There have been mixed results on the relation between school sports participation and student academic achievement in secondary schools: positive (Stephens & Schaben, 2002) versus negative (Daley & Ryan, 2000). Inconsistent findings may be due to different effects of sports types (interscholastic, intramural) and sports choices (team, individual) on academic performance. Broh (2002) found a positive relation between academic achievement and interscholastic sports participation, but negative association with intramural sports participation. Academic benefits of school sports participation also differed depending on sports choices of Ireland adolescents (Bradley et al., 2013). However, it remains unclear which specific types and choices of school sports are related to high academic achievement. This study examined the relationship between school sports types and choices and reading and mathematics achievements with American high schoolers.
Method:
This study used data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) with a representative sample of 9,230 10th-grade students at 744 high schools. Key outcome variables of interest were 10th-grade reading and math test scores and primary independent variables were participation in each of baseball, softball, basketball, football, soccer, other team sports, and other individual sports (e.g., tennis, golf, wrestling) in both interscholastic and intramural sports. Four control variables (gender, race/ethnicity, SES, English & math self-efficacy) were also included in analyses.
Analysis/Results:
Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted considering the ELS:2002 complex design features (stratum, cluster, weight). Results showed that reading academic achievement was positively associated with interscholastic sports participation in other team sports (t = 2.501, p = .013) while being negatively related to baseball (t = -3.715, p < .001) and softball (t = -2.545, p = .011) participation after controlling for other variables. Math academic achievement was positively associated with interscholastic sports participation in other team (t = 3.271, p = .001) and individual (t = 2.198, p= .029) sports, but neither positively nor negatively related to participation in baseball, softball, basketball, football, and soccer, holding other variables constant. Intramural sports participation regardless of sports choice was not related to academic achievements in reading and math.
Conclusions:
Participation in some types and choices of school sports increased academic achievement, whereas participation in other types and choices of school sports decreased academic achievement. The effects of participation in particular sports types and choices on academic performance also varied based on different academic areas indicating subject specificity. Promoting interscholastic sports participation may be useful/helpful to improve math academic achievement.