Physical activity (PA) and sports are efficient ways to promote the young generation’s physical and mental health and development. This study expected to demonstrate the complexity of correlates associated with children’s and adolescents’ non-organized PA participation. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA), a systematic review and meta-analysis were applied. Seven electronic databases were systematically searched to identify eligible articles based on a series of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The internal validity of the systematic reviews thus identified was evaluated using a validated quality instrument. Calculations were produced in SPSS 27.0 and Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.3. Thirty-nine eligible studies (N = 324,953) with moderate to high quality were included. No potential publication bias was detected using statistical analyses. The meta-analysis revealed that the overall ecological factors correlated positively with children and adolescents’ PA; the meta-analytic average of the correlations was (′r = 0.32, p < 0.001). Results from subgroup analysis indicated that theory-based influence factors achieved moderate effect with boys (′r = 0.37, p < 0.001) and girls (′r = 0.32, p < 0.001) in PA participation. Interestingly, higher correlations were found between ecological factors and twins’ PA participation (′r = 0.61, p = 0.001). Further, individual (′r = 0.32, p < 0.001), macro-, and chronosystems factors (′r = 0.50, p < 0.001) appeared slightly more influential than microsystems factors (′r = 0.28, p < 0.001) on children and adolescents’ PA participation. Although findings from the included studies covered were to some extent heterogeneous, it is possible to identify consistent correlates of PA in children and adolescents. The results supported that PA is a complex and multi-dimensional behavior, which is determined by numerous biological, psychological, sociocultural, and environmental factors. Future studies that focus on the integration effect of macrosystem and chronosystem environmental factors, and apply longitudinal designs and objective measurements are encouraged to further unfold the complexity of the ecological system and its implications in promoting children and adolescents’ PA participation.

Considering the limited field experience offered for preservice teachers to competently prepare them to implement the Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) in schools, the purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of preservice and in-service teachers participating in a CSPAP infusion curriculum within a physical education teacher education program. Fourteen preservice teachers enrolled in an elementary physical education course implemented four CSPAP projects in four elementary schools as part of coursework. At the end of the project, the preservice teachers participated in focus group discussions and submitted self-reflection papers, while four in-service teachers who partnered in the program participated in interviews. Guided by Self-Determination Theory, results indicated that the preservice teachers developed competency and experienced autonomy in CSPAP implementation during field experiences. Furthermore, they felt a sense of relatedness with the teachers, classmates, and children throughout the program. Support for future implementation is spurred through the school community. In view of the increasing need for preservice teachers to be equipped with the skills to implement CSPAPs, infusing a CSPAP curriculum within a physical education course is viable to facilitate intrinsic motivation among preservice teachers to implement physical activity programs in the future.

Physical activity and sport participation behaviors in children and adolescents are consistently shaped by surrounding ecological systems. Accumulating evidence highlights individual, family, peer, school and teacher, and macroenvironment elements such as policies that affect unstructured physical activity choices in youth populations. However, the reason for participation has not been fully interpreted from the perspective of the youth themselves, especially those from an Asian cultural background. In our study, we aimed to better understand the self-identified reasons for adolescents’ participation in non-organized or spontaneous tennis practice in contemporary China. Twenty-six adolescents and informants were recruited in mainland China and participated in semi-structured interviews to provide thick descriptions of their continued tennis participation behaviors. Data were coded and analyzed via NVivo 12. Four themes emerged: (a) Individual characteristics and self-interpretations of tennis culture; (b) microsystems mediating adolescents’ tennis participation; (c) barriers and obstacles impacting tennis participation; and (d) policies and macroenvironments. Adolescent tennis participation is a result of the integration effect of the sociocultural and ecological factors dominated by multifaceted ecological systems. As a particular vision of their physical activity experiences, adolescents’ interpretation of tennis and their broader worldview has been continuously reshaped by concurrent sport and educational policies.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects millions of children worldwide, with a current prevalence of approximately 1 in 54 children in the United States. Although the precise mechanisms underlying ASD remain unclear, research has shown that early intervention can have a significant impact on cognitive development and outcomes in children with ASD. Physical activity interventions have emerged as a promising intervention for children with ASD, but the efficacy of different types of interventions remains unclear. Objective: This study protocol aims to update the knowledge on extant literature and explore the efficacy of physical activity intervention strategies on cognitive functions in children with ASD. Methods: A systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) will be conducted following the PRISMA-NMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols for Network Meta-Analyses) statement. A total of 9 bibliographic databases (APA PsycInfo, CENTRAL, Dimensions, ERIC, MEDLINE Complete, PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science) will be systematically searched to screen eligible articles based on a series of inclusion and exclusion criteria. A study will be considered for inclusion if it is not classified as a systematic review with or without meta-analysis, was published from inception to present, includes children aged 0 to 12 years with ASD, quantitively measures cognitive outcomes, and examines treatment comprising at least 1 physical activity intervention strategy. The internal validity and quality of evidence will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation framework. Statistical analyses will be performed in the RStudio software (version 3.6; RStudio Inc) with the BUGSnet package and the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (version 3.3; Biostat Inc). The results of our NMA will be illustrated through network diagrams accompanied by geometry and league tables. Further, to rank the interventions based on their efficacy, we will use the surface under the cumulative ranking curve. Results: Our preliminary search identified 3778 potentially relevant studies. The screening of the studies based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria is ongoing, and we anticipate that the final number of eligible studies will be in the range of 30 to 50. Conclusions: This study will provide a comprehensive review of the literature on physical activity interventions for children with ASD and will use NMA to compare the efficacy of different types of interventions on cognitive outcomes. Our findings will have important implications for clinical practice and future research in this area and will contribute to the growing body of evidence supporting the use of physical activity interventions as a key component of early intervention for children with ASD. Trial Registration: PROSPERO CRD42021279054; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=279054

During the pandemic, sedentary behavior and social isolation threatened college students’ physical and mental health. The effectiveness of Sport Education on combinations of variables associated with well-being and physical activity was explored. Undergraduate students (N = 236) participated in a 15-week intervention; Sport Education (experimental) was compared to Direct Instruction (control). A structural equation modeling approach and Causal Mediation Analyses were conducted to test hypothesized models. A mixed factorial ANOVA was used to examine physical activity engagement. Sport Education students participated in physical activity significantly longer than the Direct Instruction group at posttest; student perceived role and task orientation significantly predicted physical activity engagement, social dysfunction, and perceived stress in the Sport Education condition. Given the climate, college students became more task-oriented, socially supported, and stress relieved through Sport Education. Future longitudinal and qualitative inquiries are encouraged to examine the effectiveness of Sport Education in motivating lifelong physical activity and well-being.

Physical activity (PA) and sports are efficient ways to promote the younger generation’s health and wellbeing. However, evidence is limited due to heterogeneous samples and measurements. This study aims to identify promoting and inhibiting correlates associated with children’s and adolescents’ non-organized PA participation and further demonstrate the complexity of PA and ecological factors. A systematic review and meta-analysis will be applied by following the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P). Seven bibliographic databases (PubMed, SPORTDiscus, PsycInfo, MEDLINE Complete, ERIC, Dimensions, and Academic Search Complete) will be systematically searched to identify eligible articles based on a series of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria are that the study: (a) is not classified as a systematic review with or without meta-analysis; (b) is published in last 20 years; (c) includes children and adolescents; (d) quantitively measures PA; (e) includes review of ecological factors. The internal validity will be evaluated using a validated quality instrument. Calculations will be produced in SPSS 27.0 and Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.3. This study will provide evidence and address the questions regarding the factors that significantly impact children’s PA participation and limitations regarding the design, sampling, and measurement in currently selected studies. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021244918.