The purpose of this study was to develop treasure hunt cards as a means of increasing the amount of physical activity in young children, and to compare the amount of physical activity before and during the introduction of the cards.

The main findings were as follows.

(1) There were no significant differences in the number of steps and the duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activities between before and during the introduction of the cards.

(2) When the subjects were divided into lower and higher groups based on the number of steps before introduction, the number of steps and the duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were significantly higher than before introduction of the cards in the lower group. On the other hand, the number of steps and the duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were significantly lower than before introduction of the cards in the higher group.

(3) There were no significant differences in the number of steps and the duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activities between boys and girls before and during introduction of the cards.

(4) For boys, there were no significant differences in the number of steps and the duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activities between lower and higher groups before and during introduction of the cards. For girls, the number of steps and the duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activities were significantly higher during introduction of the cards in the lower group.

These results suggest that the treasure hunt game may increase the amount of physical activity in girls with low daily steps.

In Japan, social and emotional skills are considered important to school education; however, their actual status lacks sufficient investigation. Thus, this study elucidates gender and grade differences in social and emotional skills among children in the middle and upper grades of elementary school. The study recruited 822 elementary school children in grades 3–6 and conducted a questionnaire survey using the 21 items of the Social and Emotional Skills Evaluation Scale for Elementary School children (Yamada et al., 2023), which was previously verified for reliability and validity. The scale covers seven subscales, namely, self-esteem, compassion, sociability, respect, self-control, passion for goals, and perseverance. After excluding responses with omission or missing information, the study analyzed data from 788 subjects. The total score and the subscale scores for the Social and Emotional Skills Evaluation scale were calculated. Moreover, a two-factor analysis of variance was conducted on the total and the subscale scores to examine gender and grade differences. The total score for social and emotional skills was significantly higher in third and fourth graders compared to sixth graders. In terms of subscales, we observed a significant interaction in perseverance and self-esteem in which sixth-grade boys exhibited significantly higher values than sixth-grade girls for both the subscale scores. Furthermore, the scores for both subscales in girls were lower in sixth grade than in other grades. The girls also displayed significantly higher scores than boys in self-control, respect, and consideration. For sociability, the third, fourth, and fifth graders produced significantly higher values than sixth graders. These results revealed that the social and emotional skills of middle and upper elementary school children tend to decline with the progress in their grades. The findings also revealed that the characteristics of gender and grade differences differ according to the subscale.

The purpose of this study was to implement the use of ICT in physical education classes at high school for special needs students with intellectual disabilities. Specific practices included (1) the tabulation and utilization of the new physical fitness test using ICT, and (2) an examination of how to approach physical exercise using ICT. From the practice, it can be considered that having students actually look at the data and think about it is a useful practice from the viewpoint of cultivating the ability to utilize information. In addition, the use of AI to provide feedback from other people’s evaluations in the examination of how to engage in the exercise motivated the students and deepened their learning. In the future, objective examination of the educational effects of instruction and ICT utilization, as well as the quality and quantity of research on classes and school activities, will be required.

Background: Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep (movement behaviours) are complementary. Previous studies have suggested a significant association between movement behaviours and the growth, development, and health status of young children. Studies conducted in Western countries have suggested that movement behaviours differ based on parental education. However, this has not been examined in Japan, and there is insufficient evidence on this topic.

Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the relationship of parental education with physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), and sleep duration among young children in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

Methods: This study used cross-sectional data from the SUNRISE Japan Study, an international comparative study of movement behaviours among young children. The participants were 52 three- and four-year-old children (and their parents) enrolled in one rural and three urban preschools in Okinawa Prefecture. The parental education level was used as an index of the family's socioeconomic status. PA was measured using an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X). Data on ST and sleep duration were collected through a questionnaire survey of parents. The association between parental education and movement behaviours were analysed using regression analysis adjusted for covariates (area type, age, sex, and body mass index).

Results: Although none of the movement behaviours were significantly related to parental education, children whose parents had a high school diploma or lower educational achievements tended to sleep less than those whose parents had a university degree or higher educational achievements.

Conclusion: Sleep duration differs based on parental education among young children in the Okinawa Prefecture. Further research is needed to determine whether the findings of this study apply throughout Okinawa and in different prefectures.