Peer-reviewed article

A systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of physically active classrooms on educational and enjoyment outcomes in school age children

Chloe Bedard, Laura St. John, Emily Bremer, Jeffrey D. Graham, John Cairney · 25 Jun 2019

Summary

Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001

This systematic review examined whether integrating physical activity into regular classroom lessons improves academic performance in school-aged children. The review pooled data from 25 studies involving approximately 6,181 students and found that physically active classrooms showed a small positive effect on academic achievement compared to traditional sedentary classrooms. The authors note that most studies had some or high risk of bias, and call for better-designed research with stronger randomization methods.

Key points

25 studies examined educational outcomes in physically active classrooms, involving approximately 6,181 students
Pooled data from 20 studies with 842 participants showed a small positive effect on academic performance (SMD = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.47)
Most included studies had some or high risk of bias
The review suggests physically active classrooms may slightly improve academic achievement
Future research needs better study design, adequate statistical power, and measurement of a wider range of student outcomes

Limitations

The review does not specify which types of physical activities were most effective, whether effects varied by age group, or whether enjoyment outcomes were adequately measured across studies. The high risk of bias in most included studies limits confidence in the findings.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Despite the relationship between physical activity (PA) and learning outcomes, the school system has not been able to support the inclusion of PA throughout the day. A solution to this problem integrates PA into the academic classroom. The objective of this review is to determine the impact of active classrooms compared to traditional sedentary classrooms on educational outcomes of school-aged children. DESIGN: We searched ERIC, PubMed, PsychINFO, and Web of Science, reference lists of included studies for randomised controlled studies. Independent reviewers screened the texts of potentially eligible studies and assessed the risk of bias. Data were pooled using random-effects models on standardized mean differences. RESULTS: This review identified 25 studies examining educational outcomes, including approximately 6,181 students. Risk of bias was assessed as either some or high risk of bias for most of the studies and outcomes. Pooled data from 20 studies and 842 participants measuring academic performance shows a small positive effect of active classrooms compared with traditional, sedentary classrooms (SMD = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.47). CONCLUSIONS: Physically active classrooms may slightly improve academic achievement compared to the traditional sedentary lessons. Future research is needed to ensure that studies are adequately powered, employ appropriate methods of randomization, and measure a wide range of important student outcomes across the full spectrum of the school-age.

Findings the Hub has extracted

Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.

Development

Problem

School systems have not integrated physical activity throughout the school day despite evidence of its relationship to learning outcomes, leaving children sedentary during academic instruction

Intervention: Integration of physical activity into academic classroom lessons (active classrooms) compared to traditional sedentary classroom lessons
Population: School-aged children (approximately 6,181 students across 25 studies)

Key finding

Small positive effect of active classrooms on academic performance compared with traditional sedentary classrooms (SMD = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.47)

Experimental