Frequent absences resulting from a chronic illness can disrupt adolescent school involvement, impacting academic achievement and psychosocial development as a result. This study explores whether certified child life specialists (CCLSs) could be a resource for parents as they address their adolescents' academic disruptions. Specifically, this study assesses an online training program designed to increase CCLSs' knowledge and self-efficacy as related to adolescents' academic adjustment following frequent absences. This knowledge and skill based training was designed as a three part module with sections including: academic considerations, psychosocial considerations, and availability of school resources in promoting successful adolescent academic adjustment. 62 CCLSs were recruited to participate and complete measures evaluating knowledge, in relation to content included in each module, and self-efficacy, involving communication with parents in regards to adolescent academic adjustment. T-tests were conducted to determine whether there were differences in reports of self-efficacy and knowledge following participation in the intervention between and within the treatment and control groups. Results indicate statistical significance for enhanced knowledge and self-efficacy for the treatment group at post-test. Therefore, the outcomes from this study support the effectiveness of brief online training in fostering knowledge and feelings of efficacy for CCLSs in a context not typically included …

Prevalence of physical inactivity in children and adolescents and the associated epidemic of obesity are increasing concerns. U.S. national health statistics indicate early adolescence (i.e., 10-14 years) appears to be a period of importance regarding physical activity, sedentary behavior, health-related physical fitness, and obesity trends. Considering a significant portion of their waking hours are spent in school, it is widely held that schools' should play a significant role in increasing students' physical activity and health-related physical fitness. To do this, physical education in schools focus on providing quality physical education programs that produce physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of health-producing physical activity. In effect, a call for developing a comprehensive and valid measure of physical literacy has been aptly expressed. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to test the psychometric properties of proposed models of physical literacy, examine correlates of the physical literacy factor, and investigate the significance of the relationship between physical literacy and interscholastic sport intention via structural equation modeling. Participants were 400 (231 female, 169 male) sixth-grade physical education students who completed three brief surveys assessing maturation, self-efficacy, self-esteem, knowledge and understanding, motivation, physical activity and sport …