Abstract
BackgroundExtracurricular school-based sports are considered to be an ideal means of reaching children who are not active in community sports. The purposes of this study were to examine the extent to which pupils not engaging in community sports do participate in extracurricular school-based sports, and to assess whether extracurricular school-based sports participants are more physically active and/or more autonomously motivated towards sports in daily life than children who do not participate in extracurricular school-based sports.MethodsOne thousand forty-nine children (53.7% boys; M age = 11.02 years, SD = 0.02) out of 60 classes from 30 Flemish elementary schools, with an extracurricular school-based sports offer, completed validated questionnaires to assess physical activity (Flemish Physical Activity Questionnaire) and motivation (Behavioral Regulations in Physical Education Questionnaire). Multilevel regression analyses were conducted to examine the data generated from these questionnaires.ResultsMore than three quarters of the children (76%) reported participating in extracurricular school-based sports during the current school year and 73% reported engaging in organized community sports. Almost two third of the children (65%) not participating in community sports stated that they did participate in extracurricular school-based sports. Extracurricular school-based sports participants were significantly more physically active than children not participating in extracurricular school-based sports (β = 157.62, p < 0.001). Significant three-way interactions (sex × extracurricular school-based sports participation × community sports participation) were found for autonomous motivation, with boys engaging in extracurricular school-based sports but not in community sports being significantly more autonomously motivated towards sports than boys not engaging in community or extracurricular school-based sports (β = 0.58, p = 0.003). Such differences were not noted among girls.ConclusionsIf extracurricular school-based sports are offered at school, the vast majority of elementary school children participate. Although extracurricular school-based sports attract many children already engaging in community sports, they also reach almost two third of the children who do not participate in community sports but who might also be optimally motivated towards sports. As children participating in extracurricular school-based sports are more physically active than children who do not participate, extracurricular school-based sports participation can be considered to contribute to an active lifestyle for these participating children.
Highlights
Introduction to regression modelingIn Modern Epidemiology. 2nd edition
If we find that extracurricular school-based sports programs mainly attract those children who are already autonomously motivated towards sports, and there remains a large group of children that is not optimally motivated and is not reached, the question arises how the promoting role of extracurricular school-based sports can be optimized so that groups with less optimal motivational profiles are reached
Of the children not engaging in any community sports, 64.91% (n = 185) reported participating in extracurricular school-based sports in the current school year
Summary
Introduction to regression modelingIn Modern Epidemiology. 2nd edition. Edited by Rothman KJ, Greenland S. Extracurricular school-based sports are considered to be an ideal means of reaching children who are not active in community sports. By the end of elementary school a considerable amount of children does not meet the health-related recommendations of sixty minutes or more moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day [3]. In order for more children to meet the health-recommendations regarding PA, the need arises to develop and implement promotion strategies for an active lifestyle, with the promotion of sports participation among children and adolescents as one possible strategy. Schools are considered to be ideal settings for implementing such promotion strategies since children of all socioeconomic backgrounds spend considerable amounts of time at school. Within the limited curricular time, physical education’s diverse learning objectives are not exclusively related to promoting PA and sports participation. Within the school-community context possible additional sources for PA opportunities, including sports participation, need to be explored [12]
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