TY - JOUR
T1 - The mediating role of neurocognitive functions in the relation between physical competencies and academic achievement of primary school children
AU - de Bruijn, Anne G. M.
AU - Meijer, Anna
AU - Königs, Marsh
AU - Oosterlaan, Jaap
AU - Smith, Joanne
AU - Hartman, Esther
N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by a grant from the Netherlands Initiative for Education Research ( 405-15-410 ) and the Dutch Brain Foundation ( GH 2015-3-01 ). The funding source had no involvement in the study design, data collection and analysis, and writing and submission of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/5/1
Y1 - 2023/5/1
N2 - Previous studies into associations between physical, neurocognitive and academic skills have reported inconsistent results. This study aimed to get more insight into these relations by examining all three domains simultaneously, testing a complete mediational model including measures of physical competencies (cardiovascular fitness and motor skills), neurocognitive skills (attention, information processing, and core executive functions), and academic achievement (reading, mathematics, and spelling). Dutch primary school students (n = 891, 440 boys, mean age 9.17 years) were assessed on the Shuttle Run Test (cardiovascular fitness), items of the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder and Bruininks-Oseretsky Test-II (fundamental motor skills), computerized neurocognitive tests, and standardized academic achievement tests. A multilevel structural equation model showed that physical competencies were only indirectly related to academic achievement, via specific neurocognitive functions depending on the academic domain involved. Results provide important implications, highlighting the importance of well-developed physical competencies in children.
AB - Previous studies into associations between physical, neurocognitive and academic skills have reported inconsistent results. This study aimed to get more insight into these relations by examining all three domains simultaneously, testing a complete mediational model including measures of physical competencies (cardiovascular fitness and motor skills), neurocognitive skills (attention, information processing, and core executive functions), and academic achievement (reading, mathematics, and spelling). Dutch primary school students (n = 891, 440 boys, mean age 9.17 years) were assessed on the Shuttle Run Test (cardiovascular fitness), items of the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder and Bruininks-Oseretsky Test-II (fundamental motor skills), computerized neurocognitive tests, and standardized academic achievement tests. A multilevel structural equation model showed that physical competencies were only indirectly related to academic achievement, via specific neurocognitive functions depending on the academic domain involved. Results provide important implications, highlighting the importance of well-developed physical competencies in children.
KW - Academic performance
KW - Cognition
KW - Executive functions
KW - Fundamental motor skills
KW - Physical fitness
KW - Primary school
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149765911&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102390
DO - 10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102390
M3 - Article
C2 - 37665853
SN - 1469-0292
VL - 66
SP - 1
EP - 12
JO - PSYCHOLOGY OF SPORT AND EXERCISE
JF - PSYCHOLOGY OF SPORT AND EXERCISE
M1 - 102390
ER -
