Interesting Article # 9: Children's Health & Academic Performance: Elevating Physical Education's Role in Schools

AUTHOR: B. Sibley; G. C. LeMasurier
TITLE: Children's Health & Academic Performance: Elevating Physical Education's Role in Schools
SOURCE: International Journal of Physical Education 45 no2 64-82 2008

(I only posted the part of this article that applies to my topic)
6 Relationship between Physical Activity and Academic Performance
Trudeau and Shephard (2008) recently completed a comprehensive review on the relationship of physical education and physical activity with academic performance. Their overarching conclusions are that "PA can be added to the school curriculum by taking time from other subjects without risk of hindering student academic achievement" (p. 1) and that "adding time to "academic" or "curricular" subjects by taking time from physical education [programs] does not enhance grades in these subjects and may be detrimental to health"(p. 1). Several other authors have reached the same conclusion in their reviews of this topic as well (Carlson et al., 2008; Castelli & Hillman, 2007; Shephard, 1997; Sibley & Etnier, 2003; Taras, 2005). Few studies have systematically examined the effects of increasing physical activity during the school day on academic performance. The paucity of research in this area is likely due to the logistical difficulties of carrying out such research in schools, rather than being due to a lack of interest in the topic. Indeed, there is a relative wealth of correlational studies on this topic, as well as a substantial amount of research on physical activity and cognition. To our knowledge, only four large-scale studies examining the effects of increased physical activity at school on academic performance have been carried out: the Vanves project in Vanves, France (MacKenzie, 1980), the Trois Rivières study in Québec (Shephard, Lavallée, Volle, LaBarre, & Beaucage, 1994), the School Health, Academic Performance, and Exercise (SHAPE) study in Australia (Dwyer, Coonan, Leitch, Hetzel, & Baghurst, 1983), and the SPARK program in Southern California (Sallis et al., 1999).
The Vanves project (MacKenzie, 1980) was carried out in France in the early 1950's. School administrator were concerned about overburdening students with academics, so academic time was scaled back 26%, being limited primarily to the morning hours, and students participated in a variety of physical activities and extra-curricular activities instead. Students also received vitamin supplementation. It was reported that students demonstrated improved academic performance and fewer class absences as a result of the program. Unfortunately, this study has never been published in a peer reviewed journal.
In the Trois Rivierès study (Shephard et al., 1994), physical education time was increased from 40 minutes once per week to 60 minutes five days per week for 546 elementary students for six years of elementary school. Approximately 14% of this increased time for PE was taken from other academic time (Trudeau & Shephard, 2008). Students in the experimental group performed better academically than control students during years two through six of the study. At the end of the intervention, students in the experimental group also performed better on the math portion of the provincial achievement tests.
In the SHAPE study (Dwyer et al., 1983), students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: fitness, skill, or control. Fitness and skill groups received 75 minutes of physical activity time daily, 15 min of this being in the early morning, while control groups received their usual 30 minutes of physical education three times per week. There was approximately a 14% decrease in classroom teaching time in the experimental groups. Following 14 weeks of observation there were no differences in academic performance between groups, despite the decrease in classroom academic time in the groups. At the two-year follow-up, the experimental groups showed a trend for improvement in both arithmetic and reading scores compared to the control group.
Finally, in the SPARK (Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids) project (Sallis et al., 1999), students received 30 minutes of physical activity 3 times per week as part of an enhanced health-related school curriculum. Physical education classes were either taught by trained PE specialists, classroom teachers trained in the SPARK curriculum, or untrained classroom teachers who continued to teach their existing programs. Students who were taught by SPARK-trained classroom teachers showed better performance on the Language, Reading, and Basic battery of the Metropolitan Achievement Tests than students in the control condition, and students taught by PE specialists performed better in Reading, but worse in Language, than did students in the control condition. As with all of the previously discussed studies, increasing time in PE at the expense of time in academic subjects did not compromise academic performance.
There is a body of literature which supports a positive overall relationship between physical activity or exercise and cognitive performance. Two fairly recent reviews summarize this literature well. A meta-analytic review of the literature on physical activity and cognitive performance in children by Sibley and Etnier (Sibley & Etnier, 2003) found there to be a significant positive relation between physical activity and cognitive performance with an ES = 0.32. This means that across all of the research that has addressed this issue, a small but significant effect exists, equivalent to approximately 1/3 of a standard deviation. Analysis of moderator variables suggests that a wide variety of physical activities provide benefit across many types of cognition. Tomporowski (2003) examined the literature on acute exercise and cognitive performance and behavior in youths in a narrative review. Findings of this review suggest a positive effect of exercise on both cognition and behavior. The author, however, tempers this conclusion, noting that there is a need for more quality research on the topic.
There have been some noteworthy correlational studies published in the last few years relevant to this topic. One that has received a fair amount of attention is a study carried out by the California Department of Education (CDE) examining the relationship between fitness test and Stanford achievement test performance in 884,715 5th, 7th, and 9th grade students (Grissom, 2005). It was found that students who performed better on the FITNESSGRAM physical fitness test (by passing more test items) had higher scores on the Stanford achievement tests. The relationship appeared to be stronger for females than males and for higher socio-economic status (SES) students than lower SES students. While this study is purely correlational, and therefore no causation can be inferred from the results, it is the largest study of its kind to show a positive relationship between fitness and academics.
Castelli and colleagues (2007) provided some confirmation of these findings in a study that showed a positive relationship between aerobic fitness and achievement test scores in 259 3rd and 5th grade students. In addition to replicating the results of the CDE study, this more rigorously controlled study found that aerobic performance (PACER test) was positively related to achievement test performance, and the BMI was negatively related (higher BMI = lower test performance). Again, causation cannot be inferred from these results, but this study supports the notion that children with higher fitness levels perform better academically.
In another study that utilized data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, it was found that spending more time in physical education may be positively related to academic performance in young children (Carlson et al., 2008). Data from a nationally representative sample of 5316 elementary students were analyzed. Minutes of physical education per week and academic performance in math and reading were examined at five time points: fall of kindergarten, spring of kindergarten, spring of 1st grade, spring of 3rd grade, and spring of 5th grade. It was found that girls enrolled in a higher amount of PE (70-300 min/wk) had slightly better academic achievement in reading and math than did girls enrolled in less PE (0-35 min/wk). For boys, time in PE had neither a positive or negative effect on academic achievement.
Lastly, there is evidence that a classroom-based physical activity program can increase on-task behavior of students during academic time (Mahar et al., 2006). In this study, the physical activity levels and classroom behavior of 243 3rd and 4th grade students were assessed. Students in the intervention group (n=135) participated in classroom-based physical activity program. Teachers were asked to lead students in at least one 10-minute physical activity session during the school day. Training in leading the activity sessions and a manual of activities were provided for the teachers. Physical activity was assessed using pedometers, and on-task behavior was systematically observed and scored by trained external observers both before and after each physical activity session. It was found that physical activity levels were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (ES=0.49). On-task behavior in the intervention group increased significantly by 8% following participation in physical activity sessions. Additionally, on-task behavior of the least on-task students (students who were off-task more than 50% of the time before program implementation) improved by 20%. Improving on-task behavior of students by using short activity breaks clearly can impact academic achievement when the effects are summed over time.
If we are to say that physical activity has a positive effect on cognition and academic performance, we must also show that there is a viable biological or psychological reason that this would happen. There are, in fact, numerous reasons, or mechanisms, through which physical activity might impact cognition. Some of these are biological in nature, and some are related to psychology and the ways humans learn.
One of the most frequently cited reasons that physical activity could lead to improved cognitive performance is known as the aerobic fitness hypothesis (North, McCullagh, & Tran, 1990). The brain uses 20 to 25 percent of the body's oxygen and 25 percent of the body's glucose (Friedland, 1990), and research has shown that a decrement in either of these nutrients can impair cognitive functioning (Gold, 1995; Moss, Scholey, & Wesnes, 1998). Since the cardiovascular system transports oxygen and glucose to the brain, any improvement in aerobic fitness should bolster their delivery and lead to improved brain function.
In addition to aiding the delivery of oxygen and glucose to the brain, physical activity can also affect the physiological goings-on inside the brain. Physical activity has been shown to increase serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain (Sutoo & Akiyama, 1996; Wilson & Marsden, 1996). These neurotransmitters play a crucial role in the regulation of a variety of cognitive processes and mood states. Physical activity also increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF; Neeper, Gomez-Pinilla, Choi, & Cotman, 1996), which helps neurons in the brain form new connections, and insulin-like growth factor (Carro, Trejo, Busiguina, & Torres-Aleman, 2001), which protects brain cells from damage. In addition, research shows that neurogenesis, which is the formation of new brain cell connections, occurs as a result of exercise (van Praag, Kempermann, & Gage, 1999).
There are also a variety of psychological mechanisms through which physical activity impacts cognitive performance. A number of studies have shown that people are better able to focus their attention following a bout of exercise (Hillman, Snook, & Jerome, 2003; Sibley & Beilock, 2007; Sibley, Etnier, & Le Masurier, 2006). That is, after exercise we are better able to block out distractions and focus on the task at hand. It is not hard to imagine how easily distracted a child might be after sitting at his or her desk for hours on end with no physical activity. This is likely due, in part, to the child's arousal level being too low from the prolonged period of inactivity. As discussed previously, a recent study showed that elementary students were less likely to have behavior problems following short exercise bouts during the school day (Mahar et al., 2006).
Providing young children with frequent opportunities for physical activity throughout the day is a developmentally appropriate practice that will positively impact cognitive development and learning. Youngsters need physically interact and move throughout their environment for proper cognitive development to occur (Eaton, McKeen, & Campbell, 2001; Gibson, 1988). Physical activity breaks during the school day, whether they be in the form of physical education, in-class activity sessions, or recess, provide necessary variety in the learning process (Pellegrini & Bjorklund, 1997; Pellegrini, Huberty, & Jones, 1995), which has been shown to aid in student learning (Dempster, 1988). Subtle shifts in content, for example switching from reading to math, do not provide a distinct enough change in content to provide the varied practice needed to enhance learning. Physical activity, however, does provide that distinct change in content and at the same time can make an important contribution to health and fitness.
Physical activity makes a positive impact on psychological health as well as physical health. Physical activity has been shown to decrease depression (Craft & Landers, 1998; Dunn, Trivedi, Kampert, Clark, & Chambliss, 2005), decrease anxiety (Crews & Landers, 1987; Landers & Petruzzello, 1994), improve sleep quality (Youngstedt, O'Connor, & Dishman, 1997), improve mood (Ekkekakis, Hall, VanLanduyt, & Petruzzello, 2000), and increase self-esteem (Nelson & Gordon-Larsen, 2006). In addition to all of the direct mechanisms discussed above through which physical activity affects academic performance, it also affects all of these other psychological variables, which will likely have an impact on student academic performance.