Kindergarteners' Organized Athletics Participation and Reading and Mathematics Ability: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

Background and Purpose: Physical activity (PA) can promote children’s academic outcomes such as reading and mathematics abilities. Yet, significant gaps in the literature exist. In particular, more research using (a) ecological models and (b) large samples of young children is needed to inform early intervention strategies. Also, there is a persistent belief among some that PA participation, especially in sports, may be detrimental to children. Overall, the exploration of the relationship between PA and academic outcomes is largely unexplored among young children such as those in the kindergarten years (ages 4 to 6). This structural equation modeling analysis used an ecological framework and social learning theory to posit that kindergarteners’ participation in PA manifested as organized athletics (OA; e.g., team sports) would be positively associated with reading and mathematics ability. Informed by evidence from social learning theory-based research, it was also hypothesized that the effect of OA on reading and mathematics would be partially mediated via proximal increases to children’s social skills as a result of the group- and socially-based nature of OA.

Methods: Data comprised 18,174 kindergarteners in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11. This nationally representative sample was 50.5% White, 11.3% African American, 23.8% Hispanic/Latino, and 8.3% Asian American. Data from the Spring of 2011 was used to test this cross-sectional model in Mplus 7.3. Eleven demographic covariates were included in the model along with the substantive variables for OA, social skills, reading, and mathematics. Weighted Least Squares was used with a polychoric correlation matrix of the ordinal observed variables and a correction for clustering in schools and survey weights. Full information maximum likelihood allowed for the inclusion of missing values.

Results: The reading model demonstrated excellent fit to the data and was non-significant: Χ² (15, N = 13,365) = 11.23, p = .74; CFI = 1.00; TLI = 1.00; RMSEA = .00 (90% CI = .00, .01). Also, the mathematics model demonstrated excellent fit and was non-significant: Χ² (15, N = 13,365) = 14.88, p = .46; CFI = 1.00; TLI = 1.00; RMSEA = .00 (90% CI = .00, .01). There was no indication that OA participation was detrimental to academic outcomes. Rather, direct plus indirect results demonstrated that OA was associated with statistically significant positive effects of .07 and .12 on reading and mathematics ability, respectively (p < .001). The models explained 34.5% and 47.6% of the variation in the outcomes, respectively.

Conclusions and Implications: Although not large, the significant effects found between OA and the academic outcomes have important implications for social work research and practice. Namely, school social workers should consider promoting OA as a means for young children to achieve better academic outcomes that are crucial to short- and long-term school success. Researchers should conduct more rigorous experimental studies to further explore this potentially meaningful relationship. These findings are likely to be of high interest to researchers operating within the SSWR cluster of School Social Work (SSW).