The Relationship between the Level of Physical Activity and the Academic Achievement in High School Students

Abstract

The aim of our research is to investigate the relationship between physical activity level and academic achievement in high school students. 12 of 13 Anatolian High Schools in Balikesir Central Districts were included in our research. A total of 334 (Female n = 190, Male n = 144) students selected from the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades from these schools by random sampling method participated in the study. While the International Physical Activity Evaluation Questionnaire was used to determine the physical activity levels of the students, the academic achievement scores of the students were obtained from the e-school system of the Ministry of National Education. Descriptive statistics of the data obtained from the research were used to determine correlations between variables, Manova and Anova to determine whether there was a difference between variables, Post-Hoc Tests and Independent Sample “t” tests were used to determine the source of the differences between the variables. The significance level (p < 0.05) was taken. There was a negative correlation (p < 0.05) between students’ academic achievement levels and physical activity levels. While there were significant differences in academic achievement according to gender and grade level, significant differences were found in physical activity only in terms of gender (p < 0.05). As a result, it was determined that academic achievement was negatively affected by physical activity, female students and 12th grade students had better academic success, while male students were more active. Considering the health benefits of physical activity as well as the importance of academic success for students to settle in a university, these two concepts should be considered together, and new plans should be developed.