Effect Of Spark On Physical Activity, Cardiorespiratory Endurance, And Motivation In Middle-school Students

Abstract

Optimal levels of physical activity (PA) during physical education (PE) are essential to promote health and wellbeing among children and adolescents. Additional evidence for the effectiveness of newly popular programs such as the Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK) is needed. PURPOSE: to examine the effect of the SPARK program on middle school students’ in-class PA, cardiorespiratory endurance, and motivation in PE as compared to the Traditional program. METHODS: Participants included 174 (82 boys, 92 girls; Mean age = 12.06 ± .85 years) students enrolled in two U.S. middle schools. Students were assigned to the Intervention Group (SPARK) or the Control Group (Traditional) with school as experimental unit. Baseline and Post-test measurements were conducted, measuring PA via pedometers, cardiorespiratory endurance via PACER, PA Enjoyment through the Sport Enjoyment Scale, and Perceived Competence (PC) through the PC Scale. A 2 (Group) × 3 (Grade) × 2 (Gender) MANOVA was employed to examine the change scores differences for the aforementioned outcomes from baseline to post-test. Post-hoc tests were then conducted if MANOVA yielded statistical significance. RESULTS: MANOVA yield a statistically significant three-way interaction for Grade x Gender x Group (Wilk’s Λ = 0.89, p < .001). Follow-up test for PA change scores revealed a Grade x Group interaction (F (2, 161) = 5.71, p < .01) with differences seen between grades 6 and 7 in SPARK (Mean Δ Grade 6–7 = 8.11, p < .01) and between grades 6 and 8 in Traditional (Mean Δ Grade 6–8 = −6.96, p < .01). Data also yielded a Gender x Grade x Group interaction (F (2, 161) = 5.70, p < .01) with greater PACER change scores seen for boys in grade 8 in Traditional group (p < .01) but greater PACER change scores in grade 8 girls in SPARK group (p < .01). For both Enjoyment and PC change scores, there was significant Group x Grade interaction effects. PC differences were seen between grades 6 and 8 (Mean Δ Grade 6–8 = 0.38, p < .05) in SPARK group, while Enjoyment differences were seen between grades 6 and 7 (Mean Δ Grade 6–7 = 0.67, p < .001), and between grades 6 and 8 (Mean Δ Grade 6–8 = 0.81, p < .001) in SPARK group. CONCLUSION: The SPARK program tended to increase PA levels and motivation in PE (PA enjoyment and PC) in younger students compared to the Traditional program after the nine-week intervention.