Zoltán Tóth – VP HSSF

The Netfit Project

HSSF at a Glance

• Founded in 1987• Civil Organization• Member organizations covering the whole

territory of Hungary (200 small regions in 20 counties)

• 4.000+ institutions, 1.200.000+ students

HSSF at Glance

• Diákolimpia® (Student Olympics) – attracts 280.000 participants every year

• Member of the International School Sport Federation (ISSF), the European Physical Education Association (EUPEA), the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA) and the Fédération Internationale D’ Éducation Physique (FIEP)

• HEPA’s national Focal Point in Hungary

HSSF’s Mission

Healthy youth through physical activity

• Adequate physical activity and a healthy level of fitness have preventive effect on:– obesity (Must and Tybor, 2005)– insulin sensitivity (Shaibi et al, 2006)– cardiovascular risk factors (Andersen et al, 2007)– bone health (Linden et al, 2006) – mental health (Smith et al, 2011)– psychological well-being (Parfitt and Eston, 2005)– and on academic performance and cognition (Grissom, 2005; Hillman,

Erickson and Kramer, 2008; Welk et al, 2010)

Schools are one of the most important venues, as children and adolescents can be reached via local school programs!

Issues to be Solved

• Institutional– Tools– Infrastructure– Relation to physical activity, „school culture”– Measurment

• Methodological– PE teacher education– Content, education plan

Issues to be Solved (2)

• Legal• Social– „Z” generation– Parents– Lack of motivation

• Long-term strategy

The Opportunity – TESI

• 2012 Public Act on Education - daily physical education (PE) is mandatory in Hungary from 6 to 18 years of age - significant reorganization of the Hungarian education system

• New National Core Curriculum that regulates the objectives and contents of PE

The Opportunity – TESI (2)

HSSF launched a project based on the above opportunity:

• Strategic Actions for Health-Enhancing Physical Education or Testnevelés az Egészségfejlesztésben Stratégiai Intézkedések (T.E.S.I.) project, which focuses on:

1)developing Physical Education Strategy 2020; 2)methodological (didactical) support of quality PE; 3)a new, national school based fitness assessment system

development.

1. The Physical Education Strategy 2020

• The „Physical Education Strategy 2020” is a comprehensive plan with four main strategic areas:1. Infrastracture2. Human resources3. Professional qualification and4. Education plan

2. Methodolical Support of Quality PE

• Student-centered instructional models, tactical approach in games, stress control and relaxing, health- and fundamental movement education

• Books and DVDs that provide practical help in implementing the new education plan

3. NETFIT – Preparation

Two major quetions regarding fitness testing:1. Which fitness components are necessary to

measure in schools?

Educational purpose Usefulness of the tests Validity

Reliability Comparability Simple but precise execution

Necessary tools Motivating power of the tests Traditional aspects

- Health-related physical fitness components have priority

2. Which are the most suitable tests to measure a given physical fitness component?

NETFIT – Our Objectives

• Health-related; based on criterion-referenced standards

• Online IT solution to handle the test data and results of 1.2-1.3 million students yearly

• An average of two teachers from each Hungarian school (6.800 teachers) can participate on a complimentary hands-on training

• Guarantee that every Hungarian school is provided with a test kit

NETFIT – the Scientific Background: TCI

• Adaptation of the The Cooper Institute’s FITNESSGRAM® assessment tool

In order to have a scientific foundation we made a representative study with the following aims:1. Determine the levels of health related physical fitness in a random sample of

Hungarian youth. 2. Use the laboratory data to evaluate the usage of the existing FITNESSGRAM®

standards for detecting health risks in a subset of Hungarian youth.3. Directly evaluate the validity of the FITNESSGRAM® test items in Hungarian

youth.

NETFIT – the Software

• Customisable, dynamic software, both the fitness tests (+-tests) and the evaluation methods (riports) can be modified

• Personal assessment report, which contains:- Results from previous year- Actual year results- Supportive messages, recommendations

• Any European language• Easy-to-access for all stakeholders (student, parents,

teachers, government)

NETFIT – the Software (2)

• Future development:– Sport related tests– Nutrition– Tests for disabled students and for students with

special needs

NETFIT – the Process

The NETFIT project has been set up and introduced in the following 13 steps

1. Review of literature, identify successful practices

2. Identification of general requirements and special needs regarding the new testing system3. Contacting potential partner organizations, forming cooperative agreements for research and development – R&D contract with The Cooper Institute (Dallas, TX)

4. Political, legal and professional evaluation, application for the EU fund

5. Scientific foundation, conducting representative scientific research with the chosen fitness field tests and laboratory tests

6. Analyzing scientific result, drawing conclusions and finalize testing system

7. Creating a Test Administration Handbook, DVD8. Comprehensive data management system – software development

10. Test kit configuration, production of tools and distribution to schools9. Organizing and administer additional hands-on training for teachers

11. Planning regulations that implement NETFIT as the mandatory assessment system throughout the country12. Continuous professional and scientific communication towards professional organizations in the media, online- offline press and scientific journals and13. Providing professional support and tools (e.g. help desk) supervision, maintenance and development

NETFIT – the Process (2)

Portal System

• Sport and physical activity related, online information system

• News feed• Personal portal for parents, students and teachers• Parents and students:

• Netfit recommendations, Student Olympics upcoming events, results, fotos, videos

• Teachers:• Student Olympics registration and results, Netfit results,

statistics• Government:

• Statistics

School culture – TE.IS

• Complex concept for in-school physical activity focusing on:– the harmony of physical and psychical development– strengthening volunteering in schools– strengthening the chances of disadvantaged children– collective exercises resulting communities

• Active role for students in organising school leisure activities• 144 schools, 288 mentor teachers, 1440 TE.IS students, 30.000 leisure

programs during the school year

NETFIT – a Complex System for You!

• Strategic cooperation:TCI & HSSF• Our competences are in:

– research, health standards, scientific background of the assessment system

– project management, software development and personalization, portal system, EU funds and legal issues, test kit, training system, volunteering

TCI & HSSF is able to provide a complex scientific and management support in implementing NETFIT in EU member

states according to their needs and expectations.

Thank you for your attention!

The Netfit Project