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Education Sciences
Special Issues
Exercise and Health in the School Environment
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Exercise and Health in the School Environment

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 February 2024) | Viewed by 18351

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Daniel Bores-García

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Guest Editor
Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, 28922 Madrid, Spain
Interests: physical education; communities of practice; pedagogical models; subjectivities of bodies
Dr. Nuria Romero-Parra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, 28922 Madrid, Spain
Interests: female sex hormones and exercise physiology; physical activity and health; physical education and sports
Dr. María Espada Mateos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, 28922 Madrid, Spain
Interests: physical education; teaching styles; pedagogical models; sports at schools

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In 2015, The Union Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The third objective is “Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages is essential to sustainable development”.

According to this objective, in this Special Issue we would like to explore how is the situation nowadays.  

Educational establishments, whatever their level (pre-school, primary, secondary or higher education), have, among their objectives, the promotion of physical activity and sport among their students. The subject of Physical Education is perhaps the clearest example of this commitment to movement in the educational context, but in recent years a multitude of proposals have emerged to develop with students in different more or less structured curricular situations.

The improvement of motor competence as part of the integral development of the person from the earliest years of life must be an indispensable element in all educational action. There are several agents in charge of this mission, including the educational administration, teachers, families, sports clubs, and the students themselves.

This Special Issue will welcome work related to the promotion of physical activity and health, whenever this is carried out in an educational context, whatever the level. Original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Reviews on physical activity and health promotion in the educational context.
  • Research articles showing the results of educational interventions aimed at promoting physical activity and health.
  • Research articles showing the results of health and exercise promotion projects carried out in educational establishments.
  • Articles showing innovative educational interventions within the field of physical activity.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Daniel Bores-García
Dr. Nuria Romero-Parra
Dr. María Espada Mateos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • physical activity
  • school
  • education
  • sports
  • motricity

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 555 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Mind-Body Connection: Yoga, Mindfulness, and Mental Well-Being in Adolescent Physical Education
by Alicia Cerdá, Salvador Boned-Gómez and Salvador Baena-Morales
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(11), 1104; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13111104 - 2 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 7218
Abstract
In light of the escalating mental health problems witnessed in recent years, the World Health Organization (WHO) is actively seeking ways to enhance mental health, with an overarching goal to promote mental well-being. Central to this objective is the significant role played by [...] Read more.
In light of the escalating mental health problems witnessed in recent years, the World Health Organization (WHO) is actively seeking ways to enhance mental health, with an overarching goal to promote mental well-being. Central to this objective is the significant role played by education. As stated by the UNESCO, educational institutions can play a pivotal part in fostering aspects like psychological well-being. Particularly, Physical Education stands out as it addresses specific content related to mental health. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the construct of emotional awareness in adolescents and determine whether it is affected by an intervention based on yoga and mindfulness. The study was conducted with a sample of 149 participants, with an average age of 14.6 ± 0.5 years. A quasi-experimental study design was employed, where measurements were taken before (pre) and after (post) the implementation of an intervention with two groups, a control group and an experimental group. The control group underwent a six-session body expression teaching unit, while the experimental group followed the same unit but began with a warm-up based on yoga and mindfulness. The assessment instrument used was the revised Emotional Awareness Questionnaire (EAQ30). To assess the normality of the dataset, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was carried out, which indicated a non-parametric sample. Subsequently, the Mann–Whitney U test was executed, revealing no significant differences in any dimension. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was also conducted, which showed significant differences in two dimensions. The lack of significant results could potentially be attributed to the short duration of the study. Nevertheless, these findings could contribute valuable insights towards understanding the integration of yoga or mindfulness-based programs in Physical Education. These programs have the potential to significantly impact adolescent emotional awareness and mental health, which is particularly crucial given the increasing prevalence of mental health issues in this age group. Therefore, despite the absence of robust findings in this study, it illuminates the necessity and value for further research into the utilization of yoga and mindfulness in the educational context. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exercise and Health in the School Environment)
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14 pages, 991 KiB  
Article
Reliability and Validity of the Four Station Fundamental Motor Test (4-SFMT) for Assessing Motor Skills in Preschool Children—A Pilot Study
by Petra Pavletić Leutar, Saša Krstulović, Andrea De Giorgio and Goran Kuvačić
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(3), 306; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13030306 - 15 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1860
Abstract
The main aim of this study was to create a new test to assess the motor skills of children of preschool and early school age and to determine its reliability and validity. Thirty children (5–6 years old) were tested on two occasions 14 [...] Read more.
The main aim of this study was to create a new test to assess the motor skills of children of preschool and early school age and to determine its reliability and validity. Thirty children (5–6 years old) were tested on two occasions 14 days apart. The testing procedures included measuring the participants’ performance on the Four Station Fundamental Motor Test (4-SFMT). The newly constructed 4-SFMT tested four fundamental skills/tasks: space covering (ROLL), overcoming resistance (PULL), object control (BALL), and overcoming obstacles (CLIMB). The performance was evaluated with a 22-point scale with different criteria for each skill, and the time taken to perform the test was measured. The concurrent validity was assessed by determining the correlation with a Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2). The level of agreement across trials was statistically significant for all three raters, with two variables presenting excellent reliability (ICC > 0.9) and two variables having good reliability (ICC > 0.75 and <0.9). No significant differences were found between the test and retest scores, indicating the test’s high reliability. A factor analysis isolated only one motor factor (accounting for 43.99% of the variance with the eigenvalue of 1.768) from the four tasks. There was a large correlation (r = −0.576, p < 0.01) between the process- and product-oriented assessments of the 4-SFMT. Moreover, significant correlations were found between the 4-SFMT and TGMD-2 regarding the scores (r = 0.824, p < 0.001) and time taken to perform the tasks (r = −0.652, p < 0.001), which indicates the good concurrent validity of the newly constructed test. Small to moderate correlations between tasks (0.016 to 0.497) and no differences between boys and girls in the total score (p = 0.943) and time taken to complete the tasks (p = 0.49) were determined. The 4-SFMT appears to be a valid and reliable tool that can be used to evaluate motor skills performance in children between the ages of 5 and 6 and is reasonably simple to use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exercise and Health in the School Environment)
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Review

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15 pages, 529 KiB  
Review
Health Education Intervention Programs in Early Childhood Education: A Systematic Review
by Judit Fináncz, Judit Podráczky, Krisztina Deutsch, Evelin Soós, Henrietta Bánfai-Csonka and Melinda Csima
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(10), 988; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13100988 - 27 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3734
Abstract
Adult health behavior is established and formed in childhood, in which, besides the primacy of the family, institutional education plays a significant role. The aim of our systematic review is to analyze health interventions implemented in an institutional environment for children aged 3–6 [...] Read more.
Adult health behavior is established and formed in childhood, in which, besides the primacy of the family, institutional education plays a significant role. The aim of our systematic review is to analyze health interventions implemented in an institutional environment for children aged 3–6 years. Our research was carried out according to the PRISMA 2020 protocol. The sample of research was determined by using the keywords “health education” or “health promotion” and “preschool” or “kindergarten” in Scopus, ERIC and WOS databases published between 2013 and 2022. Out of a total of 1535 results, 14 proved to be relevant to the eligibility criteria of the study topic. Cochrane Risk of Bias criteria were used for critical appraisal and to limit bias. The majority of the analyzed studies focused on physical activity and nutrition, including the issues of sedentary time, obesity and sustainability. The holistic approach is less typical in the interventions reviewed, with a marginal occurrence of topics related to mental and social health, as well as risk behavior. The interventions proved to be more effective when parents were involved, and the varied, age-appropriate game-based activities also contributed to the formation of health-supporting habits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exercise and Health in the School Environment)
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Other

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7 pages, 284 KiB  
Brief Report
Gender Differences in University Students’ Levels of Physical Activity and Motivations to Engage in Physical Activity
by María Espada, Nuria Romero-Parra, Daniel Bores-García and José Manuel Delfa-De La Morena
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(4), 340; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13040340 - 26 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4656
Abstract
The transition of students to the university stage is a critical period in which there are numerous changes that could influence their lifestyles. The aim of this research was to analyse the levels of physical activity and the types of motivation for physical [...] Read more.
The transition of students to the university stage is a critical period in which there are numerous changes that could influence their lifestyles. The aim of this research was to analyse the levels of physical activity and the types of motivation for physical activity among university students according to gender. A quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional survey methodology was used. A total sample of 3060 university students, 47.8% women and 52.2% men, with a mean age of 20.88 ± 2.01 years was recruited. The sampling margin of error was ±1.85%. The short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the third version of the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire were used to evaluate MVPA and motivations to exercise, respectively. Two-way ANCOVA and a mediation analysis were performed. The most relevant results show that less than half of the university men and women are considered physically active. Furthermore, when analysing the interaction between motivation and gender, a large effect in identified motivation (F = 65.03; p≤ 0.001) and integrated motivation (F = 324.58; p ≤.0.001) and a medium one intrinsic motivation (F = 169.39; p ≤ 0.001) was found. Therefore, women university students have lower levels of physical activity practice than men students and show higher external motivation and demotivation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exercise and Health in the School Environment)
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