Walking School Bus Programs in U.S. Public Elementary Schools

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 641-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Turner ◽  
Jamie F. Chriqui ◽  
Frank J. Chaloupka
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Active Transportation ◽  
School Bus ◽  
State Laws ◽  
Public Elementary Schools ◽  
Physical Activity Recommendations ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Demographic Covariates ◽  
Walking School Bus ◽  
Representative Samples

Background:Active transportation to school provides an important way for children to meet physical activity recommendations. The “walking school bus” (WSB) is a strategy whereby adults walk with a group of children to and from school along a fixed route. This study assessed whether school-organized WSB programs varied by school characteristics, district policies, and state laws.Methods:School data were gathered by mail-back surveys in nationally representative samples of U.S. public elementary schools during the 2008−2009 and 2009−2010 school years (n = 632 and 666, respectively). Corresponding district policies and state laws were obtained.Results:Nationwide, 4.2% of schools organized a WSB program during 2008−2009, increasing to 6.2% by 2009−2010. Controlling for demographic covariates, schools were more likely to organize a WSB program where there was a strong district policy pertaining to safe active routes to school (OR = 2.14, P < .05), or a state law requiring crossing guards around schools (OR = 2.72, P < .05).Conclusions:WSB programs are not common but district policies and state laws are associated with an increased likelihood of elementary schools organizing these programs. Policymaking efforts may encourage schools to promote active transportation.

Movement Integration in Classrooms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Blake Densley
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Education Outcomes ◽  
Public Elementary Schools ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Movement Integration

The intentional integration of movement in elementary school classrooms—including both brief instructional breaks for physical activity, or the integration of physical activity with lessons—can benefit children’s physical health and education outcomes. Teachers are key implementation agents, but despite movement integration (MI) being considered an educational best practice, many classroom teachers do not regularly use it. The aim of this study was to obtain updated nationally-representative prevalence estimates in US public elementary schools, regarding four key outcomes pertaining to teachers’ implementation of physical activity: 1) school adoption of physically active lessons (PALs); 2) school adoption of physical activity breaks (PABs); 3) penetration rate to the classroom, defined as ≥50% of teachers using PABs; and 4) dose of PABs of at least 50 minutes per week. I examined variations in outcomes by school demographic characteristics, and hypothesized implementation facilitators (administrative support, financial resources, and presence of a wellness champion at the school). Surveys were distributed to a nationally-representative sample of 1010 public elementary schools in the US; responses were obtained from 559 (55.3%). In 2019–20, the weighted prevalence of schools having adopted PALs was 77.9% (95% CI = 74.3% to 81.4%), and PAB adoption was nearly universal at 91.5% (95% CI = 88.9% to 94.2%). Few demographic differences emerged, although PAL adoption was less prevalent at the highest-poverty schools (74.01%) and medium-poverty schools (77.0%) as compared to schools with the lowest student poverty levels (87.1%; p < .01). Across all four outcomes, associations emerged with implementation facilitators in multivariable logistic regression models. The prevalence of PAL adoption, PAB adoption, and dose of PABs were all significantly higher at schools where administrative encouragement occurred more frequently. For example, at schools where the administrator provided encouragement often, 97.8% had adopted PABs, versus 78.2% of schools where encouragement happened never or rarely (p < .001). Financial support was associated with implementation outcomes, including higher PAL adoption, PAB penetration, and PAB dose. Presence of a champion was associated with higher prevalence of PAL adoption. School leaders can play a crucial role in supporting their teachers’ use of MI within the classroom, including the provision of financial resources, encouragement, and supporting champions. Effective school leadership practices have the potential to positively impact health and education outcomes for children at a large-scale population level.

scholarly journals Implementation of Physical Activity in US Elementary Schools: The Role of Administrative Support, Financial Resources, and Champions

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4476
Author(s):  
Blake Densley ◽  
Hannah G. Calvert ◽  
Peter Boedeker ◽  
Lindsey Turner
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Elementary Schools ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Public Elementary Schools ◽  
Nationally Representative

The intentional integration of physical activity in elementary school classrooms—including brief instructional breaks for activity, or integration into lessons—can benefit children’s physical activity and education outcomes. Teachers are key implementation agents, but despite physical activity in the classroom being an evidence-informed practice, many teachers do not regularly implement it. The aim of this study was to obtain updated nationally representative prevalence estimates in United States public elementary schools, regarding four key outcomes: (1) school adoption of physically active lessons (PA lessons); (2) school adoption of physical-activity breaks (PA breaks); (3) penetration in the classroom, defined as ≥50% of teachers using PA breaks; and (4) dose, defined as an average of at least 50 min per week of PA breaks. We examined variations in outcomes by school demographic characteristics, and by three factors hypothesized to be implementation facilitators (administrative support, financial resources, and presence of a wellness champion at the school). In the 2019–20 school year, surveys were distributed to a nationally representative sample of 1010 public elementary schools in the US; responses were obtained from 559 (55.3%). The weighted prevalence of schools reporting adoption of PA lessons was 77.9% (95% CI = 73.9% to 81.9%), and adoption of PA breaks was nearly universal at 91.2% (95% CI = 88.4% to 94.1%). Few demographic differences emerged, although adoption of PA lessons was less prevalent at higher-poverty schools (73.9%) and medium-poverty schools (77.0%) as compared to schools with lower poverty levels (87.1%; p < 0.01). Across all four outcomes, associations emerged with facilitators in multivariable logistic regression models. The prevalence of adoption of PA lessons, adoption of PA breaks, and dose of PA breaks were all significantly higher at schools where administrative encouragement occurred more frequently. Financial support was associated with implementation outcomes, including adoption of PA lessons, and penetration and dose of PA breaks. Presence of a champion was associated with higher prevalence of reporting adoption of PA lessons. School leaders can play a crucial role in supporting teachers’ implementation of PA breaks and lessons in the classroom, through providing financial resources, encouragement, and supporting champions. Effective school-leadership practices have the potential to positively impact students at a large-scale population level by supporting implementation of PA lessons and breaks.

Are misinformation, antiscientific claims, and conspiracy theories for political extremists?

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-605
Author(s):  
Adam M. Enders ◽  
Joseph E. Uscinski
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Political Left ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Political Groups ◽  
Representative Samples

Extremist political groups, especially “extreme” Republicans and conservatives, are increasingly charged with believing misinformation, antiscientific claims, and conspiracy theories to a greater extent than moderates and those on the political left by both a burgeoning scholarly literature and popular press accounts. However, previous investigations of the relationship between political orientations and alternative beliefs have been limited in their operationalization of those beliefs and political extremity. We build on existing literature by examining the relationships between partisan and nonpartisan conspiracy beliefs and symbolic and operational forms of political extremity. Using two large, nationally representative samples of Americans, we find that ideological extremity predicts alternative beliefs only when the beliefs in question are partisan in nature and the measure of ideology is identity-based. Moreover, we find that operational ideological extremism is negatively related to nonpartisan conspiracy beliefs. Our findings help reconcile discrepant findings regarding the relationship between political orientations and conspiracy beliefs.

Inadvertent Exemplars: Life History Portraits of Two Socially Just Principals

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Scanlan
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Life History ◽  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Public Elementary Schools ◽  
White Middle Class ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking

This study creates life history portraits of two White middle-class native-English-speaking principals demonstrating commitments to social justice in their work in public elementary schools serving disproportionately high populations of students who are marginalized by poverty, race, and linguistic heritage. Through self-reported life histories of these principals, I create portraits that illustrate how these practitioners draw motivation, commitment, and sustenance in varied, complicated, and at times contradictory ways.

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