Exploring Sustainable Approaches to Improving Student Intelligence Through Basketball-Specific Means in Higher Education

Abstract

Sustainable education involves educating young people about the importance of varied physical activities and developing long-term skills for an active lifestyle. We choose basketball as a method for sustainable education because it is a sport with diverse technical procedures and tactical actions anda game that plays a significant role in cognitive functional development. This study aims to modernize physical education and sports education to meet current trends and needs. A modern approach to lessons can contribute to the mental and motor development of young people, forming individuals who value movement for health and physical well-being. Thus, integrating VR into physical education lessons (using the means of basketball) represents a paradigm shift in how students prepare and improve their motor function. The study focuses on non-specialized higher education, combining the cognitive benefits of sports with sustainable practices, as we found his to be a gap in our literature review. The experimental program used Raven’s Progressive Matrices, a cognitive ability test, to measure general intelligence. The data were collected on two groups of children (control and experimental, at the beginning of the experiment and after 39 lessons of 100 min each). The t Test results applied in SPSS showed a significant increase in average scores for Raven’s Progressive Matrices after performing the motor program using basketball-specific means, especially for the experimental group. In conclusion, basketball can be a valuable tool for improving cognitive abilities, along with academic and social stimulation, being the key to complete intellectual development.