Introduction

1. The Relationship between Physical Activity Type and Female Involvement in the GoalPOST Afterschool ProgramBy: Amanda Taylor Youth Development Leadership ProgramCollege of Health, Education, and Human Development The Intervention. The intervention used in this project consisted of taking the fifth and sixth grade students out of their normally scheduled fitness development program and exposing them to one of the three fitness alternatives, three days a week for 55 minutes over the course of one month. The three alternatives included; Free play, Skills and Drills, and Intentional Play. Free Play During the Free Play intervention, students were allowed to play however they would like. Free play can take place in the gym were the students are given access to PE equipment (basketball, dodge balls, footballs, jump ropes, ect.) or if weather permitting, can take place outside on the playground. Skills and Drills The Skills and Drills intervention used the Presidential Fitness Test (PFT) as a guideline. On the first and last days of Skills and Drills the students will be administered the PFT to be used as a baseline for the following activities. The components tested will include a timed distance run, push-ups, sit-ups, shuttle-run and a v-sit test.. Intentional Play During the Intentional Play intervention, students took a specific task (dribbling a basketball) and play multiple games to become proficient in the task. For example; the students will start with standing dribbling in the right hand, then switch to the left hand. Then the students would progress to walking and dribbling at the same time. The first game to be played would have a rule of “if you stop dribbling or constantly moving, you are out.” This segment is designed to allow the kids to play games, become physically active and master specific fitness tasks. Methodology After each day the students are exposed to one of the interventions, they were given a short survey to complete. The students had approximately 5-10 minutes to complete the survey and the survey was collected before the students were allowed to leave the facility. This totaled 12 cross-sectional surveys the students were given over the course of the study. The survey was anonymous to allow the students to provide honest feedback. The survey asked general demographic questions including; age, grade and gender. The follow questions were assessed using a five point Likert Scale: How much fun did you have in recreation today? How much did you learn in recreation today? How physically active were you in recreation today? How much did you get to play with your friends in recreation today? Introduction Childhood obesity now affects 17% of all youth in the United States. Childhood obesity places youth at risk for other major health problems including; diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, orthopedic dysfunction, sleep apnea and heart disease. Many people believe that one factor contributing to childhood obesity is the decrease in physical activity among youth today. School curriculums are cutting physical education classes. Youth involvement in little league programs is decreasing. The correlation between these statics is not lost on the health community. The Problem Youth today are facing many issues that generations before them have not faced • The CDC reports that the rate of childhood obesity in youth ages 6-11 have increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.8% in 2008 • The obesity rate for youth ages 12-19 has increased from 5.0% to 18.1%. • In 2005 the CDC reported that females (51.7%) were more likely than their male counterparts (40%), to not attend physical education class one or more days in the average school week. • High school females (72.2%) did not meet currently recommended levels of physical activity. The Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate which type of physical activity; free-play, intentional-play or skills/drills, had the greatest affect in increasing physical activity in 5th and 6th grade females enrolled in the GoalPOST program. Findings from this study, in conjunction with future process and outcome evaluations, will contribute to the body of knowledge linking specific physical activity options and the opportunity for females to become more physically active. Furthermore, this study seeks to gain an understanding of 1) the types of physical activities females preferred 2) the types of activities that females became more physically active and 3) the social interactions females had during each type of physical activity. ResearchQuestions • What are the types of afterschool physical activities (free play, deliberate play, skills and drills) that are most preferred by 5th and 6th grade girls? • What are the types of activities that make 5th and 6th grade girls more physically active? • What is the self-reported level of social interactions among 5th and 6th grade girls during various types of afterschool physical activity ? GoalPOST Goal-oriented Performance in Out-of-School Time • GoalPOST is an afterschool program designed to increase students’ task-oriented goal-setting skills in order to improve academic performance and other self-selected domains in student’s lives. This is accomplished through five key program elements: nutritional snacks, homework help, academic enrichment, physical activity, and family involvement. • GoalPOST is offered to 3rd-6th grade students in 7 Title I elementary schools in Anderson County, South Carolina.