How physical activity would help kids to promote their learning capabilities
Background:
For a long time, there has been doubt as to whether physical activity is a necessity in school. Many argue that the physical benefits alone suffice to prove it as such; however, others believe the time should be used instead for more academic learning. Neither argument has been strong enough to create a universal viewpoint. The side favoring physical activity has been looking for more or stronger arguments to keep it a part of the daily school lives of millions of children. What if physical activity was also beneficial to academic performance? What if it benefitted classroom behavior? If it could be shown that physical activity really does benefit the academic performance of students, it would tear down any arguments against it. However, the answer to these questions has long been unclear; therefore, studies have been conducted to help answer the question.
Objective:
The meta-analysis used in this article aims to analyze two things. First, what is the effect of physical activity on academic achievement and classroom behaviors? This question asks whether or not there is any correlation between physical activity and academic achievement or school behaviors. Second, what are the characteristics of people and physical activity that could enhance academic performance? For this question to apply, there first has to be a link shown between an increase in physical activity and better school performance. If that is affirmative, this key question analyzes which aspects of people or physical activity directly benefit performance, aiming to isolate the most beneficial traits that are a part of physical activity.
Studies:
Twenty-six studies were included in the analysis. These studies had to meet four inclusion criteria:
Participants were healthy children and adolescents at developmental age.
Interventions of physical activity were aimed at enhancing or enriching physical activity.
Outcomes included academic achievement assessed by curricular-based marks or a specific test and on-task behaviors’ time.
Studies included randomized control times and quasi experimental and controlled pre-post studies. (Quasi experimental refers to trying to correlate a relationship between an independent and dependent variable.)
Results:
The vast majority of the studies showed an increase in academic performance in relation to the amount of time students partake in physical activity. The data from the studies included in the meta analysis were included in a box-plot, and there was a lot of diversity in the results in each study. However, almost all of them revealed that most students benefit academically when they have time to participate in physical education. Rarely did the median of improvement show that no improvement was made, let alone a decrease in skills. The greatest improvement was in language-related skills and composite scores, then math, and finally, reading. Improvements were measured through analysis of the scores of standardized testing. Also, age did not affect the effects of physical intervention.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, physical activity has a strong, positive effect on student performance. While it may seem counterintuitive that utilizing some school time to get physical activity into the schedule actually works, the statistics show otherwise. This means there are several implications to be considered, and schools should consider making several changes if they apply. For example, many schools on a national level, especially in middle and high school, have been cutting down on recess or removing them altogether; instead the time is devoted to increasing school periods. Incorporating some physical activity, even a little, would benefit student performance, while serving as a great way to take a break. This is an excellent example of quality over quantity because as far as it has been shown, physical activity is an essential supplement to benefitting school performance.
Sources:
Álvarez-Bueno, C., Pesce, C., Cavero-Redondo, I., Sánchez-López, M., Garrido-Miguel, M., & Martínez-Vizcaíno, V. (2017, December 1). Academic achievement and physical activity: A meta-analysis. American Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved October 16, 2021, from https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/140/6/e20171498.