UW Division of Kinesiology and Health graduate student Ashlyn Brown, left, with
Ben Kern, academic adviser and associate professor in the division, are pictured during
an award ceremony where Brown received the Thomas McKenzie Research Award from the
Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) America convention in Baltimore,
Md. (SHAPE America Photo)
University of Wyoming Division of Kinesiology and Health graduate student Ashlyn Brown,
from Castle Pines, Colo., is the recipient of the Thomas McKenzie Research Award from
the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) America.
Brown recently received the prestigious national honor at the SHAPE America convention
in Baltimore, Md. Along with the monetary portion of the award, which will support
completion of her master’s thesis, the highly competitive recognition will have a
significant national impact on the field of physical education.
Brown’s thesis involves a secondary analysis of data from the U.S. Physical Education and Physical Activity Policy (US-PEPAP) Interactive Dashboard, a national project led by Ben Kern, Brown’s educational adviser and an associate
professor in kinesiology and health, and the US-PEPAP research team.
Brown’s research focuses on the development of a groundbreaking instrument called
the components of physical education instructional access (CPEIA), which is designed
to evaluate the level of student access to physical education (PE) instruction in
every U.S. state.
The score generated by the CPEIA is expected to become a vital tool for informing
advocacy efforts aimed at improving PE access, particularly in underserved areas across
the country, such as those found in Wyoming and the Mountain West.
Beyond her own thesis, the CPEIA instrument is anticipated for use in future research
collaborations across the country, further extending its influence and utility.
“I am honored to receive the Thomas McKenzie grant award, as this recognition reaffirms
the importance of my research,” Brown says. “The CPEIA instrument will provide a way
to quantify students’ access to PE instruction beyond just scheduled class time. The
CPEIA will bring awareness to areas where PE instruction access falls short in U.S.
states, and my goal is for the instrument to be used by professionals and practitioners
to advocate for more PE access in their own communities.”
Kern says Brown has done a “tremendous job” with the CPEIA instrument, which is something
that has been lacking from physical education literature for a long period.
“To Ashlyn’s credit, when she first encountered the US-PEPAP data, her first impressions
were that there must be a way to quantify student access to PE in schools beyond just
the weekly scheduled minutes,” Kern says. “In other words, there are many factors
such as withholding PE, substituting it for other activities -- such as band, ROTC
or sports -- and waivers/exemptions that impact PE access.
“In early discussions with Ashlyn, it became very clear that she had a deep understanding
of the issues, and she has driven the project forward with her intellect and curiosity,
as a good researcher does,” he adds.
Qin “Arthur” Zhu, professor and interim director of UW’s Division of Kinesiology and
Health, says Brown’s recognition is a reflection on the positive impact faculty and
the division, as a whole, are having on students.
“Ashlyn Brown’s achievement in winning the SHAPE America Thomas McKenzie Research
Award is outstanding,” Zhu says. “Her work developing the CPEIA instrument directly
addresses critical issues in physical education access, particularly relevant to states
like Wyoming. This national honor reflects wonderfully on Ashlyn, Dr. Kern’s mentorship
and our division’s commitment to impactful research.”
The Division of Kinesiology and Health is part of the College of Health Sciences.
Located in the John Corbett Building, the division is host to several academic research
labs and offers a number of undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
About the University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences
UW’s College of Health Sciences trains health and wellness professionals and researchers
in a wide variety of disciplines, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, speech-language
pathology, social work, kinesiology, public health, health administration and disability
studies. The college also oversees residency and fellowship programs in Casper and
Cheyenne, as well as operating a speech/hearing clinic in Laramie and primary care
clinics in Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne.
With more than 1,600 undergraduate, graduate and professional students, the college
is dedicated to training the health and wellness workforce of Wyoming and conducting
high-quality research and community engagement, with a particular focus on rural and
frontier populations.
