Physical Education (PE) potentially leads to positive students’ performance and academic achievement in schools. This is indicated by multiple research studies, such as Sibley and Etnier (2003), Bailey et al (2009), Dalziell et al (2015), Bailey (2016), Donnelly et al (2016), Duncan et al (2017) and Marttinen et al (2017).

Ramon Formosa conducted the study as part of an MSc in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy at the University of Birmingham, from which he graduated in December 2018.Ramon Formosa conducted the study as part of an MSc in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy at the University of Birmingham, from which he graduated in December 2018.

These studies support a positive link between PE and other curriculum areas and subjects, such as literacy and numeracy, pointing towards the importance of PE not just as a core subject taught on its own but also PE as a tool to achieve a range of educational outcomes in children and young people.

Research by Phillips and Marttinen (2013) and Vazou and Skrade (2017) suggests that the integration of Mathematics and PE helps students to learn new concepts about space, shapes, time and patterns, promotes both autonomous and collaborative work and enhances students’ physical activity and interest in lessons.

Learning Maths in a practical way makes lessons more understandable, whereby students link acquired skills to everyday life situations and potentially achieve better grades when compared to students who attend traditional Maths lessons. This is inducated by research conducted by DeFrancesco and Casas (2004), Kitchen and Kitchen (2013) and Vazou & Skrade (2017).

The present author recently conducted a quasi-experimental research study to explore whether combining PE and Maths for school children would indeed lead to improvement in problem-solving skills and their overall attainment in the subject.

The programme had a substantial positive impact on students’ perceptions towards PE and towards Maths, with the majority stating they feel they improved in both subjects

The study tried to develop, implement and evaluate a Mathematics and PE programme (MPEP) by integrating Maths and PE and measure its effects on problem-solving and academic attainment in a Maltese boys’ school. This type of integration was defined as “an educational process in which two or more subject areas are integrated with the goal of fostering enhanced learning in each subject area” by Cone and Cone (1998) in Parish and Parish (2016). The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design using mixed-methodology; it combined pre- and post-tests with follow-up (process evaluation) questionnaires, focus group and interviews.

The MPEP intervention was tested on a group of 26 students, while another 55 students served as the control group. The study sample included three Year 6 classes from a boys’ school in Malta. The intervention class participated in the MPEP for eight weeks, while the other two classes had regular PE lessons. Student attainment was then assessed through a school-based Maths assessment. Students’ and teachers’ views and perceptions of the impact of the MPEP on problem-solving and Mathematical attainment were also recorded.

Although results showed minimal improvement in problem-solving and general Mathematical scores within the intervention group, results from the post-test questionnaires and focus groups showed that the MPEP had a substantial positive impact on students’ perceptions towards PE and towards Maths, with the majority stating they feel they improved in both subjects. Students also remarked that the MPEP helped them persevere and work harder because they could try things out in a ‘physical’ manner rather than learning mathematical concepts the traditional way.  Indeed, the MPEP also contributed towards better teamwork among the students.

Since this was a small-scale study conducted in a homogeneous (boys’) school, results cannot be generalised. It would therefore be interesting if such a study is repeated in other schools to explore whether the same or similar results could be obtained (for example, among girls-only schools or among students in a co-ed school).

This study could serve as a stepping stone towards further, wider and deeper investigation on how such a new practice and the introduction of such a programme could be beneficial for our students in our schools.

Ramon Formosa conducted the study as part of a Master of Science in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy at the University of Birmingham, from which he graduated in December 2018. Mr Formosa is a PE teacher in the primary education sector. He undertook the MSc in Physical Education and Sports Pedagogy with the support of a scholarship funded by the Malta Sport Scholarships scheme of the Ministry for Education.

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