Effects of Physical Activity on Academic

and Social-Emotional Skills

Ann Wittbrodt
Senior Thesis
Advisor: Dr. Store

Introduction
!

There is a high consensus that most students in the US need more physical

activity to be academically successful. Several scholars including developmental

psychologist and philosopher JeanPiaget, have reported this concern. Several
attempts such as SPARK- Sports, Play and active Recreation for Kids, (Verstraete,
2007) and M-SPAN- Middle School Physical Activity and Nutrition (Mckenzie, Sallis,
Prochaska, Conway, Marshall, Rosengard, 2004 ) have been made to address this

challenge. Even with such attempts, students are still struggling academically. This
draws need for more educators to place a high emphasis on physical activity. This is
an important focus because, as this paper will show, physical activity is reported to
improve focus and reduce boredom in class and consequently improving students
academic abilities.
!

In several studies that will be discussed in this paper, physical education and

its effects on academic performance had a positive correlation. In the past decade,
there have been more intervention studies performed in schools across America and
the world that are beginning to support research that shows there is a correlation
between physical education and academic and social-emotional benefits. In past
years, however, there has not been much research to provide evidence of benefits of
physical activity on education. The reasons this research has been increasing are
intriguing and are discussed throughout the sections of this paper.
2

Despite this increasing evidence on benefits, physical activity does not seem

to be given enough attention in schools. In my experiences in classroom placements

throughout my college experience, I have noticed this lack of physical activity first
hand. This seems to stem from a lack of physical activity curriculum, and an
overemphasis on standardized tests and their corresponding curriculums. I notice
that students only go outside and actively play when they are waiting for the school
bus, or during the brief five or ten minutes they have after they get off the bus. I also
have seen teachers succeed in getting their students more active while maintaining
the academic curriculum. For instance, the team teachers in the fifth grade that I
was placed in created a program in which they would take their class out everyday
and walk, speed walk, or run. They tracked the students miles and recorded them
on a bulletin board in the classroom. The more miles the students completed, the
more clubs, such as the Marathon Club or the 50 mile club, they got to join. This
gave the students a sense of accomplishment and motivation to stay active.
!

Knowing that students need more support to succeed academically, and that

most schools and teachers are not incorporating enough physical activity in their
everyday activities even though it is practical to do that, forms the impetus for my
thesis. My goal is to review literature to show different ways physical activity has
been incorporated in school activities, what the effects on students welfare are, put
these efforts in a historical context of school, and make recommendations for school

and teaching practices. To accomplish this, I begin my review by providing a

historical context of physical activity in schools and then organize my thesis into
several sections to show effects of physical activity on social and emotional welfare
and academic success. I finish my paper by highlighting teacher and parent
initiatives in increasing physical childrens physical activity and conclude with
recommendations for practice.

Physical Education: Then and Now

Comparing Shape of the Nation results from 1993 to 2010
!

In order to really see how little physical education is actually required in the

United States, I took a look at where physical education was as far as requirements
and state standards in 1993 compared to a more recent Shape of the Nation Report
published in 2010. The goal of analyzing these two reports is to see if physical
education has been more enforced over the past couple decades and what changes
have been made regarding requirements of physical education. I also took a look at
who was teaching physical education classes, physical education specialists or
classroom teachers.
!

According to the Shape of the Nation report in 1993, The Department of

Health Services called for two things: 1) Increase to at least 50 percent the proportion
of children and adolescents in 1st through 12th grade who participate in daily school

physical education. 2) Increase to at least 50 percent the proportion school physical

education class time that students spend being physically active, preferably engaged
in lifetime physical activities (Shape of the Nation, 1993, pg. 3). After looking at
these two reports, I could see if these goals were attained.
!

According to Shape of the Nation, in 1987 only four states required physical

education in all grades, kindergarten through senior year. When the Shape of the
Nation report was done in 1993, Illinois was still the only state that required daily
physical education in all grades. Four states at this point did not even have any state
laws requiring P.E. Half of the states only required high schoolers to take one year of
physical education in their four year career (Shape of the Nation, 1993).
!

Another piece of information that raises concern is the fact that the majority of

the states permitted classroom teachers to teach physical education (Shape of the
Nation, 1993). This raises issues, in my opinion, about the quality of physical
education the students are receiving. Classroom teachers are trained in child
development and academic subject areas, but having an instructor who is
specifically trained in childrens physical education gives students a more expansive
and quality physical education than a classroom teacher could give.
!

In 2010, the Shape of the Nation report concluded that there are eight states

that do not mandate elementary school education. There are eleven states that
mandate middle school and junior high school physical education. According to the

report, The majority of states mandate physical education throughout all grade
levels, but most do not require a specific among of instructional time, and about half
allow exemptions, waivers, and/or substitutions. These loopholes continue to
reduce the effectiveness of the mandate. (Shape of the Nation, 2010). According to
this piece of the survey, it is clear that the second goal that was set by the
Department of Health Services to increase time spent on physical activity has yet to
be met.
!

As the data shows, states even before all of the new academic demands, did

not even require physical education. Many schools recommend amounts of time
(between 30-90 minutes) for students of different age groups, but a surprisingly low
percentage of states required physical education in their curriculum. Although the
states requiring physical education improved by 2010, I still find it shocking that
there are 8 states that do not mandate elementary school physical education and 11
that do not mandate it in middle schools. According to these studies the amount of
students participating in mandated physical education did increase by at least 50
percent. Therefore there is improvement within physical education requirements
and this could be due to goals set by the Department of Health Services or goals set
by individual states.
!

Obesity is a byproduct of lack of physical exercise in todays society. It is no

secret that obesity is truly an epidemic in America. According to the Future of

Children Organization, obesity is second to cancer for the leading cause of death in
2004. Haskin states, The number of obese children has tripled over the past three
decades ( Haskins, 2006). Obesity is no longer a personal choice, but a result of
circumstances. School lunch has federally funded lunches and breakfast that are
slowly becoming more nutritious , but according to the Future of Children
Organization the main setback of nutrition in public schools are a la carte and
vending machine items. Obesity prevention through public education can happen
not only the types of foods that are served but through an increase in physical
education.

Social and Emotional Health

Through analysis of research of literature, it has been shown that physical activity
has had a significant impact on academic performance, and also social and
emotional welfare. Physical activity is also known to improve mood, decrease
anxiety, and improve depressive moods. I took a look at studies similar to the
interventions done in the academic studies. Many of these studies showed that the
interventions of physical activity resulted in lower anxiety levels and better attitudes
in students and the general population.
!

Several studies have shown a positive correlation between physical exercise

and social and emotional health. According to the professional article, Sports

participation and emotional well being in adolescents the findings of the study
proved true to their hypothesis, that physical exercise and sports participation
improve self esteem, confidence, and overall mood in students (Ginsburg, & the
Committee on Communications, & the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child
and Family Health, 2007).
According to the 2010 Shape of the Nation report, the recommendations for
action include physical activity in relation to social and emotional skills. The report
also states that through physical activity children learn other social and emotional
skills (National Association for Sport and Physical Education and American Heart
Association, 2010).
The hypothesis of a study by Taras was that active teenagers or pre-teens
would be less likely to take part in risky behavior. Risky behavior including
attempting suicide and getting pregnant. This hypothesis was made because
researchers figured if students were active they would have less stress, better
moods, and increased self-esteem. Therefore, they may not take part in these risky
behaviors.
In a meta-analysis done through the University of Western Ontario on
social influence in relation to exercise, a moderate to large effect size on exercise and
social influence. The large effect sizes were found through family support, attitude
about exercise cohesion and adherence, and compliance. The reason this study was

completed was the belief that regular exercise could have a large impact on
psychological, physical, and physiological benefits. These benefits were found to
decrease levels of depression, anxiety, along with positive emotional effects. The
general analysis showed an effect on human confidence. Carron, Hausenblas, and
Mack state, The 95% confidence intervals associated with the ES for the influence of
class members, class leaders, and social cohesion on adherence behavior include
zero. Thus, these effects should be considered zero order (Carron, Hausenblas,
Mack, 7). The overall results of this analysis came to the conclusion that positive
family support and attitude about physical activity led to physiological benefits.
Another scholarly article researched the social and emotional benefits due
to physical activity in school-aged children. This article was another meta-analysis
done through over two hundred social emotional learning programs that included
kindergarten through high school students. In comparison to the control groups of
this study, the students in the social and emotional learning programs showed a
significant difference in positive attitudes and behaviors. This study shed positive
light on the social and emotional learning programs. This article, proving that this
program makes a significant difference, states that supporting these types of
programs will ultimately improve the social and emotional skills of school aged
children.

A study done in Wales, England and Scotland was done beginning in 1970

and assessed for 16 years. The information was collected through individual sports
and team sports to assess the effects that regular physical activity had on
psychological aspects in students. Sports that were not as vigorous were studied
separately. The sport and vigorous recreational activity index was positively
associated with emotional well-being independently of sex, social class, health
status, and use of hospital services. These associations were significant for the
psychological symptom sub-scale of the malaise inventory (regression coefficient
-0024, 95% Cl -0036 to -0011, p<0001) and the GHQ (odds ratio of emotional
distress per unit increase in vigorous physical activity 0992, 95% Cl 0985-0998,
p<001) (Steptoe, Butlet, 1996).. Overall, this study indicated positive effects on
emotions and social behavior.
!

Improving and intervening with physical fitness seems to be a challenge in

America, a first world country. I was surprised through my research that

intervention with physical fitness was also apparent in developing countries. A
study done in Chile, which set out to improve physical fitness and emotional wellbeing of adolescents, proved to be successful. This study included 198 students of 15
years of age. The study was based off of the association of improved emotional wellbeing through physical activity. This study was developed by the Physical
Education Program of the Catholic University in which the effective physical

10

education time for students was about six minutes. This clearly is well below the
standard of 20-30 minutes of physical activity a day. The intervention was studentdriven, students picked the physical activities they wanted to do and were tested on
those activities 3 times a week for a 90 minute time period. Students in the control
group had a 90 minute physical education period once a week. A 2005 study
described, Men and women chose different sports to practice. Women chose dance,
aerobics, track practice and volleyball. Men chose soccer, basketball, volleyball and
track practice (Bonhauser, Fernandez, Puschel, Yanez, Montero, Thompson,
Coronado, 2005).
!

The mental health areas that were explored in this study were anxiety,

depression, and self-esteem. The same 2005 study from above stated, Anxiety and
depressive symptoms were estimated using the HADS (hospital, anxiety depression
scale) instrument This self-administered test is validated and has been used
extensively to measure anxiety and depressive disorders among adolescents
(Bonhauser, Fernandez, Puschel, Yanez, Montero, Thompson, Coronado, 117). The
overall results for mental health status at the end of the study was a 13.7% decrease
in anxiety score in the intervention group, compared to the control group that only
had a 2.3% decrease in anxiety score. The intervention group increased self-esteem
scores by 2.3%, and the control group decreased the scores 0.1%. There was no
significant difference in the depressive symptom score in either group, however.

11

Overall this study proved successful to improving students mental health status
through physical activity.
!

It is a well-assumed and proven fact that physical activity relieves anxiety and

improves mood. Because of this, it it easily assumed that students will focus more
on academics and less on whatever stress is in their lives. However, physical
education programs are consistently being cut for budget and curriculum or other
reasons. A rising issue in education now is not only how to gain back physical
education time, but how to incorporate physical education into the academic
curriculum and how to motivate students outside of school to stay active. In the next
section, I have researched ways to incorporate physical activity into the academic
curriculum, and if these methods were effective.
A Time For Change
!

The Center For Disease Control compiled a list of ten key things that must be

implemented in schools in order for there to be a real change in students, physically

and emotionally. The first few are addressing physical activity and nutrition through
a coordinated school health program, maintaining an active school health council
and designating a school health coordinator, and assessing the schools health
policies and programs and developing a plan for improvement. A problem with this
could be schools not having funds to hire a school health coordinator or implement

12

a coordinated school health program. The list moves on to strengthening the

schools nutrition and physical activity policies, implementing a high-quality
healthy promotion program for school staff, and implementing a high course of
study in health education. Educators may feel as though this is not a priority or that
the time it would take to implement this would be time ill-spent when the time
could have been spent preparing students for testing. However, if a school were to
look into the research done on the high effects physical activity has on academic
performance, they may change their mind and focus on spending their time
improving the physical and health curriculum. The list also includes increasing
opportunities for students to engage in physical activity. This has been shown to
work through programs such as SPARK and M-SPAN. These programs both
increased students physical activity throughout the day without taking away from
the academic curriculum, and improving the academic performance on
standardized testing. The list concludes with suggestions to implement a quality
school meals program and ensuring that students have appealing and healthy food
and beverage choices outside of the school meals program (venting machines,
concession stands, etc). (Center for Disease Control, 2013).
Academic Effects:
!

Taras (2005) reported a study in which an intervention group examined the

effects of physical education on academic achievement of students in one class from

13

Kindergarten through fifth grade. Tarass study found that it was most common for
elementary school students to have Physical Education one to two times a week. The
duration most commonly ranged from 16 to 60 minutes from kindergarten to fifth
grade, and increased as the students got older. In another study, Coe, Pivarnik,
Womack and their colleagues (2006) reported that physical education classes are
being cut because of a focus on standardized testing despite lack of evidence that
achievement improved because of physical education being cut. This perspective is
not supported by several studies that have shown positive correlations between
physical activity and academic performance that are reported in this section.
!

According to the 2010 Shape of the Nation report, the recommendations for

action include physical activity because the NASPE and AHA have concluded that
physically active children learn better. This report states that through physical
activity and play children learn how to work together, make decisions, and problemsolve (National Association for Sport and Physical Education and American Heart
Association, 2010). Coe, Pivarnik, Womack and their colleagues (2006) further adds
that physical activity has been shown to result in increased attention span and
concentration. These skills prepare students for academic success.
!

In 2006, The American College of Sports Medicine reported a study that was

conducted with 214 sixth grade students in west Michigan. The students were split
into teams and each team was enrolled in physical education class either the first or

14

second semester. The physical education classes met every day for 55 minutes. The
hypothesis that was set at the beginning of the study, that academics would improve
due to increase in physical activity in the curriculum, was tested through the Terra
Nova standardized test. This national test includes assessments in core subjects of
reading or language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. While there was
no significant increase in the overall performance of all students as a group on the
Terra Nova standardized tests, the students that were in the classes performing at a
vigorous activity level that met the Healthy People 2010 guidelines accomplished
higher academic scores compared with students not in the study. The ending
conclusions of the study were that academic achievement had more significant
improvement when associated with moderate to vigorous activity rather than mild
physical activity (Coe, Pivarnik,Womack, Reeves, Malina, 2006). These findings and
conclusions are similar to those of a different study that was conducted in Quebec,
Canada. In this Quebec study, (2006) wrote that students in this study did an hour
of physical activity in addition to their regular once a week physical education class.
The study also used the Terra Nova test to gage academic improvement. The
additional one hour of physical activity did not lead to improved academic success
for the whole group. The results were that the students who continuously enrolled
in physical education classes had about 10 percent higher test scores than those that
were not. A discussion on this result was similar to the conclusion in the west

15

Michigan study that academic performance improves when the physical activity is
vigorous. (Coe, Pivarnik,Womack, Reeves, Malina, 2006).
Similar results have been found in several other studies that used different
achievement tests. Tara (2006) found that fourth graders had significantly better
performance on the Woodcock-Johnson tests when they increased their physical
activity. Sibley and Etnier (2003) reviewed 118 studies on the effects of physical
activity. The effects on academic success were tested using verbal tests and memory
tests. In the results, Middle school age students showed the largest effects, followed
by young elementary and high school students showed the smallest effects (Sibley
& Etnier, 2003; p. 248). In fact, 10 out of 15 students showed positive effects, further
demonstrating that there is consistency throughout the literature (Sibley and Etnier,
2003; p. 251). The same study states, Additionally, The main findings in this review
however, show that the type of physical activity does not matter as far as the
cognitive results (247). This supports the idea that physical activity does not just
have to be done in physical education class, it can become a part of the academic
curriculum. It supports the belief that any type of physical activity will support
cognitive performance.
!

Theorists have also demonstrated the positive effects of physical activity on

academic achievement. M.L. Krotee and E.E.K. Wamukoya (1986) argued in the
article The Role of Physical Education in Child Development that physical

16

education is not for children to blow off energy for 20 minutes once a week or before
and after lunch on the playground, but is crucial to their cognitive development and
plays a role in their learning through movement. Supported by research, this author
asserted that a childs physical skills are related to their cognitive abilities. Scientists
such as Dwyer, Sallis, Blizzard, Lazarus, Dean (2001) tested students between the
ages of 7 and 15, and found that higher achieving students were more active. Dwyer
and colleagues further elaborated that this academic performance might be due to
increased blood flow to the brain. They also wrote (on page 235) that
Measures of cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular force and power and
physical activity were all related to scholastic ability. Thus, it cannot be
concluded that only one component of fitness is related to academic
performance. The conclusion that fitness and activity are related to
academic performance is enhanced by the consistency with which each
measure of the fitness components or physical activity were correlated with
the school assessments of scholastic ability (Dwyer, Sallis, Blizzard,
Lazarus, Dean, year p. 235).
!

All studies reviewed in this section clearly support the correlation between

physical activity and academic activity. It is such evidence that led the author of The
Role of Physical Education in Childs Development to recommend a childs physical
activity must go beyond gym class and be integrated into the entire education. Such

17

evidence also led to celebrating physical activity becoming an integral part of the
implemented curriculum during the year of International Youth, that was
recognized by the United Nations General Assembly (Krotee & Wamukoya, 1986).

Teacher and Parent Initiatives, Physical Education Intervention and Effects

!

One question I explored in my research was what effects intervention on

physical activity in schools have on parents, teachers, students, and curriculum. My

thoughts before I read into this topic more deeply were that educators would have
to alter much of their curriculum to fit in physical activity and that intervention may
not have much of an effect because of this. Some of these questions of the effects of
intervention were answered in a study performed through Ghent University to
evaluate the effectiveness of a two-year intervention program for physical education
in elementary schools.
!

In this study performed in countries all over the world in randomly selected

schools to observe the effectiveness of a health and physical education intervention,

the results were shocking. According to this study, in Europe, out of 35 participating
countries, studies reported that only 27 percent of girls and 40 percent of boys
received physical activity levels that showed one hour of physical activity five days
a week. In some European countries the results were worse (Verstraete, Stefanie,
2007). From this research it was concluded that in order to have lifelong physical

18

activity, it needs to begin to be encouraged at a young age. Schools are effective

settings for physical activity since schools can reach out to the many young people
at once.
!

As for as this intervention being implemented in the United States, some

physical education programs, in particularly SPARK (Sports, Play, and Active

Recreation for Kids) had a significant impact on schools physical involvement
between the September 2002 and April 2004. The physical education intervention
provided teachers with a manual of guidelines and lessons and an explanation of
SPARKs goals. SPARKs goals included a goal to promote high levels of physical
activity in students and to improve teacher awareness of promoting health in the
classroom, the ideal place to reach young people. This study was carried out
through a pre-test and posttest of 5 randomly selected girls and 5 randomly selected
boys. According to the data collected, The proportion of class time spent on very
active activities was significantly higher in the intervention condition than in the
control condition (Verstaete, 2007). Results also revealed that the time spent on
MVPA (moderate to vigorous physical activity) increased from 42 percent to 56
percent in the intervention group and from 37 percent to 41 percent in the control
group. Overall, the mean percentage of MVPA engagement increased by 14 percent
in the intervention group and 4 percent in the control group. As far as the study of
the curriculum through this intervention goes, it was found that the teachers did not

19

alter their old curriculum but gave students more opportunities for physical activity
(Verstaete, 2007).
!

It can be concluded from this research that intervention in a schools physical

agenda does make a significant difference. This research does however, need to be
acknowledged as a small study. Educators know that physical activity is important,
most educators are not trying to de-emphasize physical education, but it gets
pushed to the side and isnt recognized as important until there is intervention such
as SPARK to prove that there can be a significant difference in the physical lives of
children.
!

Another intervention was done in the United States on public middle schools.

The results of this study were reported to M-SPAN (Middle School Physical Activity
and Nutrition). The intervention methods were similar to the study done in Ghent
University in the previous intervention study. This study was completed by 24
middle schools. The study implemented professional development for the educators
on how to incorporate physical activity into their curriculum. The program taught to
the school staff revolved around creating an awareness of childrens need to be
active, teaching teachers how to implement physical education curriculum, develop
class management skills and the skills needed to enhance physical activity in
childrens learning, and to provide continuous support for change. In order to
intervene with the physical education curriculum, this middle school used SOFIT

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(System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time) to directly observe the students
MVPA, which was also observed in the study through Ghent University. Results of
the study show that girls in the intervention middle schools were engaging in
MVPA at around the same level as boys in the control schools. Overall, in the course
of two years, the intervention schools increased MVPA by 18 percent, and only 3
percent in control schools (Mckenzie, Sallis, Prochaska, Conway, Marshall,
Rosengard, 2004).
!

During the discussion between the staff development program at the end of

the intervention period, it was stated that there was an 18 percent increase in
physical activity during Physical Education classes, and this was attained without
hiring new teachers or taking more time away from other curriculum. The reason
that academic curriculum did not suffer from time loss is because teachers were
trained on how to implement physical activity into routine activities, for example
doing warm up activities during transition times (McKenzie, Sallis, Prochaska,
Conway, Marshall, Rosengard, 2004).
!

Jon Case, a fifth grade teacher at Pine Avenue Elementary in Alma, Michigan

began a program he calls Miles Across America Club. This program was his way
of incorporating physical activity into his classroom curriculum. When asked if the
program interfered with academic curriculum or if any academic curriculum had to
be sacrificed for this program to be possible, I learned that Miles Across America

21

incorporated academic subjects. We track mileage digitally on a wiki page, (for)

technology Common Core State Standards. We search for information about the
virtual towns that we visit on our trip across America for Social Studies. We track
individual miles for math, and we are moving, exercising two times a week, for
Health and Physical Education Common Core Standards. We are building team
unity, setting goals, and sharing success together (Case, 2014).
!

Based on these studies, students physical activity through intervention did

improve significantly compared to schools that did not have intervention. Although
these are two small studies, it was interesting to see the similarities of the
intervention strategies between the studies. Both studies had professional
development to educate teachers and administrators about teaching physical
education, neither had to alter curriculum to make time for and improve physical
activity, both focused on MPVA and both studies resulted in an increase in MPVA in
the intervention schools. Also, Pine Avenue Elementary school had creative ideas for
incorporating Miles Across America into their academic curriculum. The Miles
Across America Club hits many common core standards as children are engaging in
physical activity. These two small studies and Miles Across America support the
idea that intervention for more physical activity does have a significant positive
impact. Also in all three examples, the curriculum did not have to alter. In fact in
Miles Across America, it creatively added to the curriculum.

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Conclusion
!

These all are major issues in todays schools. This generation of young adults

and children is at high risk with the lack of nutrition and physical activity in schools
and in home lives. Schools are the best place to reach a large amount of young
people at once. Schools and educators should be striving to incorporate nutrition
and physical activity into their curriculum. It is completely possible to connect
academics with physical education, educators just need to collaborate and think
creatively. It is crucial that this change in childrens physical well-being, emotional
health, and overall health begins in schools. It is important that this change begins
now, as this lack of physicality and nutrition is already an epidemic in America.

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Works Cited
Carron, Albert, Heather Hausenblas, and Diane Mack. "Social Influence and Exercise: A
Meta-Analysis." Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (1996): n. pag. Web.

Coe, D. Pivarnik, J. Womack, C. Reeves, M. Malina, R. (2006). Effects of Physical

Education and Activity Levels on Academic Achievement in Children. American College
of Sports Medicine, 1515-1519.

Dwyer, T. Sallis, J. Blizzard, L. Lazarus, R. Dean, K. (2001). Relation of Academic

Performance to Physical Activity and Fitness in Children. Human Kinetics Publishers Inc.
225-237.

Etnier, J & Sibley, B. (2003) The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Cognition in
Children: A Meta-Analysis. Department of Kinesiology, Arizona State University, 243-253.

Haskins, R. (2006). Fighting Obesity in Public Schools. The Future of Children.

Krotee, and Wamukhoya. "The Role of Physical Education in Child Development."

Kenya Journal of Education (1986): n. pag. Web.

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Taras, H. (2005). Physical Activity and Student Performance at School. Journal of School
Health, 75, 214-218.
Steptoe, A.s, and N. Butler. "Sports Participation and Emotional Wellbeing in
Adolescents." The Lancet 347.9018 (1996): 1789-792. Web.

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