Validation of Modified SOFIT+: Relating Physical Activity Promoting Practices in Physical Education to Moderate-to-vigorous Physical Activity in 5–6 Year Old Children

Purpose: To validate the modified System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time to measure teacher practices related to physical activity promotion (SOFIT+) in physical education (PE) amongst 5-6-year-old-children. : Participants (n=165, 53% female, 5.9±0.3yrs) were recruited from 9 schools. Video-recordings of 45 PE lessons from 9 teachers/coaches were coded using a modified SOFIT+. Accelerometers measured children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Validity was assessed via multinomial regression measuring the relationship of both SOFIT+ index score and individual teaching practices with children’s MVPA. Inter10 rater reliability was examined. : A 1 unit increase in the SOFIT+ index was associated with increased likelihood to engage in 10-19s, 20-29s and 30-40s of MVPA, compared to 0-10s. Most of the observed teaching practices were significantly related to children’s MVPA. Inter-rater percentage of agreement ranged between 88.8-99.7% : SOFIT+ is a valid and reliable assessment of teaching practices related to MVPA promotion in PE amongst 5-6-year-old-children