Rushil Rawal, Class of 2021
Introduction
In many of today’s schools, physical activity is a part of the school curriculum, such as taking 15-minute breaks, being in a physical education class, and sports played by students. Physical activity allows children to stay active and, in a sense, diversifies the time spent by children at school. It can be noted that severe physical activity, meaning a high level of intensity, does not necessarily form better educational outcomes. The level intensity matters, as shown by researchers who elaborate on the moderation of physical activity. However, it is important to consider that many factors can control the level of impact a student has from physical activity such as socioeconomic status. Different environments can shape the way a child learns and is shaped by the activities around him or her; although physical activities may associate with improved cognition and performance in the classroom, other factors faced by a child can potentially skew the benefits. There have been correlations between physical activity and health outcomes, however researchers are trying to understand if the associations found between physical activity and academic performance are consistent. The questions that researchers are asking: Are there times in which there is little improvement due to physical activity? These questions are what researchers have tried to answer in various studies.
Research
Many key points have been established by research studies showing the impact of physical activity on academic outcomes, attention, and concentration in the classroom, along with other elements to consider.
1. Physical Activity Improves an Attentional control
A myriad of studies show that exposure to physical activity during school time can strengthen students’ attentional control in class. A major factor is the specific level of intensity of the physical activity. It has been shown that passive breaks (story-listening), moderate intensity, and high intensity physical activity (running) lead to different levels of attentional control present among young children. More specifically, physical activity of moderate intensity, such as jogging or dribbling a basketball, is shown to have the greatest improvement on attentional control in children age 10-11 (Jannsen et al., 2014). This brings attention to the fact that although there are benefits in the classroom seen from physical activity, certain conditions better correlate with benefits in the classroom. Moderate intensity physical activity has shown to increase blood flow in the brain and motivate students as the activity can be enjoyable. Too much physical activity can drain kids and serve as a problem.
2. Socioeconomic Status Impacts Effectiveness of Physical Activity
The background that a student comes from and the environment in which he or she grows up in serves as a factor when considering physical activity and academic performance. Research shows that physical activity can serve no benefit for students. Children who live in single-parent households can face declines in academic achievement, regardless of the input of physical activity into the curriculum (Kyan, Takakura, & Miyagi, 2018). The level of parental education can also affect academic achievement. This is because there is a lack of motivation found among kids from low socioeconomic status due to environmental effects such as a lack of resources and guidance.
3. Research on any Relationship Between Physical Activity and Academic Performance
Not to ignore the fact that there are many benefits shown from the addition of physical activity, there has not been consistency in results showing a correlation between academic performance and physical activity. For example, there has been a gender gap between boys and girls, as some studies have shown improvements in classroom performance among boys but not necessarily for girls (Kyan et al., 2018), and some studies have shown better math and reading skills arise for girls. There is a lack of consistency within these studies as there are mixed results. However, there have been general claims made by studies showing an increase in comprehension skills as a result of physical activity (Bidzan-Bluma and Lipowska, 2018). A longitudinal study following 12 and 15-year-old children from youthhood into adulthood found that physical activity led to better GPA for students and better long-term educational outcomes. It also notes that a decrease in physical activity for many students over time led to a decline in academic performance (Kari, Pehkonen, Hutri-Kähönen, Raitakari, & Tammelin, 2017). The point seen through studies is that there is a lot of consistency in showing the potential of physical activity yet a lack of consistency in showing the direct effects of physical activity in terms of academic outcomes.
4. Physical Activity Can Improve Cognitive Skills
There is a correlation between physical activity and cognitive functioning. As mentioned earlier, the increase in blood flow during physical activity also leads to better motoric development and increases the speed of nerve impulses (Bidzan-Bluma and Lipowska, 2018). Although physical activity correlates with an increase in factors such as attentional control and cognitive functioning, there is little evidence that physical activity pertains to better academic performance. Many studies have shown that although there may be an increase in attentional control from physical activity, there was no significant increase in test scores (Jannsen et al., 2014).
Figure 1. shows the level of self-esteem having an effect on children’s participation in physical activity (Wretman, 2017). The model shows a link between physical activity and academic performance with other connected factors such as the way in which one looks upon himself or herself. This is to say that aside from the benefits that physical activity may portray, the level of encouragement and the way one perceives themselves can play a role in whether or not physical activity is underlined by young children.
Conclusion
Physical activity should be placed within the school curriculum for young children. It yields to better attentional control, concentration to tasks and, depending on the level of intensity, can motivate students as physical activities can be enjoyable. However, it is important to consider that physical activity pertains to no major improvement in academic performance in the classroom. There are cases where the performance of boys has shown to increase, but not that of girls who also participate in physical activity exercises. Besides the lack of research and findings that suggest that there is a correlation of physical activity to academic performance, physical activity increases brain activity by increasing blood flow in the brain and the movement of oxygen in the brain. It has shown to yield an increase in cognitive flexibility and improve the functioning of many parts of the brain such as the hippocampus (memory-related). When talking about the benefits of physical activity, it is clear that they promote better health outcomes and can increase self-esteem of children as a result of this. However, the benefits of physical activity can be constrained by components such as household income and in many cases, too much physical activity. Moderation is required to assure the best results from physical activity for factors such as attentional control. As this brief continuously asserts the lack of evidence relating physical activity to academic accomplishment, research can be promoted in order to find ways in which many confusions from present studies, such as a gender differences in the effect of physical activity on academic performance, can be can further explained or prevented through potential altercations to the way in which physical activity is currently laid out for young children. There are predictions drawn from studies, but no concrete evidence that supports the claim that there is a relationship between performance within the classroom and engagement in physical activity, aside from the concurrent cognitive benefits discovered.
Recommendations
1. Continue Research on Physical Activity and Its Benefits Within the Classroom for Young Children
There is a lot of unclear points on the effect of physical activity on student performance. Many studies state that physical activity promotes the functioning of certain areas of the brain, yet there is a lack of clear testing methods that can be implemented within classrooms in schools that have physical activity as part of their educational curriculum, to understand exactly why or why not there is a correlation between physical activity and academic achievement. Research can promote further studies that can change past methodologies and improve from past studies that showed inconsistencies.
2. Conduct More Longitudinal Studies
A lot of studies are cross-sectional and compare young children of various ages to understand the effect of physical activity in schools. However, promoting longitudinal studies can lead to a better understanding of an over-time effect of physical activity manipulated in the school curriculum. Longitudinal studies would allow for students to be studied consistently throughout their progression in grade-levels and can allow researchers to see if physical activity has a pertinence to academic performance within the classroom, and if so, if it is consistent among grade-levels. On top of that, there has been gender differences in academic performance as a result of physical activity, and through long-term studies with students, it can be analyzed if these differences are consistent or if they are variable due to individual differences in cognition and motivation on engaging in physical activity.
3. Keep Physical Activity as Part of the School Curriculum
Although there is no direct evidence that physical activity leads to better scores in the classroom, it has many seen benefits such as improving health, self-esteem, brain functioning, and concentration in the classroom. It should stay as part of the school curriculum as when done in moderation, it yields a myriad of benefits and has shown to produce no significant harm. School administrators should not be discouraged due to uneven results on physical activity and academic performance correlations.
What is the importance of physical activity?
While at the surface, physical activity such as running may seem to not fit with academic performance, it has shown benefits in the brain. It is important to consider that factors such as motivation, socioeconomic status, and gender have shown to play a role in the effect of physical activity on academic performance, as they affect the way in which students perform in the classroom. Studies have shown that in many cases, physical fitness leads to improvements in attention-to-task in 3rd and 4th grade students (Mahar, 2011). Even though there seems to be no direct correlation to academic performance, paying attention in class to what is being taught and following the tasks covered within a classroom can serve as a potential to better academic outcomes as there is an increase in the level of concentration displayed by students.
Introduction
In many of today’s schools, physical activity is a part of the school curriculum, such as taking 15-minute breaks, being in a physical education class, and sports played by students. Physical activity allows children to stay active and, in a sense, diversifies the time spent by children at school. It can be noted that severe physical activity, meaning a high level of intensity, does not necessarily form better educational outcomes. The level intensity matters, as shown by researchers who elaborate on the moderation of physical activity. However, it is important to consider that many factors can control the level of impact a student has from physical activity such as socioeconomic status. Different environments can shape the way a child learns and is shaped by the activities around him or her; although physical activities may associate with improved cognition and performance in the classroom, other factors faced by a child can potentially skew the benefits. There have been correlations between physical activity and health outcomes, however researchers are trying to understand if the associations found between physical activity and academic performance are consistent. The questions that researchers are asking: Are there times in which there is little improvement due to physical activity? These questions are what researchers have tried to answer in various studies.
Research
Many key points have been established by research studies showing the impact of physical activity on academic outcomes, attention, and concentration in the classroom, along with other elements to consider.
1. Physical Activity Improves an Attentional control
A myriad of studies show that exposure to physical activity during school time can strengthen students’ attentional control in class. A major factor is the specific level of intensity of the physical activity. It has been shown that passive breaks (story-listening), moderate intensity, and high intensity physical activity (running) lead to different levels of attentional control present among young children. More specifically, physical activity of moderate intensity, such as jogging or dribbling a basketball, is shown to have the greatest improvement on attentional control in children age 10-11 (Jannsen et al., 2014). This brings attention to the fact that although there are benefits in the classroom seen from physical activity, certain conditions better correlate with benefits in the classroom. Moderate intensity physical activity has shown to increase blood flow in the brain and motivate students as the activity can be enjoyable. Too much physical activity can drain kids and serve as a problem.
2. Socioeconomic Status Impacts Effectiveness of Physical Activity
The background that a student comes from and the environment in which he or she grows up in serves as a factor when considering physical activity and academic performance. Research shows that physical activity can serve no benefit for students. Children who live in single-parent households can face declines in academic achievement, regardless of the input of physical activity into the curriculum (Kyan, Takakura, & Miyagi, 2018). The level of parental education can also affect academic achievement. This is because there is a lack of motivation found among kids from low socioeconomic status due to environmental effects such as a lack of resources and guidance.
3. Research on any Relationship Between Physical Activity and Academic Performance
Not to ignore the fact that there are many benefits shown from the addition of physical activity, there has not been consistency in results showing a correlation between academic performance and physical activity. For example, there has been a gender gap between boys and girls, as some studies have shown improvements in classroom performance among boys but not necessarily for girls (Kyan et al., 2018), and some studies have shown better math and reading skills arise for girls. There is a lack of consistency within these studies as there are mixed results. However, there have been general claims made by studies showing an increase in comprehension skills as a result of physical activity (Bidzan-Bluma and Lipowska, 2018). A longitudinal study following 12 and 15-year-old children from youthhood into adulthood found that physical activity led to better GPA for students and better long-term educational outcomes. It also notes that a decrease in physical activity for many students over time led to a decline in academic performance (Kari, Pehkonen, Hutri-Kähönen, Raitakari, & Tammelin, 2017). The point seen through studies is that there is a lot of consistency in showing the potential of physical activity yet a lack of consistency in showing the direct effects of physical activity in terms of academic outcomes.
4. Physical Activity Can Improve Cognitive Skills
There is a correlation between physical activity and cognitive functioning. As mentioned earlier, the increase in blood flow during physical activity also leads to better motoric development and increases the speed of nerve impulses (Bidzan-Bluma and Lipowska, 2018). Although physical activity correlates with an increase in factors such as attentional control and cognitive functioning, there is little evidence that physical activity pertains to better academic performance. Many studies have shown that although there may be an increase in attentional control from physical activity, there was no significant increase in test scores (Jannsen et al., 2014).
Figure 1. shows the level of self-esteem having an effect on children’s participation in physical activity (Wretman, 2017). The model shows a link between physical activity and academic performance with other connected factors such as the way in which one looks upon himself or herself. This is to say that aside from the benefits that physical activity may portray, the level of encouragement and the way one perceives themselves can play a role in whether or not physical activity is underlined by young children.
Conclusion
Physical activity should be placed within the school curriculum for young children. It yields to better attentional control, concentration to tasks and, depending on the level of intensity, can motivate students as physical activities can be enjoyable. However, it is important to consider that physical activity pertains to no major improvement in academic performance in the classroom. There are cases where the performance of boys has shown to increase, but not that of girls who also participate in physical activity exercises. Besides the lack of research and findings that suggest that there is a correlation of physical activity to academic performance, physical activity increases brain activity by increasing blood flow in the brain and the movement of oxygen in the brain. It has shown to yield an increase in cognitive flexibility and improve the functioning of many parts of the brain such as the hippocampus (memory-related). When talking about the benefits of physical activity, it is clear that they promote better health outcomes and can increase self-esteem of children as a result of this. However, the benefits of physical activity can be constrained by components such as household income and in many cases, too much physical activity. Moderation is required to assure the best results from physical activity for factors such as attentional control. As this brief continuously asserts the lack of evidence relating physical activity to academic accomplishment, research can be promoted in order to find ways in which many confusions from present studies, such as a gender differences in the effect of physical activity on academic performance, can be can further explained or prevented through potential altercations to the way in which physical activity is currently laid out for young children. There are predictions drawn from studies, but no concrete evidence that supports the claim that there is a relationship between performance within the classroom and engagement in physical activity, aside from the concurrent cognitive benefits discovered.
Recommendations
1. Continue Research on Physical Activity and Its Benefits Within the Classroom for Young Children
There is a lot of unclear points on the effect of physical activity on student performance. Many studies state that physical activity promotes the functioning of certain areas of the brain, yet there is a lack of clear testing methods that can be implemented within classrooms in schools that have physical activity as part of their educational curriculum, to understand exactly why or why not there is a correlation between physical activity and academic achievement. Research can promote further studies that can change past methodologies and improve from past studies that showed inconsistencies.
2. Conduct More Longitudinal Studies
A lot of studies are cross-sectional and compare young children of various ages to understand the effect of physical activity in schools. However, promoting longitudinal studies can lead to a better understanding of an over-time effect of physical activity manipulated in the school curriculum. Longitudinal studies would allow for students to be studied consistently throughout their progression in grade-levels and can allow researchers to see if physical activity has a pertinence to academic performance within the classroom, and if so, if it is consistent among grade-levels. On top of that, there has been gender differences in academic performance as a result of physical activity, and through long-term studies with students, it can be analyzed if these differences are consistent or if they are variable due to individual differences in cognition and motivation on engaging in physical activity.
3. Keep Physical Activity as Part of the School Curriculum
Although there is no direct evidence that physical activity leads to better scores in the classroom, it has many seen benefits such as improving health, self-esteem, brain functioning, and concentration in the classroom. It should stay as part of the school curriculum as when done in moderation, it yields a myriad of benefits and has shown to produce no significant harm. School administrators should not be discouraged due to uneven results on physical activity and academic performance correlations.
What is the importance of physical activity?
While at the surface, physical activity such as running may seem to not fit with academic performance, it has shown benefits in the brain. It is important to consider that factors such as motivation, socioeconomic status, and gender have shown to play a role in the effect of physical activity on academic performance, as they affect the way in which students perform in the classroom. Studies have shown that in many cases, physical fitness leads to improvements in attention-to-task in 3rd and 4th grade students (Mahar, 2011). Even though there seems to be no direct correlation to academic performance, paying attention in class to what is being taught and following the tasks covered within a classroom can serve as a potential to better academic outcomes as there is an increase in the level of concentration displayed by students.
Figure 1. Conceptual Model (Wretman, 2017)
References
Bidzan-Bluma, I., & Lipowska, M. (2018). Physical Activity and Cognitive Functioning of Children: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,15(4), 800. doi:10.3390/ijerph15040800
Janssen, M., Chinapaw, M., Rauh, S., Toussaint, H., Mechelen, W. V., & Verhagen, E. (2014). A short physical activity break from cognitive tasks increases selective attention in primary school children aged 10–11. Mental Health and Physical Activity,7(3), 129-134. doi:10.1016/j.mhpa.2014.07.001
Kari, J. T., Pehkonen, J., Hutri-Kähönen, N., Raitakari, O. T., & Tammelin, T. H. (2017). Longitudinal Associations between Physical Activity and Educational Outcomes. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise,49(11), 2158-2166. doi:10.1249/mss.0000000000001351
Kyan, A., Takakura, M., & Miyagi, M. (2018). Does Physical Fitness Affect Academic Achievement among Japanese Adolescents? A Hybrid Approach for Decomposing Within-Person and Between-Persons Effects. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,15(9), 1901. doi:10.3390/ijerph15091901
Mahar, M. T. (2011). Impact of short bouts of physical activity on attention-to-task in elementary school children. Preventive Medicine,52. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.01.026
Training the Investor Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2018, from https://www.brandes.com/us/advisors/training-the-investor-brain
Wretman, C. J. (2017). School Sports Participation and Academic Achievement in Middle and High School. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research,8(3), 399-420. doi:10.1086/693117
Bidzan-Bluma, I., & Lipowska, M. (2018). Physical Activity and Cognitive Functioning of Children: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,15(4), 800. doi:10.3390/ijerph15040800
Janssen, M., Chinapaw, M., Rauh, S., Toussaint, H., Mechelen, W. V., & Verhagen, E. (2014). A short physical activity break from cognitive tasks increases selective attention in primary school children aged 10–11. Mental Health and Physical Activity,7(3), 129-134. doi:10.1016/j.mhpa.2014.07.001
Kari, J. T., Pehkonen, J., Hutri-Kähönen, N., Raitakari, O. T., & Tammelin, T. H. (2017). Longitudinal Associations between Physical Activity and Educational Outcomes. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise,49(11), 2158-2166. doi:10.1249/mss.0000000000001351
Kyan, A., Takakura, M., & Miyagi, M. (2018). Does Physical Fitness Affect Academic Achievement among Japanese Adolescents? A Hybrid Approach for Decomposing Within-Person and Between-Persons Effects. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,15(9), 1901. doi:10.3390/ijerph15091901
Mahar, M. T. (2011). Impact of short bouts of physical activity on attention-to-task in elementary school children. Preventive Medicine,52. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.01.026
Training the Investor Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2018, from https://www.brandes.com/us/advisors/training-the-investor-brain
Wretman, C. J. (2017). School Sports Participation and Academic Achievement in Middle and High School. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research,8(3), 399-420. doi:10.1086/693117