Academic achievement and physical education: a study of the correlation between pupil academic achievement and involvement in the physical education program

Abstract

In recent years local school hoards have found it necessary to terminate some programs in their districts in order to operate within the budget allotted them by the provincial Department of Education. These program terminations brought about some opposition from parents, teachers and students in the form of briefs submitted to the provincial government. This trend may become more severe in the future. One program facing elimination in some school districts appears to be physical education. The problem of the study is to help provide a basis for arguing that physical education should not be dropped from the curriculum. Comparison of the evaluation methods used in physical education, mathematics and language arts was done and a study of a correlation of the final marks between physical education and mathematics and physical education and language arts was carried out. The results of the comparison and study show a correlation of .557 at the grade 7 level and a correlation of .385 at the grade 8 level. According to Guilford (1950), this shows a definite to substantial correlation between academic achievement and student involvement in the physical education program at the two grade levels tested. It further provides support for the contention that physical education should remain as an integral component of the students learning experience.