| Elementary physical education programs in most states are being cut or eliminated due to the increased pressure No Child Left Behind legislation has placed on schools to meet standardized levels of student academic achievement. Although research supports a positive connection between physical education and academic achievement, research has focused primarily on the impact of physical fitness and time allocated for physical education on student academic achievement. Limited research has been conducted on the relationship between the integration of content in physical education and academic success. In this quantitative study, 215 fourth grade students in three St. Charles, IL District 303 elementary schools served as the study population. A convenience sample of 77 students, one class from each of three elementary schools, was taught integrated physical education lessons using the Content Linkage Approach over a sixteen week period. The remaining 138 fourth grade students from six fourth grade classes comprised the control groups and received the traditional physical education curriculum. T-tests for one participating school showed significant differences between the control and experimental groups on ISAT reading t(81) = 2.18, p < .05, d = .55, ISAT math t(81) = 2.14, p < 05, d = .53 and on a district heart assessment t(81) = 2.28, p < .05, d = .58. GLM analysis for the PACER revealed no significant difference between the experimental and control group fitness performances over time for Anderson GLM, F = 1.95, p > .05, Richmond GLM, F = .01, p = >.05, and Wasco GLM, F = 2.11, p = >.05 Elementary schools. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that content integration can be implemented in physical education without jeopardizing student fitness. However, with only one of the three participating schools showing significant differences between the control and experimental groups, research which extends the duration of integrated lessons beyond sixteen weeks, is delivered to students in different school demographics, and explores the cooperative relationship between the physical educator and classroom teacher is necessary to further determine if a relationship exists between content integration in physical education and academic achievement. |
