Examining the Feasibility of Partnering with Cooperative Extension to Advance Statewide Physical Education Policies in Oregon

Abstract

Optimizing physical education (PE) is a proven approach to increase children’s physical activity. Oregon law requires elementary schools to provide PE for > 150 minutes/week. One strategy to meet the required minutes is for classroom teachers to deliver PE, which is permissible using curricula aligned to national PE standards. Be Physically Active 2Day (BEPA 2.0) is a unique classroom-based physical activity brain break curriculum aligned to PE standards. We evaluated the effectiveness of training school faculty to use BEPA 2.0 via a unique partnership with Cooperative Extension. Extension trainers (ET) were trained by a BEPA 2.0 Master Trainer (MT). School faculty were subsequently trained by ET (n = 94) and MT (n = 58). Participants completed post-training surveys to assess confidence, comprehension, and self-efficacy to implement BEPA 2.0. Survey scores were compared between MT and ET groups using the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test. There were no differences between MT and ET training groups in perceived confidence, comprehension, or self-efficacy to implement BEPA 2.0 after training. ET were as effective as MT, indicating the train-the-trainer approach is a promising strategy to enhance BEPA 2.0 dissemination. Cooperative Extension partnerships may be an overlooked mechanism to enhance physical activity promotion efforts.