The Effect of Sports on Academic Success
Abstract
Sports play a very important role in a student’s academic achievement. There are some factors that affects student’s academic achievement such as sports. This study was carry out to find out the relationship between sports and academic achievement among student. A total of 30 participants (19 females and 11 males) were evaluated through an online survey. We collected the data with demographic information. CGPA of student were used to evaluate academic achievement. Results in this study demonstrate that sports help students to be more alert, concentrate and help to increase their mental and physical.
As a result of that, sports have a significant relationship with academic achievement. Sports help student to increase blood flow and build connection between nerves. In fact, student who are exposed to sports have many benefit on it and having a positive influence on academic achievement.
Introduction
Background of study
In recent years, sports have been viewed as a way to stay healthy and emphasized in school, college and university.
Sports help student have a sound mind and a sound body. Sports help student to increase blood flow to the brain, increased brain-derived neurotrophins that support neuronal differentiation and survival in the developing brain and build connection between nerves. Neurotrophins assure the survival of neurons in areas responsible for learning, memory, and higher thinking. Studies have shown that 7 out of 10 students can perform well on their study and enjoying sports. Students who do sports can also have a good academic achievement. Nowadays students only focus on their study, they will easily get stress, anxiety and others.
It would affect their mental and physical. So, sports are the way that they can release their stress and forget about those things that make them bother of it. If students did not do sport, their brain can’t function well on theirs perform and it also make them feel tired because sport can help to improve their spirit. Many studies conducted in this area has highlighted how sports has an effect on academic achievement. Most of the studies highlight that student who are having sports can also do well on their academic result. Some of the studies shown that student that have not do sports is because of they have no time to study. Student have many test, assignment and project in school or university. Their time are pack for school and tuition, they can’t manage their time for physical activities. In another hand sports need a lot of energy, students prefer to stored their energy for school and tuition class.
Statement of problem
Study have occupied most of the time of a student, they have no time to do physical activities and even though others. Sports play an important role to students, it is important and it is the most efficiency way to help students on their study and also their body health. Many of the student still doesn’t know that how sports benefit them and how sports can help them towards their academic achievement. 1.3 Purpose of study This research aims to study how sports improve academic achievement and how sports help students towards their academic achievement. This is important to students, let them to know the benefit of sports to them. And how sports can function their brain and their body, those may affect and help them in their academic achievement.
Research question
- Do sports affect your academic achievement?
- How/why sports help on your academic achievement?
Review of literature
Positive impact of sports to students Sports or physical activities help student increases blood flow to the brain and help body to build more connections between nerves, it leading to increased concentration. Sports help students to increase their memory, be more discipline and creative. It helps students to work their body system efficiency. Students can achieve and perform better because sports help them to increase their physical and mental alert (Younis, Asif, Umar, Uzma, 2012). Students who do sports are perform better than others on English, Math and Science subject (Younis, Asif, Umar, Uzma, 2012). Good health is very important to students, sports not only benefit on their academic (Rona, Rodolfo, Merites, 2017). Sports is also help them to develop awareness of fitness and exercise (Rona, Rodolfo, Merites, 2017). Most of the sports are perform with a team, students know more about teamwork when their participated. Teamwork is important and it is the main reason that lead them to success in competition. They have a spirit of teamwork and they can use it in their group project or assignment in school. Sports can help students to be more independent, because they need to manage their time for both (Michael, 2010). They need to arrange their time sufficient for sports and academic.
Negative impact of sports to students
Students put their time and energies on sports and physical activities and less likely to pursue academic objectives (Chun, Yusof, Parilah, 2013). They don’t have time and energy to achieve excellence in both (Chun, Yusof, Parilah, 2013). Nowadays most of school or university wanted students to participate in co-curriculum. But they have classes in school around 6 hours and they need to go for tuition after school. There is always many homework, test and assignment for them (Wilson, Mary, 2005). Students can manage and arrange their time efficiency for both. Next, they have no time and energy to perform and handle between sports and academic achievement.
Background of sports
Sports have become a hot topic of discussion long time ago. There are many educationist and social scientist have working a long time to determine the relationship between sports and academic achievement (Younis, Asif, Umar, Uzma, 2012). There are also many researchers doing research on how sports affect academic result. Children and adolescents do in different type of physical activities depending on their age, programs and equipment in their school and communities. In primary school children typically engage in free play, running, chasing games and jumping rope; those activities are developing their fundamental motor skill (Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). However, youth do basketball, football, badminton and many. In those of the research are stated that sports have positive affect on academic achievement more than negative affect. Most of the parents are not support their children to participate in sports, because they think that sports could affect their children’s academic achievement (Chun, Yusof, Parilah, 2013). Parents are strongly agreed that academic is more important to their children. Because of the opinion of their parents, they choose to follow and focus on academic. But there is some additional example that some students are only focus on sports and become an ambition to them (Chun, Yusof, Parilah, 2013).
Sports influences student’s behaviour
Sports influences student’s behaviour, because they thought themselves are unique and extraordinary when compared to non-athlete student (Michael, 2010). So, they think that they have others benefit or right. It finds out that student athletes who are deemed elite, because they are best in sports and more likely to take risk so they become more presumption. Some research show that student athletes using alcohol more that non-athlete student (Michael, 2010). They need to perform well between academic and sports, it causes them under the stress. So, they using alcohol to reduce their stress and to be more relax in both academic and sports. Their behaviour also be influences by their coach and team mates (Chun, Yusof, Parilah, 2013). Some of the coach are accept lower academic achievement in the team. It brings a signal to students that academic achievement is not important and not a problem for them if they wanted to play in the team. Not all of the students receive negative influences, because there is also some coach created a stress environment on the importance of academic achievement to students (Chun, Yusof, Parilah, 2013). It helps them to display a pro academic’ behaviour to contributes on their good academic achievement (Chun, Yusof, Parilah, 2013).
Method
Participants/ Procedure
Participants will be answer the question survey from Goole form and the data will be collected from a total of 30 participants (15 females and 15 males). Their age range is between 17 to 21. Because this survey need to compare their GPA and involvement in sports. The survey question will send through WhatsApp, Facebook and others to answer. They will require to fill up their grade point average (GPA) and the view of sports and academic achievement at the online survey through Google form.
Instruments and measures
30 participants were asked to accomplish does sports affect academic achievement in college or university. They will also ask for some specific question for example how sports affect academic achievement and why it affects academic achievement.
Data analysis
The data will be collected from online survey through Google form after 30 participants have done. The data will analysed in a quantitative method which is interpret into a graph such as pie chart.
Result and Discussion
How many student doing sport28 out of 30 students are doing sports while they are in their academic. While there are 2 out of 30 students are not doing sports. In this result, it can show that students are willing to do sports although they are on the way of their academic. Due to those past researches, it state that students are active on sports and this is relevant to our research. It really proved that students are more interested and participant on sports while they need time on study. Because of their school needed, students are required to participant in one type of sport or can more than that. Because they wanted students to be great at their health not only on their academic. So nowaday school encourage to participant in sports, and school will reward them with tropy follow by their attendence on it. Parents are also the main reason for studnets to do sport. Because of parents support, they have more opportunity to participate in sports. Withoud parents support, they cant make it. Because parents help them to pay the club fees, equipment and others. So this research can help students to get more support from their parents (Rona, Rodolfo, Merites, 2017).
Importance of sports to students19 out of 30 students think that sports are really important to them and their life. But, 1 out of 30 student think that sports are not important for him/her. 10 students are not sure that sports are important for them or not. This result is same as those past research, in past researches it state that students think that sports are important for them. Because it helps them to achieve a strong and healthy body (john, 2012). Nowadays students are trigged of their homework and exam, it makes them feel stress and anxiety; they need sports to releases their stress. Exercise can students to decrease mind symptoms of depression and anxiety, and it can increase their quality of sleep. Students who have a good quality of sleep, it can help to release their stress on academic. Not only that, sports help student to build team spirit when they work in team. Sports also make them become more confidence, it helps them to boost up their confidence in a personality of person.
Hours of student spent on sport a day15 out of 30 students spent 1 to 2 hours a day on sports. There is no student spent more than 4 hours on sports a day. Half of the students spent 2 to 3 hours or 3 to 4 hours on sports.Most of the students who spent 1 to 2 hours on sports have achieved a higher mark (3 to 4 CGPA). Those students who achieved 3 to 4 CGPA and spent 1 to 2 hours on sports a day are more than those students who only achieved 2 to 3 CGPA with same hours. The only one student have spent 3 to 4 hours on sports a day still can achieved an average CGPA which is 2 to 3. On the other hand, a student has spent 2 to 3 hours on sports a day but only achieved 1 to 2 CGPA, the reason may because of this student don’t know how to arrange his/her time between sports and academic (Wilson, Mary, 2005). The maximum of students spent on sports is 3 hours. Due on those researches, the disadvantage of sports to students is they have no time to spent on their academic example homework, assignment and tuition. So, 3 hours is enough for students to spent on sports. Because they need to arrange their time between sports and academic nicely. In past researches, students are not engouraged to participate in sports because they dont know how to arrange their time. But in our research, most of the students only used 1 to 2 hours on sports a day. So there is no reason that sports would affect their academic. They can still have many of the time to spent on academic.
Concentration of student after doing sportsMore than half of the students still can concentrate after doing sports, there are 18 out of 30. But there are only 11 out of 30 students can’t concentrate in the classes after doing sports. In those past researches, it clearly states that sports can help students to be more concentrate in class. In our research, it really proved sports help students to be more concentrate in class. Because sports increase their blood flow and it make them became more alert and increase their spirit in class. People mostly think that sports will make students tired and can’t concentrate in class, but this result can influence those people who think this way. And it can make them realize that sports didn’t distract us in class. Also, concentration is based on your won will. Anything can’t affect a people’s concentration eventhough sports.
CGPA of students12 out of 28 students who do sports have achieved a good result which is 3.0 to 4.0 CGPA. 15 out of 28 students who do sports have achieved an average result which is 2.0 to 3.0 CGPA, but there is one of the students who do sports on achieve 1.0 to 2.0 CGPA. 2 out of 30 students which doesn’t do sports have achieved 3.0 to 4.0 CGPA and 2.0 to 3.0 CGPA.Some of the past researches show that student wouldn’t arrange their time between sports and academic and it cause them have a bad result. But some of it state that students who sports can also achieved a higher result than students who doesn’t do sports. In our research, it shows that students who do sports which can achieved a higher result (3.0 to 4.0 CGPA) which is the highest result in the quantity of students who do sports. While one of the students who spent 2 to 3 hours on sports a day only achieved the lower result which is 1.0 to 2.0 CGPA. Most of the student who spent 1 to 3 hours on sports a day have achieved an average CGPA or more than that. On another hand, one of the students who do not do sport have achieved 3.0 to 4.0 CGPA and another student only achieved 2.0 to 3.0 CGPA. The conclusion of this research is that students who do sports can also achieve a better and good result on their academic (Rona, Rodolfo, Merites, 2017), and student who doesn’t do sports may not 100 percent achieved the highest or better result. 5.0
Conclusion
All and all, the result of the research compare with past researches we get an opposite result and prove that sports don’t affect academic achievement. This research can help to change people’s mind and influence their decisions. Participant’s age and gender are not take into account in the result of this research. In this research, we learned that sports don’t not affect our academic achievement as if we know how to manage our time. And there are many benefit of sports to our mental and physical. Parents are more influenced and change their mind set between sports and academic. Nowadays parents and school are more encourage student to participate in sports because academic is not the most important in their student life. The shortcomings of this research is there are limited participants.
This research is only allowed Sunway students to fill up the survey form online. Next, the subject quantity was too small because there are only with limited participants which is 30, because of it we can’t get a wider result on this research. Also because of our foundation program, we have three weeks of holiday and it is very difficult for us to get in touch with our subject. Last is the time as too short for us on this research, we can’t do any further intent study. The benefit of this research is to let students know that sports bring benefit to us and doesn’t affect our academic achievement. Mostly this research is help to influence student’s parents. Most of them have a bad view on sports, they think that sports would occupy their children’s study time and it make them more tired.
They would think that sports only will bring disadvantage for their children, example will make them can’t concentrate in class, will be lazy and have no energy on academic. But this research helps to prove that all of their minded are wrong and also encourage them to support their children on sports. People who read this research would change their mind of sports and participate on it. This research is also encouraging people to do more sports activities, not only student. Sports help us to have a better mental and physical body, after read this research people will know more about benefit of sports to them. Lecturer should give more time for us on this research for the further research. Second, the subject quantity should increase from 30 to more than it, it helps us to collect the result more accurate. This research must now be implement when there is holiday during it.
Reference
- Chun, C. C., Aminuddin, Y. & Parilah, M. S. (2012). Sport Involement and Academic Achievement: A study of Malaysia University Athletes.
- International Education Studies, 6(2), 12-21. doi:10.5539/ies.v6n2p12
- Michael, J. G. (2010). Exploring the Impact of Sports Participation on Academic Achievement in a Middle School. Counselor Education Master’s Thesis, 40, 1-59. Retrieved from C. M-I., Rodolfo, A. I. & Merites, M. B. (2017). Academic Achievement as Influenced by Sport Participation in Selected Universities in the Philippines. 7(3), 53-57. doi:10.5923/j.edu.201703.03
- John, B. (2012). School Sport and Academic Achievement. 83(1), 8-13. Retrieved from Department of health and Human Services (2010). The Association Between School-Based Physical Activity, Including Physical Education, and Academic Performance. 3-84.
