Contract-Learning in Elementary School Physical Education

Background/Purpose: Studies have reported a decline in the fitness of children in China. Few students participate in regular physical activity (PA) outside of school and increases in overweight and obese children has begun to affect health status on the nation. This study used contract-learning in elementary school physical education as a way to guide students in participating in regular PA outside of physical education.

Method:Fifty-nine 5th grade students from attending an elementary school in Shanghai, China participated in the study. Students were assigned to one of three interventions; 1) multiple-contract (X1) group (n=17), 2) self-contract (X2) group (n=22), and 3) a control (X3) group (n=20). In the multiple-contract group, students designed an exercise contract with their teacher and fellow students and implemented the contract while supervised by the teacher and fellow students after school three days each week. In the self-contract group students designed their own exercise contract and implemented the contract after school or at home without supervision. The control group had no contract. All contracts were implemented outside of the physical education class and included performance goals and exercise sessions per week based on pretests administered for weight, one minute of jumping rope, one minute of sit-ups, and standing broad jump distance. Post-tests on all variables were collected to determine improvement across one semester of contract-based exercise.

Analysis/Results: Analysis of the data using a one-way MANOVA on percent gain scores revealed differences between the contract and control groups on several variables. Both contract groups were significantly different from the control group for weight gain, which was significantly lower for the contract groups (X1=0.3706, X2=0.8409, X3=4.1300; P<0.05) and jump rope (X1=20.8235, X2=12.8182, X3=2.35; P<0.05) for which contract groups had greater improvement that the control group. For sit-ups (X1=4.8235, X2=0.5455, X3=0.0500; P<0.05), the multiple contract group had significantly greater improvement than both the self-contract and control groups. Finally, 90% of students in both contract groups wanted to continue using contracts.

Conclusions: The findings indicated that contract-learning can help elementary school students to design an effective routine of physical exercise. The multiple-contract approach appears to be a good fit for elementary school students who enjoy cooperation and assistance from peers.