Physical activity as a strategy to improve academic performance and students' socio-emotional well-being
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63688/bp88er10Keywords:
physical activity, academic performance, socio-emotional well-being, mental health, physical educationAbstract
Physical activity is a fundamental educational strategy for promoting students' holistic development due to its cognitive, academic, and socio-emotional benefits. This study aimed to analyze, based on scientific evidence published between 2005 and 2025, the influence of physical activity on academic performance and students' socio-emotional well-being. The research was conducted through a systematic literature review with a qualitative descriptive approach and quantitative support, following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Twenty-one articles published between 2005 and 2025 were analyzed, retrieved from databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, PubMed, ERIC, and Google Scholar. The findings show that regular physical activity enhances cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and concentration, positively contributing to academic achievement. Likewise, physical activity was found to strengthen self-esteem, emotional regulation, social skills, and mental health while reducing stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. It is concluded that the systematic incorporation of physical activities into educational settings represents an effective strategy for improving learning outcomes, socio-emotional well-being, and students' quality of life.
References
Ahn, S., & Fedewa, A. L. (2011). A meta-analysis of the relationship between children's physical activity and mental health. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 36(4), 385–397. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsq107
Álvarez-Bueno, C., Pesce, C., Cavero-Redondo, I., Sánchez-López, M., Garrido-Miguel, M., & Martínez-Vizcaíno, V. (2017). The effect of physical activity interventions on children's cognition and metacognition: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(9), 729–738. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2017.06.012
Anggraeni, D. M., Prahani, B. K., Suprapto, N., Shofiyah, N., & Jatmiko, B. (2023). Systematic review of problem based learning research in fostering critical thinking skills. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 49, 101334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101334
Bailey, R., Armour, K., Kirk, D., Jess, M., Pickup, I., Sandford, R., & BERA Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy Special Interest Group. (2009). The educational benefits claimed for physical education and school sport: An academic review. Research Papers in Education, 24(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671520701809817
Biddle, S. J. H., & Asare, M. (2011). Physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: A review of reviews. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45(11), 886–895. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2011-090185
Bouchard, C., Blair, S. N., & Haskell, W. L. (2012). Physical Activity and Health. Human Kinetics. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781492596304
Bourn, D., & Soysal, N. (2021). Transformative learning and pedagogical approaches in education for sustainable development: Are initial teacher education programmes in England and Turkey ready for creating agents of change for sustainability? Sustainability, 13(16), 8973. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168973
Diamond, A., & Lee, K. (2011). Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old. Science, 333(6045), 959–964. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1204529
Donnelly, J. E., Hillman, C. H., Castelli, D., Etnier, J. L., Lee, S., Tomporowski, P., Lambourne, K., & Szabo-Reed, A. N. (2016). Physical activity, fitness, cognitive function, and academic achievement in children. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 48(6), 1197–1222. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000901
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
Fairclough, S., & Stratton, G. (2005). Physical education makes you fit and healthy: Physical education's contribution to young people's physical activity levels. Health Education Research, 20(1), 14–23. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyg101
Fedewa, A. L., & Ahn, S. (2011). The effects of physical activity and physical fitness on children's achievement and cognitive outcomes: A meta-analysis. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 82(3), 521–535. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2011.10599785
González-Valencia, G., Massip Sabater, M., & Santisteban Fernández, A. (2022). Critical Global Citizenship Education: A Study on Secondary School Students. Frontiers in Education, 7, 867113. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.867113
Janssen, I., & LeBlanc, A. G. (2010). Systematic review of the health benefits of physical activity and fitness in school-aged children and youth. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7(40), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-7-40
Langford, R., Bonell, C., Jones, H., Pouliou, T., Murphy, S., Waters, E., Komro, K., Gibbs, L., Magnus, D., & Campbell, R. (2015). The WHO Health Promoting School framework for improving the health and well-being of students and staff. BMC Public Health, 15(130), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1360-y
Lubans, D. R., Richards, J., Hillman, C. H., Faulkner, G., Beauchamp, M. R., Nilsson, M., Kelly, P., Smith, J. J., Raine, L. B., & Biddle, S. J. H. (2016). Physical activity for cognitive and mental health in youth: A systematic review of mechanisms. Pediatrics, 138(3), e20161642. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-1642
Organización Mundial de la Salud. (2024). Physical activity. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity
Sallis, J. F., McKenzie, T. L., Beets, M. W., Beighle, A., Erwin, H., & Lee, S. (2012). Physical education's role in public health: Steps forward and backward over 20 years and hope for the future. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 83(2), 125–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2012.10599842
Standage, M., Duda, J. L., & Ntoumanis, N. (2005). A test of self-determination theory in school physical education. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 30(3), 257–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2004.06.002
Telama, R., Yang, X., Leskinen, E., Kankaanpää, A., Hirvensalo, M., Tammelin, T., Viikari, J. S. A., & Raitakari, O. T. (2014). Tracking of physical activity from early childhood through youth into adulthood. PLoS ONE, 9(11), e79078. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0079078
Tomporowski, P. D., McCullick, B., Pendleton, D. M., & Pesce, C. (2015). Exercise and children's cognition: The role of exercise characteristics and a place for metacognition. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 4(1), 47–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2014.09.003
Kitchenham, B., & Charters, S. (2007). Guidelines for performing systematic literature reviews in software engineering. EBSE Technical Report. University of Keele.
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., et al. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Xiao, Y., & Watson, M. (2019). Guidance on conducting a systematic literature review. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 39(1), 93–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X17723971
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Johnny Daniel Jati Vaca, Marco Vinicio Guevara Masqui, Edisson Ricardo Rubio Vargas, Alex Sebastian Saltos Pomboza, Edwin Oswaldo Rojas Dávila (Autor/a)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
