A ZERO-HOUR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM'S BENEFIT ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN ELEMENTARY AGED SCHOOL CHILDREN

Abstract

With childhood obesity on the rise and the need for American children to be academically successful compared to peer nations, it is imperative that physical activity become part of the typical school day for all elementary aged school children. There is an understanding that physical activity not only benefits physical fitness and health, but that it positively affects children’s academic achievement. With only one-half of American children meeting the CDC’s recommendation of 60 minutes daily, the physical and cognitive effects of inactivity have been widespread and undeniable.

When children engage in physical activity prior to the school day, their bodies will undergo physiological changes in regards to heart rate and increased blood flow to the brain leading to an increase in attention, focus, and positive mood thereby ultimately improving academic achievement. This quasi-experimental design studied 26 participants (13 intervention, 13 control; 3-5th grade) enrolled in an extended school program. Resting heart rates, PACER tests, and reading and math AimsWeb scores were collected before and after the exercise intervention consisting of 35-45 minutes of zero hour physical activity, 4 days a week for 5 weeks was implemented.

The results from the study were assessed using two one-way between-groups analysis of covariance that compared the effectiveness of the physical activity intervention designed to improve academic achievement for both math and reading. After adjusting for pre-intervention scores, there was a significant difference in reading test scores for the zero hour physical activity intervention group F (1, 23) =6.157, p = .021 but not duplicated with math test scores F (1, 23) =.252, p=.621. A large effect size was also seen for the intervention’s reading scores with Cohen’s d =.73 for the intervention group as compared to d=.48 for the control group.

Physical activity prior to the school day does positively affect academic achievement. Even the smallest positive significance should be interpreted as a triumph and certainly outweighs the potential risks of continuing down the path of physical inactivity. Educational administrators and teachers should consider the large body of evidence regarding the influence of physical activity on children’s ability to succeed in the classroom.