18th Annual Student Research Conference
Human Potential and Performance
The Effect of Interscholastic Athletics on Academic Achievement
Philip M. Esposito
Dr. Christopher D. Lantz, Faculty Mentor
The Effect of Interscholastic Athletics on Academic Achievement The existing literature in education has provided a great deal of information about the effect of athletic participation collegiate student-athletes. Translating these findings from collegiate student-athletes to high school student-athletes is problematic given the significant differences between these two populations. There is also comparatively little literature on high school student-athletes. The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in interscholastic high school athletics had a positive impact on academic success. For the study 35 (19 males,16 females) undergraduate students were sampled. Participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 30 (M = 21.02 + 2.12 years) and were taken from a required health and fitness course at a rural Midwestern liberal arts institution. All participants filled out a questionnaire regarding their participation in athletics and various academic related questions. The findings revealed that participation in interscholastic athletics had a positive effect on high school GPA. This effect appears to diminish and have no significant effect on college GPA.
Keywords: Athletics, Education, Academic Achievement
Topic(s):Exercise Science
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 34-5
Location: VH 1000
Time: 3:15