Organized sports can lead to academic success

In 5 seconds Children who participate in structured physical activity right through adolescence are more likely to stay in school and earn a high-school diploma or equivalent, a new study suggests.

Structured physical activity during childhood and adolescence is associated with staying in school and attaining a high-school diploma or equivalent.

That’s the conclusion of a Canada-wide study by Laurie-Anne Kosak, a master’s student in psychoeducation at Université de Montréal supervised by professor Linda Pagani now doing her doctorate at Université de Shebrooke.

Published in September in the journal Children, Kosak’s research drew on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth involving 2,775 Canadian youth aged 12 to 20 who, along with their parents, answered questionnaires from 1996 to 2001.

With UdeM doctoral student Kianoush Harandian and co-researchers at three other universities, Kosak divided the physical activities reported by the youth over the previous 12 months into three categories.

These included organized or team sports, artistic sports (such as dance or gymnastics), and unstructured physical activity (such as cycling or playing outdoors).

The data were then cross-referenced with the students’ academic outcomes six years later, at age 18, and then at age 20.

Boys’ results different from girls’

Kianoush Harandian, Linda Pagani and Laurie-Anne Kosak

One notable finding was that physical activity affected academic outcomes differently for boys and girls.

Girls who participated in organized sports were about 7 per cent more likely to earn a high-school diploma or equivalent. Participation in organized or artistic sports was also associated with higher grades for girls.

By contrast, girls who engaged in unstructured physical activity had lower average grades at age 18.

For boys, only one correlation emerged from the results: those who participated in organized sports were almost 15 per cent more likely to have a high school diploma or equivalent by age 20.

Why do organized sports make a difference? Organized sports “require structure, usually by the implementation of rules and objectives,” the authors write in their study.

“When supervised by an adult and often in teams, sports allow children to develop key skills in various areas—leadership, behaving in a group, prolonged attention—that can be transferred to academic classes.

Cautioned Pagani: “We must bear in mind that our findings are based on data collected between 1996 and 2001, well before the explosion of screens and digital platforms. Confounding factors are likely to be greater and potentially more challenging today.”

Underscores a critical impact

Illustration of the trends observed during Laurie-Anne Kosak's research project, taken from her scientific article.

The study, part of a series of three articles* on extracurricular physical activity funded by Sport Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, underscores the critical impact of socioeconomic factors on participation in sport.

A mother’s level of education, family income and even her mental health make a big difference in children’s access to physical activities, the authors write.

Children whose mothers do not have a high-school diploma or who come from low-income families are less likely to participate in organized physical activities, they note.

“Our results raise questions about equitable access to structured sports and their potential impact on academic success,” said Kosak.

“We need to reduce the financial and logistical barriers for parents who want their children to participate in organized sports, which are often expensive or require travel.”

* The other two articles are available here and here.

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