CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Although, academic performance of the children is focused to determine their intellectual ability but health also plays a significant role in capacity of a child to learn. Numerous studies in the context of academics and social sciences have been conducted to empirically support the evidence that children engaged in physical activity tend to perform better than their sub ordinates who do not involve in physical activity. Other studies in similar context have also demonstrated that engaging in physical activity contributes with several health related benefits like muscular fitness, psychosocial outcomes, bone health, cognitive and brain health (Quaye & Harper, 2014). It signifies that there is an association between
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Almost all the school going children who attend schools spend a noteworthy proportion of their everyday lives in school that develops their mental capacities in academics and shapes them as youth of next generation. The schools are also accountable to address the health disparities apart from educational disparities in academics (Singh et.al, 2012, p. 52). Recognizing the advantages of physical fitness and physical activity among the children, the teachers are focused to encourage students to participate in sporting events and physical activities to improve their academic performances. In another study accompanied in similar context by Rasberry et al. (2011, p.11) indicated that physical movement during school day has a progressive influence on educational performance of students. As a result, the teachers in school are designing a motivational environment for the children by designing effective health programs and policies in schools that address the educational and health disparities among children. Besides sporting activities in schools and colleges, there are also BTEC programs taught in sporting environments to students for enhancing physical fitness and encouraging them to pursue career in sports (Connolly, Collinson & Evans, 2014). In this context, the teachers from sporting clubs and colleges hold different perspective on education and academic achievement in a sporting environment. To illustrate the benefits and
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Get AccessChildren who participate in sports are less likely to be overweight or obese, have higher self-esteem on average, and are generally more invested in their academics. Sports are oftentimes seen as a gateway to academic opportunity, particularly for kids with fewer resources. While this logic is inherently problematic, it is true that high schoolers who were involved with organized sport were more likely to be enrolled in college later on. Youth sports also give children a place to develop socially by teaching them about teamwork, leadership, and compromise. Team sports in particular can provide children with a sense of belonging to a group, and therefore increase their self-esteem and improve their social competence. There are dozens of reasons why youth sport is important and beneficial to a child’s development, and with millions of participants each year in the United States alone, it doesn’t look like youth sports will be going anywhere anytime
In conclusion, the benefits of sports cannot be denied. There is no doubt that interscholastic athletics in high schools are generally good for student’s mind and health. It is the mental and conceptual area that many use to support the importance of participation in competitive sports, something many can wholeheartedly agree with. It is also the same area that some point to when behavior exhibited by some athletes does not seem to support what is believed they should be learning. As with anything, however, one can only get out of something what one puts in. Athletics also provides social benefits and center on concepts such as cooperation, teamwork, and friendships. All of which can also benefit them in school and the workplace. Physical benefits
Physical activity has not only physical benefits. It also has a very big impact on social-emotional and cognitive aspects of child’s live. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “The development of a physically active lifestyle is a goal for all children. Traditional team and competitive sports may promote healthy activity for selected youth. Individual sports, noncompetitive sports, lifetime sports, and recreational activities expand the opportunity for activity to everyone. The opportunity to be active on a regular basis, as well as the enjoyment and competence gained from activity, may increase the chances that a physically active lifestyle will be adopted.”
This will impact on a child or young person’s intellectual development as they will be more alert and ready to learn, physical activity is also likely to encourage social and emotional development as schools will provide sports clubs and after school activities, giving children and young people the opportunity to socialise and progress in self-esteem.
In most of the USA, schools would offer a variety of sports programs to their students in order for them to have a chance at becoming an athlete and competing against other schools. On the other hand, there are schools in various other countries that do not give their students any opportunities for school athletics. In a nourishing school environment, we all know that academics and in-class abilities count first when it comes to learning. In this world we live in people argue that after school sports might be the reason for poor academic performances and dropout rates in sports-featured schools.
Physical activity also has benefits for children's social and emotional development and cognitive development. These benefits include being part of a team and making friends through group sports, which have a major impact on social and emotional development. The effect of obesity on children is closely linked to many bad health habits such as diet, smoking and drug use which in turn can affect a child's academic performance (Goran et al., 1999). Physical activity, if encouraged at a young age, can reduce the likelihood of children developing these behaviours and focus on their academic performance and cognitive development. As children in this age range are in their fundamental development stage, it is important that educators and parents alike, teach children about the importance of physical activity at a young age in order to prevent health and social well-being problems in their adult years.
Are schools the right place for sports? This is a question that educators and experts everywhere are asking themselves, as more and more schools are faced with budget cuts and low academic scores. No one is debating the health benefits of exercise one receives from sports, but does the exercise benefit outweigh the expense, risk, and impact on academic grades? Amanda Ripley, the author of The Smartest Kids in the World, thinks club organizations, not schools, should provide sports programming (“Should schools eliminate sports” 1). Earl Smith, author of “Race, Sport and the American Dream,” along with Ripley believes sports are given priority in some schools, drawing attention away from education (“Should schools eliminate sports” 1). During an interview with the New York Times, Smith stated “high schools should not have competitive sports teams. And especially not in the under-resourced intercity high schools where academic programs are often sacrificed to finance sports teams” (“Making Sports an After-School Activity” 1). He went on to say “even the student bodies in many high schools have developed cultures that glorify sports at the expense of the scholar.”
A. What was studied? (theoretical framework) The time allocation for physical education school-based physical activity is often replaced with other classes in an effort to increase children’s academic performance. However, a growing body of literature suggests that physical activity either had no effect on academic performance or that it enhanced it..
Besides, through sports many people can be reached and get attached to the school in a different way then with academics. Nowadays, students are less and less interested in learning new things and gaining knowledge, which is supposed to be the most powerful weapon. This phenomenon is shown in the high school dropout rates and less extracurricular participation during high school (Whitley, 1999). For many students physical activation is a more relatable field and helps them in developing confidence and a pride for and by the school (DeMeulenaere, 2010). The developed
In 2008, 30.2% of youth ages 6 to 12 were active to a healthy level through sports(“Facts”). This shows that some kids are getting the minimum amount of physical activity. To raise this level, all kids should include sports in their daily life. All kids should be engaged in sports. Regular activity is required for good health and high school athletes are more likely to attend college.
Sports programs have been an integral part of all schools. They support the academics of the school and therefore foster success in life. These programs are educational and help produce productive citizenship. They help students experience and build skills that may help them in their future, like interpersonal and time management skills. Education may kindle the light of knowledge, but sports help to maintain the proper physique. Sports are also an important means of entertainment and a use for energy after long hours of study. Sports increase a student’s performance not only in the classroom but also in their life.
Sports and the general physical activities have been associated with a plethora of benefits. Not so much in correlation with education though. The debate on sports and academic performance relates as to whether sports affect academic performance positively or negatively. Mostly, academics, especially in high school and colleges, require an enormous time commitment. In the same way, sports demand time commitment. Apparently, academics and sports run linearly and either would consume the time of the other. Such would be the argument put forth by the claimants of the negative effects of sports on academic performance. The opponents to the positive correlation of sports and academic performance ground their arguments largely on the time commitment that the two require claiming that sports would consume a student’s time for study hence affecting their academic performance. Proponents of a positive correlation between sports and academic performance summon an extensive range of evidence showing that students who participate in sports perform well in academics. The proponents’ arguments are fetched from the proven benefits of exercise which improve a student’s overall well-being and motivate their academic performance. Opponents would, however, argue that the studies that find athletes and sports persons good at academics do not show how such correlations occur in that other factors could be the actual causes of the correlation and not sports in themselves. Regardless, opponents to the claim that sports affect academic performance positively cannot deny that sports affect the overall well being of any human being. As such, there is no denying that sports affect academic performance positively where a balance among the two is maintained.
The second article was tested with a whole middle school which tests all of the students. The problem was exact to the first article, that students in school were not receiving their full physical activity experience. Determining whether the sports can help will aid athletes in not having to think the sport is bringing their grade down. The method was a simple survey, asking the student how much physical activity they have in a normal day and was compared to what their grades were at the time of the study. The results in the study showed that the student’s athletic activity had little effect on the grades of the students, which disproves stereotypes. Limitations in the study are that ninety eight surveys were administered but only fifty eight were given back to the researchers. Further research may be that elementary, middle, and high school students can all be tested to see if the age of the student determines their success or failure with participating in physical activity.
There was a study done in Mississippi with elementary and middle school students, whose aim was to find associations between health-related physical fitness and academic achievement using standardized Language Arts and Math scores (Blom, Alvarez, Zhang, Kolbo, 2011). Besides the standardized test scores, objective measures of fitness were used, along with attendance records, discipline records and socio-demographic information of the area. The participants included 2,992 Mississippi public school children in grades 3-6. The results indicated a strong positive correlation between fitness and standardized test scores in Language Arts and Math. The more fit students had higher test scores and fewer absences overall. The study also revealed that students with the lowest number
In the modern schools, too many elementary schools are so centered academics and don’t focus on the well-being of the students. The school systems also don’t realize that physical activity can help students perform better in the classrooms. In the recent years, there has been a worldwide tendency to reduce school-based physical education in favor of academic subjects. Given the beneficial effects of exercise and the disadvantages of a sedentary lifestyle, cutbacks in physical education lessons are not near as productive as people think. Systematic reviews provide clear