Effects of physical education homework on physical fitness scores and understanding fitness concepts among fourth-grade students

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of physical education homework on physical fitness scores and understanding fitness concepts among fourth grade students. Participants consisted of 59 (30 male, 29 female) fourth grade students enrolled in traditional physical education programs in one suburban public mid-Atlantic elementary school and one urban public mid-Atlantic elementary school. Participants were divided into three groups (extracurricular sports group, homework group, non-homework group) based on their involvement in extracurricular sports. All students were given weekly activity logs to write all physical activities they performed while not in physical education class. The homework group participants were required to participate in moderate/vigorous physical activity a minimum of three days per week for a minimum of 30 min each day. In addition, cognitive written homework was periodically assigned to the homework group.; A 17 item cognitive fitness survey was given to all participants at the beginning of the study. The last seven questions of this survey were affective fitness questions concerning how participants felt about their physical fitness levels.; Physical fitness testing was conducted at the beginning of the study in early September. Students in the suburban public mid-Atlantic elementary school were given the President's Challenge Physical Fitness Awards Program test battery (1-mile run, push-ups, curl-ups, sit and reach) to determine baseline physical fitness levels. Students in the urban public mid-Atlantic elementary school were given the FITNESSGRAM test battery (PACER shuttle run, push-ups, curl-ups, trunk lift) to determine baseline physical fitness levels. All participants performed these same testing protocols at the conclusion of 12 weeks.; The results of this study indicated that 4th grade students who performed 12 weeks of physical education homework performed more days per week of physical activity, more total minutes of physical activity, improved their abdominal muscular endurance, upper body endurance, and low back flexibility significantly more than the extracurricular sports group and non-homework group. In addition, the homework group improved their cognitive understanding of fitness concepts, and affective feelings about physical activity and exercise.