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School sport and academic achievement
John Bradley1, Francis Keane, Susan Crawford
1School of Education, University College Cork, Cork, County Cork, Republic of Ireland. j.bradley@ucc.ie
The Journal of School Health
|December 21, 2012
Summary
Participating in school sports boosts Leaving Certificate scores. Individual sports like rowing offer greater academic benefits than team sports or no sport.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Sports Science
- Adolescent Development
Background:
- Physical Education and School Sport (PESS) is a key part of the Irish curriculum, historically linked to cognitive benefits.
- While PESS is known to support cognitive function, the impact of specific sports on academic achievement remains under-researched.
- This study examines the relationship between school sport participation and academic outcomes in Irish secondary students.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of school sport participation on Leaving Certificate (LC) points.
- To determine if the specific sport chosen impacts academic results.
- To provide evidence-based recommendations for optimizing PESS in secondary schools.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 402 male students from an Irish secondary school was studied over 2008-2011.
- Data collected included Leaving Certificate scores and sports participation categorized as rugby, rowing, soccer, or no sport.
- Statistical analysis was used to compare academic outcomes based on sport involvement.
Main Results:
- Overall sports participation correlated with a 25.4-point increase in Leaving Certificate scores.
- Rowing, the sole individual sport, yielded significantly higher scores (p < .05) compared to rugby, soccer, and no sport.
- Rowing participants achieved an additional 73.4-point advantage over the next highest group, rugby.
Conclusions:
- Encouraging participation in a diverse range of school sports, including individual and team options, can enhance academic performance.
- The findings suggest that specific sports may offer differential benefits to academic achievement.
- Integrating varied sports within the secondary school curriculum could be a strategy to improve student outcomes.
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