Abstract:

School failure and/or drop-out are relevant academic concerns in Spanish society. Failed subjects and repeated courses have been identified by the expert literature as observable factors predicting failure and drop-out. On the other hand, several studies have found a positive relationship between enrolment in sports and academic performance. Bearing in mind all the aforementioned factors, this study aimed at analyzing the potential relationship between the enrolment in federated sports and the risk of school failure and/or drop-out (measured by the failed subjects and repeated courses). 438 students (213 females and 225 males) with a mean age of 14.58 ± 1.54 years (from 12.50 to 18.75 years old) voluntarily participated in this study. A self-reported e-survey was employed to gather data on the students’ age, gender, enrolment in federated sport (including the type of sport), failed grades, and repeated courses. The risk of school failure or drop-out was calculated as a sum of the failed grades and the repeated courses. A scale between two (very-high risk) and eight (low risk) was obtained. Mann Whitney’s U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to assess differences between the groups as the dependent variable showed a non-normal distribution. Significant differences were observed between genders (U = 18968.500, p < .001, d = .37) and between students enrolled in federated sport and those not (U = 18893.000, p < .001, d = .35). Better results were obtained by women compared to men (mean difference [m.d.] .57, 95% confidence interval [CI] [.55 - .58]) and by the students enrolled in federated sports (m.d. .51, 95%CI [.49 - .53]). No significant differences were observed between the type of sport practiced (p > .05). The results presented in this study suggest that gender should be considered in the promotion of egalitarian educational policies. Moreover, authorities should promote extracurricular federated sports enrolment aiming at preventing school failure or drop-out and promoting academic success.

Keywords:

Physical activity, exercise, sex, adolescents, academic performance.