Extracurricular Physical Activity Programs in California Private Secondary Schools

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Educational Policy
• Sports Science

Background:

• Extracurricular physical activity (PA) programs are vital for student PA accrual in schools.
• Limited research exists on factors influencing these programs, particularly in private school settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors associated with the provision of extracurricular PA programs in private secondary schools.
• To identify static and modifiable influences on school-based PA program policies and practices.

Main Methods:

• A 16-item questionnaire was administered to 450 private California secondary schools.
• Contingency table analyses, including chi-squared tests and effect size, were used to evaluate associations.

Main Results:

• Six factors correlated with extracurricular PA program provision: school location, level, enrollment, religious classification, adherence to state PE time standards, and employment of PE specialists.
• Both static (e.g., location, enrollment) and modifiable (e.g., PE standards, specialist employment) factors were significant.

Conclusions:

• School characteristics and PE program quality significantly impact extracurricular PA program availability.
• Further research is recommended to generalize findings to public schools and other states.