Background/Purpose Despite the well-known benefits of regular physical activity (PA), the PA levels of American youth remain low. In an effort to promote PA for youth, school-based interventions are advocated (NASPE, 2008). It has been shown that students can accumulate approximately 5% of the daily recommended PA in the classroom setting (Erwin et al., 2011), yet teachers often hesitate to provide time for PA during class due to academic pressures and issues related to behavior management (Cothran et al., 2010). The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among elementary students' classroom PA, behavior and hyperactivity/attention via teacher-reported standardized rating scales (ADHDT; Gilliam, 1995).
Method Three high-active and three low-active 5th grade students were selected from one classroom for participation. Over the course of five weeks, 30 hours of systematic observation were conducted on the students. The System for Observing Fitness Instruction time was modified for classroom PA. PA intensity and student on-task and off-task behavior were recorded. ADHD scores were completed by the classroom teacher. Pearson correlations were conducted to determine the relationship between classroom PA and behavior as well as classroom PA and ADHD.
Analysis/Results Results indicated a significant correlation between standing and ADHD (r = .83, p =.04). No significant correlations were found between PA and on-task or off-task behavior.
Conclusions Based on this exploratory study, classroom PA was not related to behavior problems; therefore, classroom teachers should be encouraged to provide structured PA breaks because they may lead to increased on-task behavior.
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