William H. Brown

Center-based early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs are well-positioned to create positive impacts on the health and development of large numbers of young children by promoting physical activity using evidence-based programs. Studies testing physical activity programs for young children should examine the circumstances under which programs are most effective by assessing the role of contextual factors on program outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effects of baseline ECEC center characteristics on the relationship between the Study of Health and Activity in Preschool Environments (SHAPES) intervention and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). MVPA was assessed via accelerometry; center characteristics, practices, and social and physical environments were assessed by director interview and observation; and center quality was assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised Edition. Mixed-model analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) examined intervention effects on MVPA during the school day; interactions between baseline center variables and group assignment (intervention vs. control) tested for moderation. Two center instructional practices, two social environment characteristics, and one physical environment characteristic at baseline moderated the effects of SHAPES on MVPA outcomes. Assessing baseline practices and center characteristics may aid efforts to match centers with interventions likely to increase physical activity as well as suggest additional intervention strategies to test.

This study investigated the utility of the Study of Health and Activity in Preschool Environments (SHAPES) conceptual model, which targeted physical activity (PA) behavior in preschool children, by examining the relationship between implementation monitoring data and child PA during the school day. We monitored implementation completeness and fidelity based on multiple elements identified in the conceptual model. Comparing high-implementing, low-implementing, and control groups revealed no association between implementation and outcomes. We performed post hoc analyses, using process data, to refine our conceptual model’s depiction of an effective preschool PA-promoting environment. Results suggest that a single component of the original four-component conceptual model, providing opportunities for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity through recess for 4-year-old children in preschool settings, may be a good starting place for increasing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Interventions that are implemented with optimal levels of completeness and fidelity are more likely to achieve behavior change if they are based on accurate conceptual models. Examining the mechanisms through which an intervention produces its effects, as articulated in the conceptual model that guides it, is particularly important for environmentally focused interventions because they are guided by emerging frameworks. The results of this study underscore the utility of using implementation monitoring data to examine the conceptual model on which the intervention is based.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the influence of Montessori methods on children's physical activity (PA). This cross‐sectional study compared PA of children attending Montessori and traditional preschools.METHODS: We enrolled 301 children in 9 Montessori and 8 traditional preschools in Columbia, South Carolina. PA was measured by accelerometry on weekdays during preschool (In‐School), non‐school (Non‐School), and all day (All Day). Minutes/hour of light, moderate‐to‐vigorous (MVPA), and total PA (light + MVPA) were calculated.RESULTS: Children attending Montessori preschools accumulated more In‐School light (7.7 vs. 6.5 minute/hour), MVPA (7.7 versus 6.5 minute/hour), and total PA (15.4 versus 13.0 minute/hour) than children attending traditional preschools, after adjusting for sex, race/ethnicity, body mass index, parent education and neighborhood poverty index. For Non‐School (8.5 versus 6.2 minute/hour) and All Day (8.5 versus 7.6 minute/hour), children in Montessori preschools accumulated more MVPA than children in traditional preschools. In‐School PA was higher for children in private Montessori than public Montessori preschools (8.1 versus 7.0 minute/hour; 8.1 versus 6.7 minute/hour; 16.1 versus 13.6 minute/hour, for light, MVPA, and total PA, respectively).CONCLUSIONS: Children attending Montessori preschools were more active than children attending traditional preschools. Adopting the Montessori system may be an important strategy for promoting PA in children.

Physical inactivity is a recognized public health concern. Inadequate proportions of children in the U.S, including those of preschool age, are meeting physical activity recommendations. In response to low numbers of preschool children attaining appropriate physical activity levels, combined with the large number of young children who attend preschool, researchers have identified the need to devise interventions to increase physical activity at preschools. However, few multi-component interventions to increase physical activity in preschool children exist. The aims of this study were to observe the effects of a multi-component intervention on physical activity, sedentary behavior, and physical activity energy expenditure in 3-5 year-old children; identify factors that associate with change in those variables; and evaluate the process of implementing the multi-component intervention. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the study design and intervention protocol.

The authors provide a brief historical reflection on social-emotional competence intervention research along with their vision for future directions of intervention investigations for young children with developmental delays and difficulties. Specifically, they summarize “what we know” and “what we need to know” in the area of social-emotional development for young children with and without developmental difficulties. Finally, with respect to social-emotional interventions, the authors recommend careful investigation of service implementation in community-based programs.

Increased numbers of young children who are overweight have become a significant health problem in the United States. Public health investigators have hypothesized that increased caloric intake and low levels of physical activity may be associated with the troubling trend of weight problems among children. To enhance preschool children's moderate to vigorous physical activity on playgrounds the authors develop, implement, and evaluate two practical teacher-implemented activities. Direct observations of five children in two preschool programs during teacher-implemented activities indicate increased moderate to vigorous physical activity on intervention days relative to nonintervention days (i.e., business-as-usual conditions). The results and implications for preschool practitioners are discussed.