BEPA 2.0 is a direct education intervention with added PSE components designed to integrate physical activity (PA) and nutrition concepts through education and activity in K-5th grade school settings. Nutrition and PA concepts are integrated into active games through an approach that emphasizes physical literacy and promotes healthy eating. BEPA 2.0 is aligned to national physical education (PE) and health education (HE) standards making it a desirable resource for school partners looking for curricula that enable teachers to address required competencies through active games. BEPA 2.0 provides educators with materials and activity ideas that can be used in and outside of the classroom and before, during, or after school to increase children's PA time. BEPA 2.0 is optimized via a PSE approach, which includes teacher trainings, wellness policy supports, and resourcing schools or classrooms with BEPA 2.0 Toolkits. These resources enable policy and systems changes to promote healthy behaviors in school environments.
Intervention Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Reducing Screen Time
SNAP-Ed Strategies: Direct Education, PSE Change
BEPA 2.0 targets elementary-aged children in the school environment. It has been implemented in both rural and urban areas, with low-income students, and with Latina/o students in multiple states. The curriculum is available in Spanish and English.
Settings: Schools
Age/Population Group: Elementary School
Race: All
Ethnicity: All
The BEPA 2.0 program includes the curriculum, training, provision of BEPA 2.0 Toolkits and technical assistance, partnership development, wellness committee activities, and PSE change. BEPA 2.0 can also be used with any age-appropriate nutrition curriculum to increase and integrate PA into existing lesson plans; it includes a user manual, activity cards with active games aligned to PE and HE standards, and a set of portable play times. The PSE components include teacher trainings and resources to support and optimize implementation.
Sample activities can be downloaded from the BEPA 2.0 website, including 30 activities that have been translated into Spanish. Other website resources include activity videos, training videos, reporting tools, an implementation manual and guides supporting implementation of safe remote and in-person delivery. All resources on the website are available at no cost. The BEPA 2.0 curriculum is available to purchase in English and Spanish.
BEPA 2.0 website: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/bepa
Curriculum and Supports: The curriculum is currently available in English or Spanish for $31. Due to supply chain variations, the cost of the toolkit that includes portable play items varies. Please visit the website or contact us directly at BEPA2.0@oregonstate.edu for up-to-date pricing.
The evidence base for BEPA 2.0 includes a pilot study investigating whether program use influenced student activity levels, and multiple studies that evaluated the effectiveness of BEPA 2.0 program trainings. To evaluate whether the program influenced student activity levels, BEPA Toolkits were distributed to teachers from six elementary schools. We assessed teachers' self-reported program use and examined associations between teacher use and students' (n=1,103) objectively measured physical activity (PA) behaviors. Over 80% of teachers reported that BEPA provided additional opportunities for PA, and children in classrooms of teachers who used the program performed more moderate-to-vigorous activity compared to students in classrooms of teachers who did not implement the program [1]. In 2018, the program was aligned to national health and physical education standards and renamed BEPA 2.0. The activities did not change, but the alignment to health and physical education standards led to the development of new resources, a new user-friendly curriculum format that was informed by teachers, and a training curriculum that is state approved for teachers continuing education. While trainings are not a requirement to implement BEPA 2.0, data support that when teachers are trained and report high self-efficacy to deliver BEPA, they are more likely to implement the program [2].
Training evaluation studies show that teachers' knowledge and confidence to deliver BEPA 2.0 significantly increase from pre- to post-training [2-4]. We also learned that partnering with Cooperative Extension and SNAP-Ed in a train-the-trainer model was an effective strategy for training teachers and expanding program reach. Evaluation outcomes indicated similarly high scores related to knowledge and confidence to implement BEPA 2.0 when teachers were trained by our master trainer or by Extension trainers [3,4]. High training satisfaction and similar quality across master trainer and Extension-trained groups indicate the train-the-trainer approach is a promising strategy to enhance BEPA 2.0 dissemination. Similarly, we evaluated our online training approach and found individuals trained via our asynchronous online training program reported similar knowledge and confidence to implement post training, though confidence to implement was slightly lower when compared to those trained in person [5]. An evaluation of BEPA 2.0 implementation among teachers trained in-person revealed that three to six months post-training, 90.1% of teachers surveyed reported using BEPA 2.0, most commonly to provide classroom activity breaks (84.0%) and meet PE minute requirements (53.0%). Most teachers (71.8%) implement one or two times per week, with nearly all teachers (97.2%) able to include children with disabilities in activities. More trained (91.1%) versus untrained teachers (83.4%) reported using BEPA 2.0 (p=0.03) [6].
- Gunter, K.B., Abi Nader, P., Armington, A., Hicks, J.C., John, D. Evaluation of an Extension-Delivered Resource to Accelerate Progress in Childhood Obesity Prevention: The BEPA-Toolkit. J Ext., 2017 55(1), Article 2FEA5. https://archives.joe.org/joe/2017april/a5.php. Accessed February 2, 2022.
- Abi Nader P., Hilberg E., Schuna Jr. J.M., John D.H., Gunter K.B. Association of Teacher-level Factors with Implementation of Classroom-based Physical Activity Breaks. J Sch Health. 2019;89(6):435-443. doi: 10.1111/josh.12754.
- Gunter, K.B., Taylor, N., Packebush, T. Partnering with Cooperative Extension To Advance Physical Education Policies And Practice: Evaluating The Train-the-trainer Approach. Med Sci Sports & Exerc. 2020;52(7S):281. doi: 10.1249/01.mss.0000676640.08372.15
- Taylor N, Packebush T, Winfield T, Gunter K. Examining the Feasibility of Partnering with Cooperative Extension to Advance Statewide Physical Education Policies in Oregon. JHSE. 2021;9(2):135-145. https://www.jhseonline.com/article/view/882. Accessed April 24, 2023.
- Packebush, T. & Gunter, K.B. Evaluating Effectiveness of an Online Physical Activity Promotion Training for School-Based Practitioners. Presented at the Oregon Public Health Association Conference, Corvallis, Oregon, October, 2022. Available at: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/bepa/resources/bepa-20-process-outcome-evaluation/evaluating-effectiveness-online-physical-activity.
- Packebush, T., Winfield, T., Gunter, K.B. Evaluating Extension-supported Implementation of a Classroom-based Physical Activity Program in Under-resourced Schools. In press. Med Sci Sports & Exerc. 2020;52(7S):994. doi: 10.1249/01.mss.0000686380.29132.91
Evidence Base: Research-tested
Evaluation tools, materials and support are available to those who adopt BEPA 2.0. Please visit the website or contact us directly at BEPA2.0@oregonstate.edu for information about evaluation resources.
Website: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/bepa
Contact Person(s):
Kathy Gunter
Professor and Extension Specialist, Oregon State University
Phone: 541-737-3624
Email: Kathy.gunter@oregonstate.edu
BEPA2.0 Direct Program Support: BEPA2.0@oregonstate.edu
*Updated as of August 23, 2023