PERCEIVED EXERTION AND MODERATE TO VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ACCORDING TO THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCE

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to compare the perceived exertion and moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) among first grade middle school students in physical education (PE) classes given by PE teachers with higher or lower experience than 16 years. Eighty-seven PE lessons conducted by PE teachers with ≥ 16 years of experience (n=35) and teachers with ˂ 16 years of experience (n=52) were evaluated by 348 middle school students (Mean age=12.2±0.5 years). To determine the perceived exertion, the pictorial children's effort rating table (PCERT) was completed, after PE. Children chose an option on an illustrated scale 1–10 perceived exertion. The moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was evaluated using the System for Observing Fitness and Instruction Time (SOFIT) assessing the intensity as the proportion of time that students spent engaged in walking and very active PA during PE. A cross-sectional design was used, the equality of variance was calculated using the Student t-test for independent samples resulting in MVPA (P-value=.659) and perceived exertion (P-value=.205) α≤ than 0.05. In both groups, the average value of perceived exertion was less than 5 points on the scale, which is insufficient to enhance physical fitness. The MVPA did not achieve international guidelines of engaging students in at least 50% of the lessons time in walking and very active PA. It is recommended for PE teachers to develop pedagogical strategies contributing from the school environment to guide students in educational contents for health through PA, as established by UNESCO and recommended by the World Health Organization.