This review of HRF knowledge literature uncovers a largely unexplored vein of
research. Although student HRF knowledge is believed to be important and has
been included in physical education programs for more than three decades, little
is known as to how much HRF knowledge students at different grades have mastered.
It is also unclear what effective teaching strategies could be used to increase
student HRF knowledge. Furthermore, the relationship between HRF knowledge
and fitness behaviors for students at different ages remains unclear. Our nation’s
long time failure to change student PA patterns might be due to neglecting HRF
knowledge as an imperative factor. Thus, more research on this topic is urgently
needed if HRF knowledge is truly believed to be important to PA/fitness
promotion.
HRF knowledge assessment used in studies on this topic has been problematic
as it has been done inconsistently, without widely accepted knowledge content
or passing standards. NASPE national physical education standards have
seldom been used to guide the assessments used in the literature. As a result, it
was impossible to compare results generated by different studies. In addition,
students at different grade levels should possess different amounts of HRF knowledge
and its assessment should reflect the progressive increase of such
knowledge.