Generalization of Participation in Physical Activity from Physical Education to Recess in Two Elementary School Classes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the generalization of participation in parkour from physical education to parkour recess in two different elementary school classes taught by the same teacher. One class of 2nd grade (n = 19) and one class of 3rd grade (n= 26) elementary school children were taught a seven-lesson parkour unit during physical education. The teacher and the children were new to parkour, and the teacher taught each lesson first to the second-grade class followed by the third-grade class. The voluntary participation and MVPA of children from both classes in six parkour recess sessions connected with physical education lessons was investigated. In physical education, MVPA, lesson context, and teacher’s physical activity promotion in both classes was investigated. Results indicated that more time was spent in management in grade 2 (50%) compared to grade 3 (45%). In grade 3, children had more skill practice and achieved more MVPA compared to second graders during physical education (38% versus 35%, p