力活动自主动机的干预措施的学生，相对于接受控制干预措施的学生，将在校园外的体力活动中展现出更高的参与度。方法。试验将采用等待名单控制设计，并按学校进行聚类随机分配。分配至干预条件下的体育教师将接受为期两周、共计12小时的培训项目，包括如何推广校园外体力活动的基本信息以及基于理论的促进学生自主动机策略培训。分配至等待名单控制条件下的教师将接受如何监测有特殊需求儿童体力功能能力的替代培训。来自十所学校的24名体育教师将对体育课上的476名学生实施为期一个月的干预项目。主要结果变量——体力活动参与度以及跨情境模型中的心理中介变量将在试验前、试验后以及试验后的一月、三月和六个月进行测量。我们还将通过观察评估教师的自主支持技巧和行为。讨论。本研究将通过测试体育教师提供的基于理论的干预措施，以促进学生在校园外参与体力活动，对文献做出独特贡献。相关信息将对关注开发促进学生校园外体力活动项目的教育工作者、社区利益相关者和政策制定者具有参考价值。