The Effects of Physical Exercise on Academic Achievement

Part I: Introduction 

Schools have been recently involved in encouraging students to participate in sports and exercises. In most countries, ministries of education make it compulsory for schools to incorporate physical exercise in their extracurricular activities to ensure that students exercise. Research conducted by Noah & Ecker 2015; Rasberry et al., 2011 and Sardinha et al., 2016 has indicated that by taking part in physical activities, individuals will attain health benefits such as reduction of obesity, increased concentration, and better cognitive ability. Thus, there is a need to identify whether those children who take part in the physical exercise have better academic achievement and physical and mental health, unlike those children who do not exercise. 

Research indicates that physical activity has various health benefits. In the past years, researchers have attempted to investigate if physical activity has any impacts on academic attainment in children (Sardinha et al., 2016). Most studies (Schmidt et al., 2015; Noah & Ecker, 2015) have discovered that there is a positive relationship between physical activity and academic achievement. Only a few studies show that there is a null relationship between the two. Noah & Ecker (2015) reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children should engage in physical activity for an average of one hour per day. In the resent years, technological, social, and economic changes have been associated with lesser participation of children in physical activities in the present ( Noah & Ecker, 2015) . The changes in the participation of children in physical exercise and activities have led to a topic of discussion about their cognitive growth. 

In the past, there have been growing concerns about whether physical activity has any impact on academic achievement Noah & Ecker, 2015) . According to Noah & Ecker (2015), physiological and learning or development mechanisms improve a child's performance when the children take part in physical exercise. The decline in physical exercises can be attributed to the perception t hat these physical exercises lead to a decrease in academic success. There is a need to understand that if students focus too much on physical activities without balancing with academic studies, their performance in the classroom will decline. If children concentrate more in physical exercises without studying, the students’ academic achievement will decline. 

A systematic review conducted by Rasberry, Lee, Robin, Laris, Russell, Coyle & Nihiser, (2011) investigated the relationship between indicators of physical activities. In this research, 50 articles were reviewed, and the results demonstrated 251 associations between physical activity and academic performance. Out of these associations, 50.5% showed a positive correlation, 48% were insignificant, whereas only 1.5% demonstrated a negative relationship (Rasberry et al., 2011). Due to these findings, Rasberry et al., (2011) concluded that schools should ensure that students take part in physical education and physical activity to improve their academic performance. 

In another study, Schmidt, Jäger, Egger, Roebers & Conzelmann (2015) attempted to examine whether aerobic exercises have any impacts on the level of concentration and participation of primary school children. The researchers sampled 181 students between ten and twelve years, and these participants were then assigned to take part in physical education programs for six weeks, whereas other children were in the control condition where the participants were monitored closely. The physical activities were divided into team games and aerobic exercise. The findings showed that exercises had a positive impact on the aerobic fitness on the children. In addition, those children who participated in team games showed improved performance, unlike those that took part in aerobic exercise (Schmidt et al. 2016). 

Furthermore, the study by Schmidt et al. (2016) discovered the importance of physical activities in improving cognitive functioning in children. In a systematic review to identify if daily activity impacts the academic performance of children and adolescents, Noah & Ecker (2015) discovered that there is a positive relationship between physical activities and academic performance in children. In another research, Resaland et al. (2015) established a strong relationship between physical activity and academic performance. Indeed, most studies have found out that there is a positive correlation between children's engagement in physical studies and their academic achievement. 

Part II: Methods 

The research was conducted in two schools; one where children are actively involved in physical activity and the other one where they do not engage in physical activities. The study consisted of a hundred randomly selected students. Fifty of them were from a school that the kids actively participated in aerobic exercises. The other fifty children were from one where they did not take part in exercises extensively. However, the performance of those students with medical and physical challenges was not assessed because they did not meet the inclusion criteria of being physically fit to participate in exercises. The researcher obtained permission from the schools' administrations to evaluate the students’ performance in the classroom. Later, the class teachers were interviewed and asked to present the performance chart of children within the past year. Besides, the researcher obtained the consent of the children's parents or guardians before analyzing their performance in the classroom by assessing their end of semester exams for one academic year. 

Ethical considerations are essential when conducting research. The researcher obtained informed consent from the participants of the research. Also, participation should be voluntary as this eliminates any incidences of participants being coerced to take part in the study. As a result, there will be objectivity, and that unwilling participant will not influence the research. During the entire research, the researcher ensured the anonymity of the students. Also, the schools asked the researcher to ensure their anonymity as well as that of students. The researcher assessed semester results of academic performance among students who participate in aerobic exercise and those that did not take part in any. A comparison of the two groups was made based on the reviews of the teachers by the researcher. 

Part III: Results 

Out of the 100 participants, four of them had not completed all the annual exams in their respective schools due to different reasons. The parents of one student had recently relocated to the country, two were sick during examinations, and one of them had attended a family event out of the country. However, these four children had a retest that was different from which others had done, and this could affect the results of the study. 

Table showing the Average Performance of Students 

Graph Comparing Performance of Students in Schools 

A comparison of the performance of the children in schools A and B showed significant differences. In School A, children performed better (66.2%) than those in School B (59.7%). 

Table Showing Average Weekly Hours of Physical Exercise 

Teachers and parents in School A were actively involved in ensuring that the children exercised daily. On average, forty minutes per day were assigned for exercises in School A, whereas in School B, the average time that children exercised was one and a half hours per week. However, the first student in School B had performed better than that of School A. There were significant differences in results as some children who had not participated in physical exercises actively performed better than the other group. 

The researcher also interviewed teachers in the schools about physical exercise curriculum. In School B, the teachers were worried that more physical activities would significantly impact children's performance. As a result, the administration dedicates less time to physical exercises and more to teaching the children. However, School A was committed to ensuring that children developed both academically and physically. They aimed to ensure that children focused on their studies. 

Part IV: Discussion and Implications 

The results about the performance of students illustrated that School A performed better than School B. As evident, students in School A spend more time in physical exercises, unlike School B where they spend fewer minutes in physical exercise. The results demonstrate that there is a positive relationship between physical exercise and academic performance. Schools that incorporate more time in physical education will experience better performance among students. On the other hand, the schools that do not dedicate enough time to physical exercise may experience lower performance. The researcher found out that there is a positive relationship between physical exercise and academic achievement among students. 

One primary challenge that impacts the implementation of physical education in schools is the belief that there will be a decline in academic success. The argument is that children may concentrate too much on physical exercises and neglect their studies. Technological changes have significantly impacted the mental wellness of children, and this has led to an effect on their cognitive ability. The results of the study indicate that physical activities have a short-term and long-term positive impacts on the learning process of children. As a result of the positive relationship between physical exercise and academic achievement, schools should be more willing to extend physical education time to allow children to play more. 

References 

Noah, M., & Ecker, K. (2015).   Effects of Physical Activity on Academic Performance   (Doctoral 

dissertation, University of Wisconsin-River Falls). 

Rasberry, C. N., Lee, S. M., Robin, L., Laris, B. A., Russell, L. A., Coyle, K. K., & Nihiser, A. J. 

(2011). The association between school-based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance: a systematic review of the literature.  Preventive medicine ,  52 , S10-S20. 

Resaland, G. K., Moe, V. F., Aadland, E., Steene-Johannessen, J., Glosvik, Ø ., Andersen, J. R., 

... & Anderssen, S. A. (2015). Active Smarter Kids (ASK): Rationale and design of a cluster-randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of daily physical activity on children’s academic performance and risk factors for non-communicable diseases.  BMC public health ,  15 (1), 709. 

Schmidt, M., J äger, K., Egger, F., Roebers, C. M., & Conzelmann, A. (2015). Cognitively 

engaging chronic physical activity, but not aerobic exercise, affects executive functions in primary school children: a group-randomized controlled trial.  Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology ,  37 (6), 575-591. 

Schmidt, M., J äger, K., Egger, F., Roebers, C. M., & Conzelmann, A. (2015). Cognitively 

engaging chronic physical activity, but not aerobic exercise, affects executive functions in primary school children: a group-randomized controlled trial.  Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology ,  37 (6), 575-591.