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Children's Physical Activity, Academic Performance, and Cognitive Functioning: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Vedrana Sember1, Gregor Jurak1, Marjeta Kovač1
1Laboratory for the Diagnostics of Somatic and Motor Development, Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Physical activity positively impacts academic performance, especially when interventions are longer than six weeks and led by highly qualified practitioners. Higher staff qualifications correlate with greater academic gains, emphasizing intensity and fitness measures in future research.
Area of Science:
- Exercise Science
- Cognitive Psychology
- Educational Research
Background:
- Growing evidence links physical activity to enhanced cognitive function and academic performance.
- Existing reviews often lack focus on intervention duration and practitioner qualifications.
- This study addresses these gaps by analyzing interventions longer than six weeks and considering staff expertise.
Approach:
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of 44 interventions identified from 14,245 records.
- Validity generalization within a random effects model was employed.
- Interventions were analyzed based on duration, physical activity intensity, and practitioner qualifications.
Key Points:
- The overall weighted mean effect of physical activity on academic performance was rw = 0.181.
- Interventions led by practitioners with higher qualifications in physical education/exercise science showed a stronger positive effect (rw = 0.22) compared to those with lower qualifications (rw = 0.14).
- A significant difference in academic performance was observed based on staff qualification level (χ = 4.464; p = 0.035).
Conclusions:
- Academic performance is influenced by physical activity, but not solely caused by it.
- Intervention duration (over six weeks) and practitioner qualifications are critical factors.
- Future research should prioritize physical activity intensity and objective fitness measures for more reliable analyses.
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