Table 1 Quasi-experimental studies examining the influence of sport, physical education or physical activity upon academic achievement.
From: Physical education, school physical activity, school sports and academic performance
Author | Sample | Milieu | Intervention | Outcome measure | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fourestier [7] | Children in final year of primary school (13 years), 1 class, n = ? | Vanves (Paris) | Various sports and other activities, 13 h/wk increase for one year | Overall academic performance | Enhanced in experimental group |
Shephard et al. [8] | 546 children in grades 1 through 6 | Trois Rivières, Québec | 5 h of specialist physical education per week for 6 years | Teacher ratings, Standard Provincial examination, WISC tests | Enhanced teacher ratings, Maths but not English improved in Provincial exams, 3–4% gain on WISC |
Sallis et al. [9] | 655 children grades 5 and 6 | California | 27–42 min additional physical education per week for two years | Metropolitan achievement tests | Non-significant trend to gains in English, arithmetic and behaviour |
Dwyer et al. [11] | 500 10-year-old students | South Australia | 75 min/day of endurance training | Scores for reading and arithmetic | Non-significant trend to gains in English and arithmetic at 2-year follow up |
Ahamed et al. [13] | 287 9–11 year old primary students | British Columbia | Added 47 min/wk of varied activities for 16 months | Canadian Achievement Test (CAT-3) | Slight trend to improved scores |
Coe et al. [14] | 214 grade 6 students | Western Michigan, U.S.A. | Nominal 55 min/day (actual 19 min/day) physical education for one semester | Classroom assessments and nationally standardized achievement scores | No change in academic performance except in sub-group who exercised vigorously |
Raviv et al. [15] | 358 kindergarten and grade 1 students | Israel | One-year movement education program | Reading skills and arithmetic skills | Both improved relative to controls |