Physical Education and Academic Achievement. A study in Primary School.

Aim: The human body is the essential element through which children learn about the world and develop their psycho-physical identity. Motor activity plays a vital role in the educational process of a child, especially of primary school age, and with a significant impact on learning in school, as well. A direct relationship exists between motor development and cognitive development. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a specific protocol of structured motor activity could affect improvement in the attention of primary school pupils. Methods: The study included 138 students (63 females; 75 males), between the ages of 7 and 8, attending third grade primary school in the province of Ancona. The project included two educational proposals, presented alternately for four weeks. The first involved a dictation (D). In the second, the structured physical activity was proposed before the dictation (AMS-D). 4 different dictations were used, containing the same number of potential errors. Results: The results over the four weeks demonstrated that the children gave better results in the AMS-D educational proposal (p <0.001). In comparing the two AMS-D and D proposals, it is confirmed that the AMS-D children gave a statistically significant result (p <0.001). From the difference between the average of the number of errors in the two proposals, it should be noted that the number of errors is lower (p <0.001) when the dictation follows a structured protocol (r =7,2<12,9). Conclusions: The results have demonstrated that structured motor activity is effective in maintaining attention over time, favoring better concentration in scholastic activities.