Article Review by : Mohd Fauzi bin Ahamad COE, D.P., J.M. PIVARNIK, WOMACK, C.J., M.J.

REEVES and R.M. MALINA.(2006). Effects of Physical Education and Activity levels on Academic Achievement in Children . Medicine&Science in sports and exercise, Vol. 38 No.8 pp.1515 1519.

I review this article because the title itself is intriguing and it is also an issue that I would like to know and understand. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of physical education and physical activity on academic achievement to middle school students. The topic seems to be important to the researches. In my opinion this study might be a turning point for the curriculum to change towards an excellence academic achievers. The physical education subject in Malaysian Curriculum is dived to two aspects; the physical education itself and the health education which is half an hour per subject. If the research achieves its hypothesis then it would definitely be a turning point for Malaysian Curriculum as well. According to the article the researches did numerous of methods for their study. Their participants were 214 sixth graders which is primary 6 in Malaysia. So in my opinion this study held a significance as the age number is as the same as our primary. Their research method varied and it seems appropriate in this age group as young teenage have less maturity compare to an older participants regarding the topic. Thus the methods used were Moderate and Vigorous Activity (MVPA), physical Activity recall; a habitual physical activity was estimated using the 3DPAR, a variation of previous day physical activity which develop by Weston et al. and academic achievement was assessed using grades from four core academic classes and standardize the test scores. The researches hypothesized that students who enrolled in physical education have better academic achievements than those who did not participate. However, participation in physical Education class did not influence the academic achievement in class. Furthermore, theres a significant association, students who perform vigorous activity had significantly higher grades than those who does not participate in the activity. Moderate physical activity does not affect grades. Standardize test scores that were not significantly related to physical education class enrolment or physical activity levels. This study also compares a number of other people studies in the similar area to find a greater result and comparing their studies to acquire greater knowledge. For example, according to Trois Rivera(1994) study, physical activity over the course the entire ay resulted in an increase in the academic achievement. It shows that the increase in the achievement is closely related to the increase of the time spent in physical education. This study proves that an increase time in the physical education can increase the achievement of a student. In a comprehensive review, Keays and Allison (1994) highlighted that academic achievement in individual studies are related with memory, observation, problem solving and decision making. These traits in my opinion are important in an athlete.

For example, there exist students who do well in academic as well as in sports. In my experience in teaching, this particular student excels in both. When questioned, he relates his problem solving skills in class into the field where he participates in a game. For this person the more he plays the more his academic achievement increases and the percentile of him being in the field also increases. Thus, this study, in a way has its significance in relation to my personal experience. In summary, the result of this study may help teachers to understand fully the functions of PE in a students life. Furthermore, it may or may not improve students performance and attention span in classroom. If it is applied in Malaysian schools, it may help students to stay focus and improve students health. The findings suggest a potential role may exist in vigorous activity in physical education classes.