EXERCISE AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL: A PILOT PROJECT

Abstract Exercise has been shown to have long term effects in improving social skills, scholastic performance and quality of life in all children. Unfortunately, physical education courses continue to have their dedicated curricular times reduced. Students may have as little as one period of curricular physical activity per week. Conversely, there is middle school in Windsor, Ontario that has implemented a daily curricular period dedicated to physical activity. This study aimed to assess the effects of this schools' exercise programme on their students' social skills, scholastic performance and quality of life. Our objective is to study the effects of a daily physical activity period as part of an educational curriculum on student physical fitness, academic performance and self reported quality of life. We undertook a naturalistic observational study that examined the results of a daily exercise program for Grade 7 students attending École Secondaire E.J. Lajeunesse in Windsor. At this school, all students in Grade 7 and Grade 8 participate in a daily one-and-a-half-hour exercise programme consisting of two different streams: hockey or dance. All Grade 7 students and their families attending the school were asked to participate in our research trial. To study the effects of the exercise programme, student physical fitness, academic performance, and self-rated quality of life were assessed. Specific outcome measures used include: 20 metre sprint test, beep test, squat strength, bench press strength, the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, academic grades in mathematics, English and French, and academic learning skills. Due to difficulties in participant recruitment and retention, only the following results could be analyzed. After one year of the structured hockey exercise program, the participants demonstrated significant increases in sprint speed (p < 0.0001), beep test (p < 0.005), squat strength (p < 0.0001) and bench press strength (p < 0.0001). There was also an increase in scores assessing organization, independence, collaboration, initiative and self regulation. An increase was noted in the participant's grades in English and French. Little change was seen in mathematics and science grades. After one year of consistent exercise, study participants demonstrated significant improvements in physical fitness, learning skills and language studies performance. Our results outline multiple benefits of implementing an organized daily physical period as par