Executive Functions Do Not Mediate Prospective Relations between Indices of Physical Activity and Academic Performance: The Active Smarter Kids (ASK) Study

Aadland, Katrine Nyvoll; Ommundsen, Yngvar; Aadland, Eivind; Brønnick, Kolbjørn; Lervåg, Arne; Resaland, Geir Kåre; Moe, Vegard Fusche

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01088

Cited by 30 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 84 publications

(154 reference statements)

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“…In the present study, upper limb coordination appeared to be the component of gross motor proficiency most strongly related with reading composite scores, particularly pre-reading skills including word reading and pseudoword decoding, but these relationships did not reach statistical significance. Again, the lack of significant findings are in contrast with the systematic review by Macdonald et al [16] who found evidence to support significant weak positive associations between upper limb coordination and reading ability, including in Kindergarten children [37], students in Year 5 [38] and adolescents [39,40].…”

Section: Gross Motor Proficiency Mathematics and Reading Abilitycontrasting

confidence: 61%

Associations between motor proficiency and academic performance in mathematics and reading in year 1 school children: a cross-sectional study

et al. 2020

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Background: A key priority for learning during the early years of school is for children to develop skills in numeracy and literacy. Consequently, less time may be allocated in the curriculum to foster other important developmental areas, including the ongoing motor skill development of school children, which has been positively linked to academic performance. In order to promote holistic approaches to teaching and learning in the early years of school, it is necessary to further delineate the nature of associations between motor skills and foundation academic skills. The aim of this study was to examine associations between fine and gross motor proficiency and academic performance in mathematics and reading in Year 1 children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with Year 1 children from two primary schools in New South Wales, Australia (N = 55; 25 boys, 30 girls; mean age 6.77 ± 0.40 years). The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (2nd Edition) and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test II (Australian Edition) were used to assess motor proficiency and academic performance in mathematics and reading, respectively. Associations between the components of motor proficiency and academic outcomes were examined using Pearson's and Spearman's correlation analyses. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine how much variance in mathematics and reading composite scores could be explained by motor proficiency after controlling for age. Results: A significant moderate positive association was found between total motor composite and mathematics composite scores (r = .466, p < .001). Fine manual control composite scores were significantly associated with both mathematics (r s = .572, p < .001) and reading (r s = .476, p = .001) composite scores. After controlling for age, fine motor integration was the only component of motor proficiency that explained significant variance in mathematics and reading composite scores. Conclusions: The results of the study revealed that Year 1 children's overall motor proficiency was significantly related to their mathematical ability. Children's fine motor integration skills were also predictive of mathematics and reading ability. These study findings may interest both early childhood educators and paediatric health professionals.

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Section: Gross Motor Proficiency Mathematics and Reading Abilitycontrasting

confidence: 61%

Associations between motor proficiency and academic performance in mathematics and reading in year 1 school children: a cross-sectional study

et al. 2020

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“…In order to capture the effects of change in the executive function on change in numeracy, a longer follow-up period might be necessary. For example, we have previously observed a significant relation between executive function at baseline and change in numeracy ( Aadland et al, 2017b ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Executive Function, Behavioral Self-Regulation, and School Related Well-Being Did Not Mediate the Effect of School-Based Physical Activity on Academic Performance in Numeracy in 10-Year-Old Children. The Active Smarter Kids (ASK) Study

Aadland

Andersen

et al. 2018

Front. Psychol.

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Inconsistent findings exist for the effect of school-based physical activity interventions on academic performance. The Active Smarter Kids (ASK) study revealed a favorable intervention effect of school-based physical activity on academic performance in numeracy in a subsample of 10-year-old elementary schoolchildren performing poorer at baseline in numeracy. Aiming to explain this finding, we investigated the mediating effects of executive function, behavioral self-regulation, and school related well-being in the relation between the physical activity intervention and child’s performance in numeracy. An ANCOVA model with latent variable structural equation modeling was estimated using data from 360 children (the lower third in academic performance in numeracy at baseline). The model consisted of the three latent factors as mediators; executive function, behavioral self-regulation, and school related well-being. We found no mediating effects of executive function, behavioral self-regulation or school related well-being in the relationship between the ASK intervention and academic performance in numeracy (p ≥ 0.256). Our results suggest that the effect of the intervention on performance in numeracy in the present sample is not explained by change in executive function, behavioral self-regulation, or school related well-being. We suggest this finding mainly could be explained by the lack of effect of the intervention on the mediators, which might be due to an insufficient dose of physical activity.Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov registry, trial registration number: NCT02132494.

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“…Not all interventions have equal cognitive benefits. For example, two cluster randomized controlled trials, the Active Smarter Kids (ASK) study [ 16 ] and Action Schools! BC (AS!…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Fitness, Grit, School Attendance, and Academic Performance among Adolescents

Cosgrove

Chen

Castelli

2018

BioMed Research International

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Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of grit as a construct representing perseverance to overcoming barriers and the total number of school absences to academic performance (AP) while controlling for sociodemographics, fitness (i.e., PACER), and Body Mass Index (BMI). Methods Adolescents (N = 397, SD = 1.85; 80.9% females; 77.1% Hispanic) from an urban, minority-majority city in the Southern United States completed the FitnessGram® assessment of physical fitness (e.g., aerobic capacity and Body Mass Index (BMI)) and the valid and reliable short grit survey. The schools provided sociodemographics, attendance, and AP data for the adolescents. Results Adolescents with higher grit scores (rs = 0.21, P < 0.001) and less total absences (rs = −0.35, P < 0.001) performed better on AP. Hierarchical multiple regression indicated that grit and absences were associated with AP (β = 0.13, P < 0.01 and β = −0.35, P < 0.001, resp.). Conclusions Grit and a total number of absences are significant contributors to academic success, particularly among Hispanic adolescents. Further, grit and school attendance may serve as a better measure of protective factors over proximal health measures of cardiovascular health and BMI.

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Executive Functions Do Not Mediate Prospective Relations between Indices of Physical Activity and Academic Performance: The Active Smarter Kids (ASK) Study

Cited by 30 publications

References 84 publications

Associations between motor proficiency and academic performance in mathematics and reading in year 1 school children: a cross-sectional study

Associations between motor proficiency and academic performance in mathematics and reading in year 1 school children: a cross-sectional study

Executive Function, Behavioral Self-Regulation, and School Related Well-Being Did Not Mediate the Effect of School-Based Physical Activity on Academic Performance in Numeracy in 10-Year-Old Children. The Active Smarter Kids (ASK) Study

Physical Fitness, Grit, School Attendance, and Academic Performance among Adolescents

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