Structured Sports Participation in Preschool Predicts Later Math and Literacy

• In Event: The role of varying physical activity types and contexts for educational and behavioral outcomes

Abstract

Introduction: Many young children participate in structured sports (The Aspen Institute, 2019); yet, it is unclear how sport participation in early childhood is related to cognitive outcomes. Results from the few studies that have examined associations between sport participation in preschool-aged children indicate that sport participation is concurrently (Bryant et al., in press; McNeill et al., 2018) and longitudinally (Howard et al., 2018) related to executive function; however, no study has investigated how sport participation in preschool is related to academic outcomes. Recent evidence indicates that participation in open-skilled sport activities (i.e., strategic or interceptive sports) is associated with academic outcomes in older children (Davis et al., 2011), likely because of the cognitive demands required to meet the objectives of a sport with an unpredictable and continuously changing environment (e.g., soccer; Taddei et al., 2012). However, whether open-skilled sport participation in preschool-aged children predicts later achievement is unknown. If open-skilled sport participation in preschool is related to academic outcomes, this could better inform which types of physical activity in early childhood are most important for later cognitive development. The purpose of this study was to explore associations between open-skilled sport participation in preschool and academic outcomes in kindergarten.

Study Population: Data for this study come from a larger evaluation study of one state’s public prekindergarten (pre-k) program. Participants included 113 children and one of their parents. On average, children were 5 years old (63% female). On average, monthly family income was $1,630.

Methods: Sport participation was gathered using parent responses from a survey question administered during the spring of preschool (Becker et al., 2018): “During the past year, did your child participate in any children's sports or sports teams?” Parent responses were then coded as open-skilled sport participation (1) or no sport participation (0). Children were assessed on a measure of math (Preschool Early Numeracy Skills Screener—Brief Version; Purpura et al., 2015), literacy (Get Ready to Read-Revised; Lonigan & Wilson, 2008), and receptive vocabulary (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, fourth edition; Dunn & Dunn, 2007) in spring of preschool and the fall and spring of kindergarten.

Results: When controlling for child age, gender, monthly income, group (state pre-k = 1), and preschool outcome scores, linear regressions revealed that open-skilled sport participation in preschool predicted vocabulary in the fall of kindergarten (β = .20, p = .008), and predicted both literacy (β = .24, p = .003) and vocabulary (β = .23, p = .001) in the spring of kindergarten. However, no significant relations emerged between open-skilled sport participation and math at any time point.

Conclusions: This study is the first to show that there may be an association between preschool sport participation and kindergarten literacy and receptive vocabulary. Preschool-aged children are already participating in structured sports; thus, understanding which types of sport participation are most strongly related to later academic skills could inform future physical activity guidelines and be useful for pediatricians who want to recommend specific physical activities for young children that can promote both physical and cognitive development.

Authors

• Lindsey Bryant, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Presenting Author

• Robert Duncan, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Non-Presenting Author

• David James Purpura, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Non-Presenting Author

• James G Elicker, Purdue University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sara Anne Schmitt, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author