The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between teacher learning support, motivational climate and self-regulated learning in upper-secondary school physical education. A sample consisting of 554 upper secondary school students from Norway (M_age = 17.05, SD = 0.91) answered a survey pertaining to their everyday experiences in physical education. A multiple regression based structural equation model indicated that teacher learning support, ego-involving motivational climate and task-involving motivational climate were all significant positive predictors of self-regulated learning, with teacher learning support emerging as the most prominent predictor. These results add to the cumulative knowledge that exists on the relationship between teacher dependent environmental factors and individual behavior within the physical education context.

Females are underrepresented in sports and exercise medicine research, both as authors and as research participants. The aim of this study was therefore to explore who does sports and exercise medicine research on females. All original research articles with female-only samples published in six major sports and exercise medicine journals over a 7-year period (2014–2020; n = 334) were examined. Out of the 2027 authors of the articles in question, 1149 were categorized as male (56.7%) and 850 were categorized as female (41.9%; 28 [1.4%] could not be categorized). A slight majority of the articles had a female as first author (51.5%), while the majority of the last authors were male (62.3%). Binomial tests of proportions revealed that females were overrepresented in all author roles in this sample compared to the field at large, while chi-square tests of proportions indicated minimal variations in female authorship across the studied period. These findings indicate that females are relatively more likely to do research on females than males are, and that the rate of female authorship remained relatively constant over time.

Discussions surrounding gender are omnipresent in physical education. Outdated views based on stereotypical ideas on gender and gender relations are rampant, and research outlining the positive development in recent years is often overlooked or ignored. This study set out to explore the relationship between gender and the learning environment in upper secondary school physical education by examining whether the student’s perception of the learning environment was related to the teachers’ gender, the student’s gender or the interplay between them. A sample of 554 Norwegian upper secondary school students completed a questionnaire assessing the social, psychological and pedagogical aspects of the learning environment measured using peer relations, teacher-student relations, the motivational climate and teacher learning support. A multivariate analysis indicated no significant differences in student perceptions based on their physical education teacher’s gender or the interplay between student and teacher gender. On an individual level, significant differences were found between male and female students on four out of the five measured variables, with the males reporting more favorable perceptions than the females on all accounts. These results indicate that the effects of teacher gender on the learning environment, in the current study, are nonexistent.

Research on the ergogenic effects of music on athletic performance usually includes multiple antecedents simultaneously. Consequently, this study set out to isolate a single antecedent using a highly controlled experiment. More specifically, the aim of the study was to investigate the effect of pre-task, slow- and fast-tempo music on arousal, affective state, perceived exertion, and anaerobic rowing performance by isolating music tempo as the sole intrinsic musical factor. Forty young adults (male = 23, female = 17) participated in three trials where they all were exposed to no-music, slow-tempo, and fast-tempo music conditions in a randomized order. The music was exclusively composed for this study and equally novel for all participants. It was based on the same electronic track with a techno-orientation rendered to both 110 (slow-tempo) and 140 (fast-tempo) BPM. Following music exposure, the participants were momentarily asked to report levels of felt arousal and affective state before being instructed to perform a 30-s maximal rowing test on an ergometer. Upon completion of each rowing test, subjects were then asked to report their perceived exertion. Both fast- and slow-tempo pre-task music exposure led to increased arousal and positive affective state when compared to no music. Fast-tempo music led to a significantly higher mean power output than slow-tempo music. No significant differences were found for peak watt output or rating of perceived exertion when comparing all conditions. These findings suggest that exposure to pre-task music may offer positive psychological benefits prior to commencing anaerobic sporting tasks. Results also suggest that fast-tempo music may have an ergogenic effect on anaerobic performance.

There are many axioms in sport that are taken at face value. One of them is that the playoffs are somehow totally different from the regular season. The aim of this study was to test that axiom by comparing in-game statistics during the regular season and the playoffs in the semi-professional Icelandic elite men’s handball league. Data from 724 games (648 regular season games and 76 playoff games; 1448 data points) across five seasons were analysed using a two-level logistic regression analysis. The variables of interest were pace, fast breaks, legal stops, penalty throws given, 2-minute suspensions, and saves. The results indicated no meaningful differences in fast breaks, penalty throws given or number of saves, but did find signs of added intensity during the playoffs with a higher pace, more legal stops and more 2-minute suspensions. While the differences were not particularly large, they have the possibility of being practically meaningful and were in line with the axiom. Possible explanations were discussed but more research is needed to determine whether these findings are context- or sport-specific.