Sport Participation and Perceived Academic Performance of School Children and Youth

Abstract

School children and youth from Primary Grade 5 to Secondary Grade 7 (average age range, 9 to 18 years) in Hong Kong completed a sports participation questionnaire and rated their own academic performance (AP). Results of ANOVAs indicated that frequency and extent of participation tended to be significantly higher for students with high self-ratings than for students with less satisfactory self-reported performance, and that this trend was significantly stronger in females than males and present in all age groups. The correlations between participation and AP were generally significant but low. These results indicate that those who perceive themselves to be the better achievers in academic subjects are as a group the more frequent participants, with stronger motives for involvement in sport and physical activity. A prevalent fear among parents and teachers in Hong Kong, that regular sport participation could threaten academic achievement, appears unfounded.

Sport identity and sport participation: A cultural comparison between Collective and Individualistic Societies

“…This relationship was true, regardless of culture . These gender differences in sport identity and sport participation may be influenced by the societal tradition for females to be less assertive than males (Curry & Weiss, 1989;Lindner, 1999) . This phenomenon, which could be considered universal, was thought to produce passive attitudes in females, especially when considering sport identity and sport participation .…”

“…This phenomenon, which could be considered universal, was thought to produce passive attitudes in females, especially when considering sport identity and sport participation . In Chinese culture, men are expected to be physically stronger than women (Lindner, 1995(Lindner, , 1998(Lindner, , 1999 .…”

“…Furthermore, gender differences in sport identity and sport participation could be influenced by different cultural and social beliefs and expectations for males and females (Lindner, 1999) . Exploring gender issues might provide additional insights about the relationship between sport identity and sport involvement in two different cultures .…”

Global Sports Policy

“…Snyder (1989) and Synder and Sprietzer (1977) report a positive relationship between sport and academic performance, and others have illustrated a link between physical education/exercise and academic performance (Keller, 1982;Shephard, 1997;Thomas, Landers, Salazar and Etnier, 1994), while others have concluded that there is no meaningful evidence for such links (Hauser and Lueptow, 1978). In a Hong Kong based study of the relationship between self-perceived academic performance and participation in sports, Lindner (1999) concluded that students with more confidence in their academic ability were the group with stronger motives for involvement in sports and physical activities. However, he stated that no causal relationship could be deduced from this data as there was no evidence that regular exercise causes good academic performance, or that lack of exercise or excessive participation causes poor school results (Lindner, 1999).…”

“…In a Hong Kong based study of the relationship between self-perceived academic performance and participation in sports, Lindner (1999) concluded that students with more confidence in their academic ability were the group with stronger motives for involvement in sports and physical activities. However, he stated that no causal relationship could be deduced from this data as there was no evidence that regular exercise causes good academic performance, or that lack of exercise or excessive participation causes poor school results (Lindner, 1999).…”