Physical activity participation, physical fitness, psychosocial characteristics and academic achievement among adolescents

Abstract

In this dissertation we will examine the effects of physical activity (PA) and physical fitness (PF) on academic achievement (AA), mediated by the psychosocial constructs of grit, self-efficacy (SE) and modality of physical education (PE). Given the known relationship between PF and AA (Castelli, Hillman, Buck & Erwin, 2007) the purpose of study one was to determine how psychosocial characteristics of grit and SE contribute to this relationship. Students completed the Perceptions of Barriers to PA (Motl, 2000) and the Short Grit Scale (Duckworth, Peterson & Mathews, 2007) at the beginning and end of the school year. PF was measured using the FitnessGram® test (Cooper Institute; Dallas, TX.). Results revealed students with higher grit (r [subscript s] = 0.21, P < 0.001) and had less school absences (r [subscript s] = -0.35, P < 0.001) performed better on AA (β = 0.13, P < 0.01and β = -0.35, P < 0.001, respectively). Despite PA’s connection to optimized cognitive functioning, the results among adolescents have been equivocal based on PA sampling technique (Tremblay, Inman, & Williams, 2000; Donnelly et al., 2016). The purpose of study two was to determine if objectively measured PA is related to AA in a low SES school setting and whether the psychosocial characteristics of grit and SE mediate this relationship. Student PA was sampled across four ten-hour periods. Results revealed that PF accounted for 5.8% of the variance in AA suggesting a non-significant relationship among the sample population. In study three a PE alternative (APE) was compared to traditional PE (TPE) examining if modality moderates the relationship of PF, AA, and grit. APE was a running club offered at low SES schools in the district as an option to TPE. Study methods were similar to previous studies, with the added independent variable of PE modality (traditional or APE). Results of MANOVA revealed despite the two populations similarity at onset for PF and grit. There was a 6.5% variance in AA that was accounted for by modality to the benefit of the APE (Pillais’ Trace = .065, F (14,700), p <.01 with η² = .065).Curriculum and Instructio