A systematic review of the effectiveness of physical education and school sport interventions targeting physical activity, movement skills and enjoyment of physical activity

Abstract

This article presents a systematic review of published literature on the effectiveness of physical education in promoting participation in physical activity, enjoyment of physical activity and movement skill proficiency in children and adolescents. The review utilized a literature search, specifically publications listed in Ovid, A+ Education, ERIC, Sports Discus, Science Direct, PsychInfo from 1990 to June 2010. The literature search yielded 27,410 potentially relevant publications. Twenty-three articles met the inclusion criteria established for this review and applied by three independent reviewers. Articles were rated independently by three reviewers using a 10-item methodological quality scale derived from the CONSORT 2010 statement. The results of the review detail the nature, scope and focus of intervention strategies reported, and reported outcomes of interventions. The most effective strategies to increase children’s levels of physical activity and improve movement skills in physical education were direct instruction teaching methods and providing teachers with sufficient and ongoing professional development in using these physical education (PE) instruction methods. However, the review revealed a lack of high quality evaluations and statistical power to draw conclusions concerning the effectiveness of interventions conducted in physical education and school sport to improve enjoyment outcomes. It is argued that adequately powered interventions that target movement skills in secondary schools and evaluate school sport curriculum are urgently needed.