A Review of Fidelity of Implementation in Intervention Research Published in JTPE and RQES

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review and evaluate the quality of fidelity of implementation (FOI) reported in experimental research in physical education pedagogy published in the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport and the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education using a five-component conceptual framework. Methods: Thirty-five intervention studies were coded using a five-item FOI checklist with indicators. For each of the five items, frequencies and percentages were calculated. Results: Authors of intervention studies reported components of FOI including (a) 35 studies assessing program adherence, (b) eight studies assessing dosage/program durations, (c) 30 studies assessing program delivery quality, (d) eight studies assessing participant responses to program interventions, and (e) 19 studies assessing program differentiation. The most frequently reported FOI components were program adherence, program delivery quality, and program differentiation. Conclusions: Researchers have begun to realize the critical importance of FOI in intervention research. Most researchers selected certain FOI components to assess and report at their own discretion. Researchers may need to pay more attention to FOI. The five-component conceptual framework is one method for doing this assessment.