Before-school running/walking club: Effects on student on-task behavior
Author
Stylianou, Michalis; Kulinna, Pamela Hodges; Amazeen, Eric; van der Mars, Hans; Mahar, Matthew T.; Adams, Marc A.; Amazeen, Eric
Abstract
Before-school programs provide a good opportunity for children to engage in physical activity (PA) as well as im- prove their readiness to learn. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a before-school running/ walking club on elementary school children's on-task behavior. The study employed a two-phase experimental design with an initial baseline phase followed by an alternating treatments phase, and was first conducted at a private school (School A) and subsequently replicated at a public school (School B). Participants were third and fourth grade children from two schools in the Southwestern U.S. who participated in a before-school run- ning/walking club that met two times each week (School A: 20 min; School B: 15 min) during the 2013/2014 ac- ademic year. Participation in the program was monitored using pedometers and on-task behavior was assessed through direct observation. Data analyses included visual analysis, Tau-U index, and multilevel modeling. Results from all analyses indicated that on-task behavior was significantly higher on days the children attended the before-school program than on days they did not. According to multilevel modeling results, mean differences and effect sizes were: School A = 15.78%, pseudo-R2 = .34 [strong effect]; School B = 14.26%, pseudo-R2 = .22 [moderate effect]. Results provide evidence for the positive impact of before-school PA programs on children's classroom behavior and readiness to learn. Such programs do not take time away from academics and may be an attractive option for schools. Results also have implications for the structure of children's school day and the scheduling of PA opportunities.
Date
2016-02-01
Citation:
APA:
Stylianou, Michalis, & Kulinna, Pamela Hodges, & Amazeen, Eric, & van der Mars, Hans, & Mahar, Matthew T., & Adams, Marc A., & Amazeen, Eric. (February 2016).
Before-school running/walking club: Effects on student on-task behavior.
,
(),
-
. Retrieved from
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/8475
MLA:
Stylianou, Michalis, and Kulinna, Pamela Hodges, and Amazeen, Eric, and van der Mars, Hans, and Mahar, Matthew T., and Adams, Marc A., and Amazeen, Eric.
"Before-school running/walking club: Effects on student on-task behavior". .
. (),
February 2016.
September 21, 2023.
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/8475.
Chicago:
Stylianou, Michalis and Kulinna, Pamela Hodges and Amazeen, Eric and van der Mars, Hans and Mahar, Matthew T. and Adams, Marc A. and Amazeen, Eric,
"Before-school running/walking club: Effects on student on-task behavior," , no.
(February 2016),
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/8475 (accessed
September 21, 2023).
AMA:
Stylianou, Michalis, Kulinna, Pamela Hodges, Amazeen, Eric, van der Mars, Hans, Mahar, Matthew T., Adams, Marc A., Amazeen, Eric.
Before-school running/walking club: Effects on student on-task behavior. .
February 2016;
():
.
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/8475. Accessed
September 21, 2023.
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