Search

Anti-fat bias by professors in physical education departments may interfere with the training provided to pre-service teachers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of professors in physical education departments toward obese individuals. Professors from randomly selected institutions across all four US regions participated in the study (N = 94). Participants took the Implicit Association Test and answered the Anti-Fat Attitude Scale and two questions specifically designed to measure their attitudes toward physical education teachers and majors who are obese. The participants exhibited implicit good-bad (p < .001) and lazy-motivated (p < .001) anti-fat biases. Professors favored accepting majors who are obese (p < .001), but they strongly disapproved of obese physical education teachers as role models to their students (p < .001). Explicit anti-fat bias was associated with a stronger disapproval of physical education teachers who are obese as role models to students (p < .001) and accepting majors who are obese (p < .001). Implicit good-bad anti-fat bias was associated with a stronger disapproval of obese physical education teachers as role models to students (p = .047). The anti-fat bias demonstrated by the professors may negatively affect the training of pre-service physical education teachers to work with students of all body sizes. Awareness programs may be necessary to diminish anti-fat bias among professors in physical education teacher education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In physical education, it has become necessary for children to learn kinesiological knowledge for understanding the benefits of physical activity and developing a physically active lifestyle. This study was conducted to determine the extent to which cognitive assignments about healthful living and fitness contributed to knowledge growth on cardiorespiratory fitness and health. Fourth grade students (N = 616) from 15 randomly sampled urban elementary schools completed 34 cognitive assignments related to the cardiorespiratory physical activities they were engaged in across 10 lessons. Performance on the assignments were analyzed in relation to their knowledge gain measured using a standardized knowledge test. A multivariate discriminant analysis revealed that the cognitive assignments contributed to knowledge gain but the contribution varied assignment by assignment. A multiple regression analysis indicated that students’ assignment performance by lesson contributed positively to their knowledge growth scores. A content analysis based on the constructivist learning framework showed that observing–reasoning assignments contributed the most to knowledge growth. Analytical and analytical–application assignments contributed less than the constructivist theories would predict. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]