Atsushi Sumimoto

This study is a scoping review that comprehensively organizes martial arts intervention studies targeting Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Analysis of 17 papers revealed that multiple studies reported improvements in cognitive and socioemotional functioning for ADHD, and in physical fitness components centered on balance for DCD.  However, results were inconsistent, and challenges remain regarding the number and quality of studies. Martial arts show potential benefits for physical and psychosocial development, but large-scale, high-quality follow-up studies are still needed.

PURPOSE: To our knowledge, there is no systematic review of swimming and aquatic exercise intervention studies for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). Therefore, we conducted a scoping review of swimming and aquatic exercise intervention studies for ASD and AD/HD with the aim of identifying outcomes and issues in previous studies. METHODS: This study was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR), and articles were collected and selected. We used PubMed, Science Direct, J-stage and CiNii Research as databases. Searches were conducted using terms such as "swimming", "Autism" and "AD/HD". The collected literature was selected according to eligibility criteria, and the quality of the studies was evaluated using the PEDro scale. RESULTS: Finally, 40 articles were selected and analyzed for (1) study areas and publication date, (2) sample size and participant profile, (3) study design and quality, and (4) intervention and measurement methods. The results showed that, despite challenges in the field, size, and quality of the study, ASD and AD/HD symptoms improved and multifaceted effects on physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development were observed. CONCLUSION: The scoping review clarified the achievements and issues of previous studies and indicated the therapeutic significance of swimming and aquatic exercise for ASD and AD/HD.

PURPOSE: This study conducted a scoping review of existing intervention studies with the aim of identifying the therapeutic-educational significance of martial arts for ASD. METHODS: This study followed the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) to collect and select articles. Searches were conducted using PubMed and Science Direct databases, using terms such as "martial arts" and "Autism". The collected literature was screened according to eligibility criteria and the quality of the studies was assessed using the PEDro scale. RESULTS: In the end, 22 articles were selected, showing multifaceted effects on the improvement of ASD core symptoms and the development of socio-emotional, cognitive, and physical functions. On the other hand, research gaps were identified regarding study areas, subjects, and methods. CONCLUSION: The scoping review organized the results of previous studies and added evidence that reinforces the therapeutic-educational significance of martial arts. It also indicated that additional intervention studies are needed to conduct a meta-analysis.

This study examined the therapeutic-educational significance of swimming and aquatic exercise for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) based on the knowledge accumulated in the rehabilitation field and the ICF core sets, contributing to developing of more effective instructional methods.  (i) Swimming and aquatic exercise have the potential to support the development of physical, cognitive and socio-emotional functions due to the characteristics of water and the social interactions associated with instruction, indicating its significance in developmental science.  (ii) Swimming and aquatic exercise have the potential to reduce the risk of physical and mental illness and death, improve the health of ASD and AD/HD themselves, and contribute to the quality of life of the whole family, indicating its significance in public health.  (iii) Swimming and aquatic exercise have the potential to motivate people to participate in regular exercise and sports activities, support the practice of lifelong sports, expand interactional relationships and challenge competition, indicating its significance in exercise epidemiology.  In the future, instructional methods for swimming and aquatic exercise methods should be considered in inclusive physical education classes and community sports activities.

This study reviewed the history of swimming and aquatic exercise intervention studies for ASD and AD/HD with the aim of contribute to the development of more effective instructional methods.  40 intervention studies screened by eligibility criteria were included in the analysis. The history of swimming and aquatic exercise for ASD and AD/HD was divided into two periods:from 1900 to 2000, before intervention studies began in earnest, and from 2000 to the present, after intervention studies began in earnest. Intervention studies were initially dominated by behavioral studies with physical functions as the outcome. Subsequently, instructional methods diversified as outcomes expanded to cognitive and socio-emotional functions, and high-quality study designs were adopted.  In the future, it is necessary to clarify the effect mechanisms of swimming and aquatic exercise and to discuss their therapeutic-educational significance.

The expansion of COVID-19 infection had left no choice for our institution but to shift to on-line instructions instead of in-person instructions, which have resulted in significant decrease in the students’ physical activities. Under these circumstances, we developed the Okayama University (OU) program, which was an online instruction program for university physical education aimed to increase the students’ physical activities. The OU program consisted of endurance exercise, resistance training, and stretching exercise which were the exercise items that improve health related physical fitness. The physical activity and exercise standards of OU program met the traditional structured exercise program standard of American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the lifestyle physical activity program standard of joint creation of ACSM and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the combination of above-mentioned program standards. Our OU program has been introduced on the website of Japanese Association of University Physical Education and Sports. As a result, we were able to provide a package of our teaching materials to 63 universities, and the package was used by 2,404 students in 24 universities. Among these 24 universities, 19 of them participated in this research, and 1,333 students evaluated the effectiveness of the OU program. The survey period was July and August 2020. The students who gave “Fair” to the difficulty score for theoretical learning in OU program was 73.6%. Seventy-point six percent of the students answered that their physical fitness improved since the beginning of the program, whereas 71.5% of them had routinized their physical activity. The degree-of-satisfaction average score of OU program were 4.0 points (max 5.0 points), and the students who answered either “Satisfied” or “Somewhat satisfied” were 72.4%. The comprehensive evaluation average score was 3.8 points (max 5.0 points), and the students who evaluated the program either “Very good” or “Good” were 69.5%. Since our OU program received high evaluation and its efficacy was established, it was suggested that the program was an effective on-line instruction material useful in university physical education.

This study aimed to reveal what in-service teachers experienced and learned during a long-term physical education teacher education program conducted by a university and to examine the development process of their professional competence. Seven teachers who had participated in the long-term teacher education program were the subjects of the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted twice with each of the subjects, once during the program and again upon completion, after which the interviews were transcribed and analyzed using M-GTA (Kinoshita, 2003).The results showed that there were 21 concepts, 8 subcategories, and 3 categories and revealed how the teachers learning was enhanced during the physical education classes by eliminating their anxieties about the classes, solving problems, and observing teachers of other classes. The teachers improved their learning experience through self-reflection based on objective data and constantly evolving opinions about physical education classes derived from their experiences. The results indicated that environmental factors such as a long program duration and the formation of a cooperative community are necessary for the development of professional competence of in-service teachers participating in the education program. The results of the study also suggested that teachers’ commitment to physical education classes was raised through the development process of in-service teachers’ professional competence.

This study aims to explore research trends on the in-service teachers’ professional development. Therefor systematically reviewing was conducted covering Japanese academic journals and doctoral dissertations published between 1997 to 2018. In this study, the methodology for qualitative review of earlier studies proposed by Randolph (2009) was employed and selected 104 papers were analyzed in terms of (1) research questions, (2) research methods, and (3) factors and experiences that spur teachers’ professional development. The results revealed that (1) research questions in most studies concerned “learning and experience” and “teacher training which influenced on them,” (2) qualitative research and mixed method studies accounted for 75.4% of all researches, and (3) “collegiality” and “experience of self-reflection” were presented as major factors that promoted teachers’ professional growth. In addition, as a future task, the need for explore each subject’s research trends on the development of in-service teachers’ professional competence were indicated.

In this study, it was aimed to clarify opportunity and motivation for applying for the long-term physical education teacher education program. Subjects were 8 teachers who have applied for it. Half structured interviews were conducted 2 times for each subject. The first interview aimed to ask their motivation and opportunity, and second interview focused on the process of making motivation for implementing physical education and opportunity for it. Interview was documented and analyzed through constant comparison. <br>As the result, opportunity for applying for the program and motivating factors includes not only individual factors such as motivation in teaching in physical education, but also encouragement from others such as administrative people. And both of them have played important roles. It is because, for the middle standing teachers, the program was working as the steps for employing to administrative positions. In addition, subjects were categorized into 3 types according to perspective of the process of making motivation for applying to the program via their commitment and support for the application to the program. <br>This result has suggested the important role of support from administrative people to motivate teachers for applying for long-term physical education teacher education program. At the same time, it suggests the importance of procedure to encourage teacher development based on their individual needs and situation they have faced.