Benefits of Physical Health Education in Middle School

Research Question 

What are the benefits of having physical health education in middle school? 

Review of Literature 

American Stroke Association, & American Heart Association. (2015). Increasing and Improving Physical Education and Physical Activity in Schools: Benefits for Children’s Health and Educational Outcomes. Retrieved from https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@adv/documents/downloadable/ucm_473782.pdf 

This resource was created by a group of scientists involved in the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. Scientists have analyzed the necessity of physical activity for middle school students from a medical point of view.

Baena-Extremera, A., Granero-Gallegos, A., Ponce-de-León-Elizondo, A., Sanz-Arazuri, E., Valdemoros-San-Emeterio, M., & Martínez-Molina, M. (2016). Psychological factors related to physical education classes as predictors of students’ intention to partake in leisure-time physical activity.  Ciência & Saúde Coletiva ,  21 (4), 1105-1112. doi: 10.1590/1413-81232015214.07742015

The researchers have described that children spend quite a lot of time at school, so physical exercises should be a compulsory school curriculum because it contributes to the full development of middle school students.

Culpepper, D., & Killion, L. (2015). It’s Not Me, It’s You: The Disconnect of Physical Education Teachers to Physical Activity in the Gym.  Sports ,  3 (4), 302-311. doi: 10.3390/sports3040302

This study shows that students often do not complete the daily workload of physical activity. As a result, it reduces their academic success. This article is useful for our research because it proves the need for physical exercises for middle school students to maintain their mental activity.

Graham, D., Hipp, J., Marshall, S., & Kerr, J. (2014).  Emerging Technologies to Promote and Evaluate Physical Activity . Frontiers E-books.

The authors of this book have described the benefits of physical activity for middle school students regarding improving not only their health but also the psychological atmosphere in the classroom.

Houston, J., & Kulinna, P. (2014). Health-Related Fitness Models in Physical Education.  Strategies ,  27 (2), 20-26. doi: 10.1080/08924562.2014.879026

The authors of this resource offer options for physical activities for middle school students, which is also valuable material for conducting a content analysis.

Mertens, S., Caskey, M., & Flowers, N. (2016).  The Encyclopedia of Middle Grades Education (2nd ed.). IAP.

The encyclopedia is essential for the implementation of this survey because the authors have described all aspects of physical fitness in school conditions, including problems, challenges, needs, and student motivation for these classes.

Sliwa, S., Nihiser, A., Lee, S., McCaughtry, N., Culp, B., & Michael, S. (2017). Engaging Students in Physical Education: Key Challenges and Opportunities for Physical Educators in Urban Settings.  Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance ,  88 (3), 43-48. doi: 10.1080/07303084.2017.1271266

This source describes that physical education at school is a laborious process because teachers are not aware of the physical capabilities of students of the middle school. Moreover, this article is useful for the research because it proves that school institutions are responsible for the fulfillment of the daily norm of physical education by students.

Methods 

The chosen research method is qualitative content analysis. The references indicated in the previous section were used for content analysis. 

Finding Results 

Analysis of the references has shown that physical activity is an essential factor for the full development of the child, especially during the study in the middle school (Mertens, Caskey & Flowers, 2016). In the middle school, students actively develop both emotionally and physically, so lack of physical activity in school, where they spend a lot of time, can negatively affect their growing up (Houston & Kulinna, 2014; Culpepper & Killion, 2015). Moreover, joint exercises of physical activity improve the psychological climate between middle school students (Graham, Hipp, Marshall & Kerr, 2014). Analysis of the sources has also shown that employees of educational institutions cannot control the physical activity of the middle school students outside the school, so in the case of absence of physical training in educational institutions, children do not play sports either at home or at school (Baena-Extremera et al., 2016; Sliwa et al., 2017). Regular exercises have a positive effect on the development of the muscles and bones of high school students, as well as their cardiovascular system (American Stroke Association & American Heart Association, 2015). Thus, physical activity for middle school students is necessary for their health and emotional development, as well as the improvement of the psychological climate in the classroom. 

References  

American Stroke Association, & American Heart Association. (2015). Increasing and Improving Physical Education and Physical Activity in Schools: Benefits for Children’s Health and Educational Outcomes. Retrieved from https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@adv/documents/downloadable/ucm_473782.pdf

Baena-Extremera, A., Granero-Gallegos, A., Ponce-de-León-Elizondo, A., Sanz-Arazuri, E., Valdemoros-San-Emeterio, M., & Martínez-Molina, M. (2016). Psychological factors related to physical education classes as predictors of students’ intention to partake in leisure-time physical activity.  Ciência & Saúde Coletiva ,  21 (4), 1105-1112. doi: 10.1590/1413-81232015214.07742015

Culpepper, D., & Killion, L. (2015). It’s Not Me, It’s You: The Disconnect of Physical Education Teachers to Physical Activity in the Gym.  Sports ,  3 (4), 302-311. doi: 10.3390/sports3040302

Graham, D., Hipp, J., Marshall, S., & Kerr, J. (2014).  Emerging Technologies to Promote and Evaluate Physical Activity . Frontiers E-books.

Houston, J., & Kulinna, P. (2014). Health-Related Fitness Models in Physical Education.  Strategies ,  27 (2), 20-26. doi: 10.1080/08924562.2014.879026

Mertens, S., Caskey, M., & Flowers, N. (2016).  The Encyclopedia of Middle Grades Education (2nd ed.). IAP.

Sliwa, S., Nihiser, A., Lee, S., McCaughtry, N., Culp, B., & Michael, S. (2017). Engaging Students in Physical Education: Key Challenges and Opportunities for Physical Educators in Urban Settings.  Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance ,  88 (3), 43-48. doi: 10.1080/07303084.2017.1271266