- Title
- Kick-Smart Education: promoting academic achievement, fitness and wellbeing in primary school-aged children through martial arts
- Creator
- Burt, Louis
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2023
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Recommended levels of physical activity provide a wide range of physiological and psychological health benefits for children, with martial arts training shown to have positive effects on several of these benefits. Schools, meanwhile, provide an ideal setting for the promotion of, and increased engagement in, physical activity among children. The primary objective of this thesis is to provide an evidence-based foundation for introducing martial arts training into Australian school settings. This was approached through four distinct study aims: 1) review and evaluate the existing literature on the subject of school and community-based intervention programs with a martial art component that target school-aged children; 2) design, implement and evaluate a novel face-to-face intervention based upon the findings from aim 1; 3) design, implement and evaluate a subsequent homework program with similar outcomes to the face-to-face program; and, 4)identify the views and beliefs of current and pre-service teachers in NSW, Australia, regarding martial arts and the inclusion of such training in schools. The four study aims were achieved through four separate studies: a systematic review; a pilot randomised controlled trial of the feasibility and efficacy of a school-based intervention(Kick-Smart)integrating mathematics skills and mental wellbeing into martial arts lessons; a six-week case study evaluating the implementation of the Kick-Smart program across several schools in the Hunter Valley region of NSW; and a cross-sectional questionnaire of 117 current and pre-service teachers in Australia exploring attitudes towards martial arts and their inclusion in the Australian school setting. The findings from the four studies–each of which resulted in a peer-reviewed publication–indicate that integrating martial arts training and mathematical concepts is viable option for achieving physiological benefits for students without sacrificing–and, indeed, even improving–academic outcomes. The feedback from the questionnaire also highlights that many teachers are willing to incorporate this form of education in their own classrooms and welcome martial arts training into the school setting.
- Subject
- martial arts; physical activity; cognition; health; fitness; game-based learning; thesis by publication; physical education; grappling; mathematics; wellbeing; primary school; fundamental movement skills; homework; mixed martial arts
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1483358
- Identifier
- uon:51098
- Rights
- Copyright 2023 Louis Burt
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 19 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 282 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |