Efeito de Diferentes Atividades Físicas em Contexto Escolar Sobre o Desempenho Escolar de Crianças em Ensino Fundamental

Abstract

The regular practice of physical activities seems to impact the school performance of children and adolescents. Although it looks like any physical activity has an effect, it will depend on the type of activity. Sports, for example, offer a physical and a cognitive challenge, which favors the skills improvement that will allow children to adapt better to their social environment. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the practice of different physical activities on the academic performance of 4th and 5th grade children. We extracted information for analysis from a database corresponding to the 4th and 5th grades of a private school in Belém, PA. For statistical analysis, we performed one-way ANOVA for parametric data and the KruskalWallis test for nonparametric data, followed by Dunn's test (P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences regarding the effect of sports and non-sports modalities; however, we found statistically significant differences when comparing the groups of children who practiced physical activities with those who did not in the result of the physical education discipline. We also found differences between the scores of boys and girls in performance in the Portuguese language subject. The present study suggests that the practice of specific physical activities, whether sports or non-sports, does not improve the academic performance of children in the 4th and 5th school years.