Doha: A new analysis of research by the ‘Educate A Child’ programme of Education Above All (EAA) Foundation and Save the Children has called on global leaders to make sport a priority when it comes to education and ensure that all students are given equal access to both.
The paper, which is based on an analysis of data collected by leading organisations over the past two decades, finds a constant positive correlation between learning and sport among children in vulnerable environments such as conflict zones.
The new analysis on the impact of integrating physical activity and sports into learning, the use of sports as a platform to promote education, as well as the numerous positive effects of this combination was released to coincide with the International Day of Education 2023.
During the online briefing ‘A Winning Combination: Education and Sports’ Executive director of Educate A Child, Dr. Mary Joy Pigozzi and Director of Gulf Partnerships, Save the Children, Sayyeda Salam discussed about the research findings.
Dr. Pigozzi said that the research aims at increasing the knowledge about how to expand the work done with children in conflict zones and affected by other major factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
“Sport is a safe place for vulnerable children,” she said.
“We need to use sports as platform for expanding the learning opportunities of children. It’s a way to bring children to school and a way too to keep them at school, because sports is something that interests them,” she added.
The findings include how education and sports can have a profound multiplier effect on student well-being and learning, and help lay the foundation for the development of knowledge, skills and a positive attitude for success.
When school-based physical activity is purposely combined, the paper found evidence of better academic performance, improved school attendance and retention among school-aged children and adolescents; and physical activity and movement have been proven to positively impact brain development and learning, including in the early years of a child’s life.
Also students’ life skills, including collaboration, self-esteem, confidence and communication skills improved when active play was used as a primary teaching tool to engage students and improve learning outcomes in Ethiopia, Jordan, Lebanon, Mozambique, the State of Palestine and Tanzania;
The research analysis also says that sports and group physical activities contribute to providing children and youth diagnosed with trauma and who are unable to settle into a traditional school setting, with a safe space for open dialogue.
