Physical activity as educational strategy to improve school performance

Main Article Content

Alberto Ruiz Ariza

Abstract

Currently, there is a great social concern for the low levels of school performance among the Spanish young people compared to other European countries. The practice of physical activity (PA) has recently been used as a stimulant to improve the cognitive performance in young people and to have positive repercussions on the academic performance (Ruiz-Ariza et al., 2017). The present research aims to conceptualize the relationship between PA and cognition, as well as to associate different physical qualities with better or worse school performance, and thus to be able to make decisions about the kind of PA more adequate to foment from the educative and familiar areas. We used multiple linear regressions adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, and educational level of mothers, to observe the relationship between each fitness component, and school performance. Our findings are in line with previous literature, and show that a higher physical fitness is associated with better school performance (Santana et al., 2016). The PA practice increases the production of irisine in muscle, a protein that is key to the brain and learning. In addition, improvements in fitness improves brain-derived neurotrophic factor, cerebral blood flow, neuron production and the connection between them (Adkins et al., 2006), improving executive functions and stimulating learning. In conclusion, our study suggests that it is necessary to strengthen the daily PA practice from educational centers, as well as to raise awareness among families and society about its promotion. Besides, novel active teaching methodologies are presented as an opportunity to include the movement in any subject and increase class motivation, emotions, and release stress or anxiety, making a greater performance to each subject, and obtaining a higer overall cognitive performance.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Ruiz Ariza, A. (2017). Physical activity as educational strategy to improve school performance. International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology. Revista INFAD De Psicología., 3(1), 465–474. https://doi.org/10.17060/ijodaep.2017.n1.v3.1016
Section
Articles

References

Aberg, M. A. I., Pedersen, N. L., Torén, K., Svartengren, M., Bäckstrand, B., Johnsson, T., … Kuhn, H. G. (2009). Cardiovascular fitness is associated with cognition in young adulthood. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(49), 20906–11. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0905307106

Adkins, D. L., Boychuk, J., Remple, M. S., & Kleim, J. A. (2006). Motor training induces experiencespecific patterns of plasticity across motor cortex and spinal cord. Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 101(6), 1776–82. http://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00515.2006

Ardoy, D. N., Fernández-Rodríguez, J. M., Jiménez-Pavón, D., Castillo, R., Ruiz, J. R., & Ortega, F. B. (2014). A physical education trial improves adolescents’ cognitive performance and academic achievement: the EDUFIT study. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 24(1), e52–61. http://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12093

Bass, R. W., Brown, D. D., Laurson, K. R., & Coleman, M. M. (2013). Physical fitness and academic performance in middle school students. Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992), 102(8), 832–7. http://doi.org/10.1111/apa.12278

Budde, H., Voelcker-Rehage, C., Pietraßyk-Kendziorra, S., Ribeiro, P., & Tidow, G. (2008). Acute coordinative exercise improves attentional performance in adolescents. Neuroscience Letters, 441(2), 219–223. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2008.06.024

Costigan, S. A., Eather, N., Plotnikoff, R. C., Taaffe, D. R., & Lubans, D. R. (2015). High-intensity interval training for improving health-related fitness in adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49(19), 1253–61. http://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2014-094490

Chen, L.-J., Fox, K. R., Ku, P.-W., & Taun, C.-Y. (2013). Fitness change and subsequent academic performance in adolescents. The Journal of School Health, 83(9), 631–8. http://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12075

Coe, D. P., Peterson, T., Blair, C., Schutten, M. C., & Peddie, H. (2013). Physical fitness, academic achievement, and socioeconomic status in school-aged youth. The Journal of School Health, 83(7), 500–7. http://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12058

Donnelly, J. E., & Lambourne, K. (2011). Classroom-based physical activity, cognition, and academic achievement. Preventive Medicine, 52 Suppl 1, S36–42. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.01.021

Esteban-Cornejo, I., Tejero-González, C. M., Martinez-Gomez, D., del-Campo, J., González-Galo, A., Padilla-Moledo, C., … Veiga, O. L. (2014). Independent and combined influence of the components of physical fitness on academic performance in youth. The Journal of Pediatrics, 165(2), 306–312.e2. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2014.04.044

Janak, J. C., Gabriel, K. P., Oluyomi, A. O., Peréz, A., Kohl, H. W., & Kelder, S. H. (2014). The association between physical fitness and academic achievement in Texas state house legislative districts: an ecologic study. The Journal of School Health, 84(8), 533–42. http://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12176

London, R. A., & Castrechini, S. (2011). A longitudinal examination of the link between youth physical fitness and academic achievement. The Journal of School Health, 81(7), 400–8. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2011.00608.x

Martínez-Gómez, D., Ruiz, J. R., Gómez-Martínez, S., Chillón, P., Rey-López, J. P., Díaz, L. E., … Marcos, A. (2011). Active commuting to school and cognitive performance in adolescents: the AVENA study. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 165(4), 300–5. http://doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.244

Moore, R. D., Drollette, E. S., Scudder, M. R., Bharij, A., & Hillman, C. H. (2014). The influence of cardiorespiratory fitness on strategic, behavioral, and electrophysiological indices of arithmetic cognition in preadolescent children. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 258. http://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00258

Mullender-Wijnsma, M. J., Hartman, E., de Greeff, J. W., Bosker, R. J., Doolaard, S., & Visscher, C. (2015). Improving Academic Performance of School-Age Children by Physical Activity in the Classroom: 1-Year Program Evaluation. Journal of School Health, 85(6), 365–371. http://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12259 Organización Mundial de la Salud (2015). Extraído el 02 de enero de 2016 en http://www.who.int/topics/physical_activity/es/

Planinsec, J., & Pisot, R. (2006). Motor coordination and intelligence level in adolescents. Adolescence, 41(164), 667–76.

Ruiz, J. R., Castro-Pinero, J., Espana-Romero, V., Artero, E. G., Ortega, F. B., Cuenca, M. M., … Castillo, M. J. (2011). Field-based fitness assessment in young people: the ALPHA health-related fitness test battery for children and adolescents. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45(6), 518–524. http://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2010.075341

Ruiz-Ariza, A., Ruiz, J., De la Torre-Cruz, M., Latorre-Román, P., & Martínez-López, E. J. (2015). Influence of level of attraction to physical activity on academic performance of adolescents. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicologia, in press. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.rlp.2015.09.005

Ruiz-Ariza, A., Grao-Cruces, A., de Loureiro, N. E. M., & Martínez-López, E. J. (2017). Influence of physical fitness on cognitive and academic performance in adolescents: A systematic review from 2005–2015. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 10(1), 108–133. http://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2016.1184699

Santana, C. C. A., Azevedo, L. B., Cattuzzo, M. T., Hill, J. O., Andrade, L. P., & Prado, W. L. (2016). Physical fitness and academic performance in youth: A systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. http://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12773

Sardinha, L. B., Marques, A., Martins, S., Palmeira, A., & Minderico, C. (2014). Fitness, fatness, and academic performance in seventh-grade elementary school students. BMC Pediatrics, 14(1), 176. http://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2431-14-176

Scudder, M. R., Federmeier, K. D., Raine, L. B., Direito, A., Boyd, J. K., & Hillman, C. H. (2014). The association between aerobic fitness and language processing in children: implications for academic achievement. Brain and Cognition, 87, 140–52. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2014.03.016

Travlos, A. K. (2010). High intensity physical education classes and cognitive performance in eighth grade students: An applied study. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 8(3), 302–311. http://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2010.9671955

Welk, G. J., Jackson, A. W., Morrow, J. R., Haskell, W. H., Meredith, M. D., & Cooper, K. H. (2010). The association of health-related fitness with indicators of academic performance in Texas schools. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 81(3 Suppl), S16–23. http://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2010.10599690

Wrann, C. D., White, J. P., Salogiannnis, J., Laznik-Bogoslavski, D., Wu, J., Ma, D., … Spiegelman, B. M. (2013). Exercise induces hippocampal BDNF through a PGC-1 /FNDC5 pathway. Cell Metabolism, 18(5), 649–59. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2013.09.008