Physical Activity and Educational Achievement

A growing body of research evidence suggests that physical activity can have a positive effect on educational achievement. This book examines a range of processes associated with physical activity that are of relevance to those working in education - including cognition, learning, memory, attention, mood, stress and mental health symptoms - and draws on the latest insights from exercise neuroscience to help explain the evidence. With contributions from leading scientists and educationalists from around the world, this book cuts through the myths to interrogate the relationship between physical activity and educational achievement in children, adolescents and young adults in a variety of cultural and geographical contexts. Examining both the benefits and risks associated with physical activity from the perspectives of exercise science and educational psychology, it also looks ahead to ask what the limits of this research might be and what effects it might have on the future practice of education. Physical Activity and Educational Achievement: Insights from Exercise Neuroscience is fascinating reading for any student, academic or practitioner with an interest in exercise science and education.

Romain Meeusen is Head of the Department of Human Physiology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. Sabine Schaefer is Head of the Department of Motion Science, Motor Science and Cognition, Saarland University, Germany. Phillip Tomporowski is a Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Georgia, USA. Richard Bailey is Senior Researcher at the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) based in Berlin, Germany.

Introduction [Romain Meeusen, Sabine Schaefer, Phillip Tomporowski and Richard Bailey] Part I: Progress and possibilities 1. Physical activity and educational achievement: dose-response relationships [Erin K. Howie and Russell R. Pate] 2. Varieties of learning and developmental theories of memory: neurophysiological evidence and its relevance for researchers and educators [Phillip Tomporowski, Daniel M. Pendleton and Bryan A. McCullick] 3. Future directions: rigorous research design and authentic application of neuroscience [Charles H. Hillman and Darla M. Castelli] Part II: Insights and innovations 4. Exercise, neurotransmission and neurotrophic factors [Romain Meeusen, Cajsa Tonoli, Kristel Knaepen and Danusa Dias Soares] 5. The development of the acute exercise-catecholamines-cognition interaction theory: implications for learning and memory [Terry McMorris] 6. The motor-cognitive connection: indicator of future developmental success in children and adolescents? [Nadja Schott and Thomas Klotzbier] 7. Psychological responses to stress and exercise on students' lives [Eduardo Matta Mello Portugal] 8. Structural and functional brain changes related to acute and chronic exercise effects in children, adolescents and young adults [Claudia Voelcker-Rehage, Claudia Niemann and Lena Hübner] 9. The impact of physical activities on age-related brain function and structure and the underlying neural mechanisms [Patrick Müller, Anita Hökelmann and Notger G. Müller] 10. A review of laboratory studies on the acute effects of movement and exercise on cognition in children [Nadja Walter and Sabine Schaefer] 11. Exercise as neuro-enhancer in children with ADHD: cognitive and behavioural effects [Sebastian Ludyga, Serge Brand, Markus Gerber and Uwe Pühse] 12. The effect of different exercise programmes on cognitive functioning in children and adolescents [Henning Budde, Flora Koutsandréou and Mirko Wegner] 13. The integrative neuroscience of physical activity, fitness and academic proficiency [R. Davis Moore, Jacob J. Kay and Eric S. Drollette] 14. Coupling our plough of thoughtful moving to the star of children's right to play: from neuroscience to multisectoral promotion [Caterina Pesce, Avery D. Faigenbaum, Marios Goudas and Phillip Tomporowski] Part III: Education and evaluation 15. A review of school-based studies on the effect of acute physical activity on cognitive function in children and young people [Andy Daly-Smith, Jim Mckenna, Greta Defeyter and Andrew Manley] 16. The effect of teaching methodologies in promoting physical and cognitive development in children [Patrizia Tortella and Guido Fumagalli] 17. Different solutions from Finnish and Danish school systems for increasing school-day physical activity and supporting learning: a top-down or bottom-up approach? [Tuija Tammelin, Heidi Syväoja, Anna Bugge and Karsten Froberg] 18. Science, pseudoscience and exercise neuroscience: untangling the good, the bad and the ugly [Richard Bailey] Index