on Jan 27, 2010 in
Dissertation Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusion, and Recommendations
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of increased physical education on reading and mathematics test scores in third grade students at Tryon Elementary School. Results clearly indicate that there is a positive effect on mathematics and reading tests scores in third grade students at Tryon, due to increased physical education. These findings refute the idea that physical education classes should be cut in order to allocate more time for core classroom subjects such as reading, math, science, and social studies. As to other core subjects being affected by physical activity, these are still yet to be determined. However, this study proves that further research should be conducted on the effects of physical education on academics.
The fact that the students were selected randomly severely reduced the chances of biased or skewed results. However, there are some threats to the internal validity. The students that are in the control group could be involved with some sort of physical activity program after school. This is not under the researcher’s control. The fact that it is only a twelve- week study also leaves the groups open to pre-test sensitivity. Maturation should not play a major role due to the length of the study. As far as external validity, generalization can only be made towards the third grade students at Tryon Elementary, since they were the only grade that had the opportunity to participate.
The results slightly disagreed with an earlier study by Shephard (1997). In his study, he found that despite having reduced academic instruction time, the experimental group showed no significant differences in regards to arithmetic or reading gains. In the present study, there were no significant differences in reading scores; however, there was a significant interaction in the math scores. Shephard (1997) also showed that increased physical education does not compromise academics. The current study supports that theory. In fact all of the previous study in chapter two confirms that are no harmful effects to increased physical education.
Labarre, Jequier, Shephard, Lavalle, and Rajic’s (1984) study reported that in the first year of observation the control group faired slightly better according to their grades. However, in the remaining five years the experimental group outperformed the control group. Those findings support the current study in which the experimental group of third grade students outperformed the control group on their reading and mathematics test.
Discussion The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of increased physical education on reading and mathematics test scores in third grade students at Tryon Elementary School. Results clearly indicate that there is a positive effect on mathematics and reading tests scores in third grade students at Tryon, due to increased physical education. These findings refute the idea that physical education classes should be cut in order to allocate more time for core classroom subjects such as reading, math, science, and social studies. As to other core subjects being affected by physical activity, these are still yet to be determined. However, this study proves that further research should be conducted on the effects of physical education on academics. The fact that the students were selected randomly severely reduced the chances of biased or skewed results. However, there are some threats to the internal validity. The students that are in the control group could be involved with some sort of physical activity program after school. This is not under the researcher’s control. The fact that it is only a twelve- week study also leaves the groups open to pre-test sensitivity. Maturation should not play a major role due to the length of the study. As far as external validity, generalization can only be made towards the third grade students at Tryon Elementary, since they were the only grade that had the opportunity to participate. The results slightly disagreed with an earlier study by Shephard (1997). In his study, he found that despite having reduced academic instruction time, the experimental group showed no significant differences in regards to arithmetic or reading gains. In the present study, there were no significant differences in reading scores; however, there was a significant interaction in the math scores. Shephard (1997) also showed that increased physical education does not compromise academics. The current study supports that theory. In fact all of the previous study in chapter two confirms that are no harmful effects to increased physical education. Labarre, Jequier, Shephard, Lavalle, and Rajic’s (1984) study reported that in the first year of observation the control group faired slightly better according to their grades. However, in the remaining five years the experimental group outperformed the control group. Those findings support the current study in which the experimental group of third grade students outperformed the control group on their reading and mathematics test.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are based on the findings of this study:
1. Future research should be conducted on various grade levels as well as other subject areas, to determine the effects of increased physical education on test scores.
2. Due to time restraints in the instructional day the physical education classes were conducted using the minimum allowed time of thirty-minute classes. Future study should increase the length of time spent in each physical education class to determine in the extra time has a greater affect on the outcome.
3. There are many other positive benefits that come with increased physical education. Future research should investigate the relationship between test scores of students who are physical fit and students who are not.
4. Subjects in this study were from a similar socio-economic setting. Research should focus on different ranges of socio-economic levels to determine the differences.
Tags: Academic Performance, Conclusion, Discussion, physical education, Recommendations, sample dissertation
on Jan 26, 2010 in
Dissertation Table 5
Pairwise Comparison for Groups on Math Pre- and Post-Test Scores
Group (I) TIMPER (J) TIMEPER
Mean Difference (I-J)
Std. Error
Sig.
control 1 2
2 1
-13.000
13.000
2.920
2.920
.000
.000
Experimental 1 2
2 1
-26.098
26.098
2.884
2.884
.000
.000
Table 5 indicates that while there was a significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores for both groups, there was also a significant interaction in that the experimental group not only [...]
on Jan 25, 2010 in
Dissertation Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS
This study was designed to explore the effects of increased physical education on reading and mathematics test scores in third grade students at Tryon Elementary. Reading and mathematics test scores were used to determine the differences between the control and experimental group. Those differences were measured by using a 2 x 2 ANOVA.
In [...]
on Jan 24, 2010 in
Dissertation Chapter 3: Methods & Procedures
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of increased physical education on reading and mathematics test scores in third grade students at Tryon Elementary School. The independent variable was increased physical education, while the dependant variable was improved standardized test for reading and mathematics. It [...]
on Jan 23, 2010 in
Dissertation Shephard and Lavalle (1994) strongly suggest that the findings in this study do not warrant a strong argument for daily physical education among primary students. The impact of the added physical education should not be under estimated; however, the differences in the field and performance test were not substantial enough to make immediate changes in [...]
on Jan 22, 2010 in
Dissertation Caterino and Polak (1999) conducted a second study that looked at the effects physical activity had on concentration. Administrators and teachers are constantly criticizing what part of the school day that physical education should take place. There is a constant concern that physical education will influence testing and classroom learning. This study was a follow [...]
on Jan 21, 2010 in
Dissertation Janz et al (2000) examined several different areas: body composition, sexual maturation, aerobic physical fitness, muscular fitness, and physical activity. All of the data analysis was stratified by gender. The data from year 1 of the study was compared to the data of year 5 using a Wilcoxon signed rank test, to determine if there [...]
on Jan 20, 2010 in
Dissertation The fact that the subjects were randomly selected reduced the chances of threats to internal validity. The sample size was derived from a wide cross-section of socioeconomic status and ethnic groups. The weakness of the study was the fact that there were no control schools in phase II. Furthermore, there were some reported differences in [...]
on Jan 19, 2010 in
Dissertation Data in Shephard (1997) were analyzed using the MANOVA test. Results after one year of observation were consistent with other studies on physical activity and academic performance (Caterino & Polak, 1993; Caterino, & Polak, 1999; Labarre, Jequier, Shephard, Lavalle, & Rajic, 1984; Shephard,1997). In grade one, the control group had slightly better grades [...]
on Jan 18, 2010 in
Dissertation Shephard (1997) conducted a metanalysis of previous studies that examined the impact of daily physical education on academic performance. He focused on studies performed in Vanves, France, Australia, Trois Rivieres, and Quebec. All of these studies focused on academic performance when a substantial amount of the school day (14-26 percent) was allocated to physical activity.
According [...]
