Introduction and Purpose of Research
Student athletes are expected to not perform as well academically as their peers who do
not partake in sports. However, an article from the Jamaica Star Newspaper says otherwise,
“Jamaica's under-20 triple jump record holder, Jaydon Hibbert, is maintaining a Grade Point
Average (GPA) of 4.0 in his first semester at the University of Arkansas, which he is seeking to
continue when the season gets going in earnest.” The researcher believes that society does not
believe that student athletes can compete with their classmates academically.
To understand the situation better, the researcher selected the sixth form students of
Kingston College as his research pool. Kingston College was chosen because they are known
for their talented athletes at the Penn Relays and the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’
Championship (Champs) as well as their high pass rates at the CSEC and CAPE level. The
research aimed to find out if sports had any influence on the academic performance of high
school students. Through doing this research, the researcher hopes to answer three questions:
1. How do student-athletes compare to their non-athletic peers academically?
2. What do students earn from doing sports?
3. How has being a student-athlete impacted these individuals?
Through this research, the researcher hopes to enlighten student athletes, teachers, and
most importantly, coaches and administration, so that they can better manage their programs
for improved results. The researcher also hopes to learn valuable research skills from
conducting this investigation.
Technical Terms
ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Championship (Champs)- a nationwide team
competition among high school teams, consisting of athletes aged 10 to 19
Penn Relays- the first invitational track meet with separate divisions for colleges, preps
and high schools to show any degree of success and continuity
Student athlete- a full-time or part-time student of a university or college who also
participates in an organized and competitive athletic program offered by the school.
Literature Review
4 secondary sources were thoroughly examined by the researcher for this section. These
included [newspaper articles, research papers,]. These sources answered any questions posed by
the researcher’s objectives and will be discussed in the subsequent paragraphs.
The researcher posed the first question, “How do student-athletes compare to their non-
athletic peers academically?”. Jennifer Ellison Brown carried out her own research and found
that student-athletes perform just as well as regular students. She stated that, “These findings
were opposite to the notion that involvement in physical activities was detrimental to educational
achievement of students.”.
Ellison Brown’s (2016) research found the following:
A study published by the American Sports Institute (1996) reported on the effects of a
yearlong high-school course programme which used sports to enhance academic achievement.
The grade point average (GPA) was the primary measure for evaluating the programme results.
(para. 15)
Analysis of the study's data revealed that the programme students outperformed those in
the control group on all of the applicable measures, including GPA and academic eligibility for
extra-curricular activities. These findings showed that by participating in the programme,
students of the programme improved their academic performance as measured by overall GPA.
(para.16)
To support this claim, Jamaican newspaper The Star(2023) reported on Jamaican athlete,
and former Kingston College student, Jayden Hibbert’s academic success as a student athlete at
the University of Akansas.
The Star reported that:
Jamaica's under-20 triple jump record holder, Jaydon Hibbert, is maintaining a Grade
Point Average (GPA) of 4.0 in his first semester at the University of Arkansas, which he is
seeking to continue when the season gets going in earnest.(para. 1)
He, however, emphasised the desire to perform well, both in academics and in his
athletics pursuits.(para. 3)
These two studies have shown that student athletes are as academically viable as
regular students. However, sports are not for everyone.
The researcher’s second question was, “Why do students earn from doing sports?”.
A publication on AtYourOwnRisk.org regarding “The Benefits of Sports” stated:
Youth sports helps young athletes learn important life skills like goal setting and time
management, as well as the following:
High school students, especially female students, who play sports are less likely to drop
out.
Participation in team sports results in a higher GPA for both high school boy and girl
athletes.
Physically active children are 15% more likely to attend college.
Former student athletes tend to earn significantly higher incomes than those who did not
play sports.
Student athletes earn up to 40% higher test scores (para.1)
Regular physical activity, fitness and exercise are critically important for the health and well-
being of people of all ages.
Research shows that physically active children are less likely to be obese, have lower
health care costs and have reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.
Teens who participate in team sports are less likely to use drugs, smoke cigarettes and
carry weapons.
Physical activity can enhance a child’s self-perceptions of body, competence and self-
worth.
Organized sports participation may aid in the development of physical skills, such as
hand-eye coordination; functional movement skills and strength; and academic, self-
regulatory, and general life skills. It also may have positive social benefits, leading to
both improved social identity and social adjustment. (para.2)
Children who participate in sports, compared to peers who do not play sports exhibit the
following:
Greater personal confidence and self-esteem.
Stronger peer relationships.
Greater family attachment and more frequent interactions with parents.
More likely to volunteer, vote and follow the news. (para. 3)
From the findings from AtYourOwnRisk.org, through playing sports, an individual will
become well rounded. Not only will he develop good social skills, but he will also perform
better in school and be healthier. Furthermore, there are certain benefits that come from sports
that can help the athlete in the long term.
The researcher’s final question was “How has being a student athlete impacted these
individuals?” The main advantage of being a student athlete is receiving scholarships. The
scholarships are plenty in number and reflect your work and dedication to the craft. According
to Loop News (2023), “In 2020, Briana Williams provided 25 tablets to student-athletes who
were forced to attend classes from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also donated
furniture and school supplies to educator Stacey-Ann Donaldson who has a reading and
homework centre in Rose Gardens, Kingston.”
Data Collection Sources
The research was applied, by nature, as it was an investigation. It was also one of
qualitative nature. The instrument used to collect the data was a questionnaire. It was an online
questionnaire made in Google Forms. The questionnaire consisted of 20 questions, mostly close-
ended, which depended on whether the respondents played a sport or not.
The sample size was supposed to be 30 boys, however only 14 answered the
questionnaire. The type of sampling method employed was stratified random sampling; out of
the Kingston College sixth form cohort of 127 boys, 30 were randomly selected to complete the
questionnaire.
The questionnaire was the only primary source of data, secondary sources included
scholarly articles, newspapers, and websites. The sources used gave the researcher further insight
into the topic and areas being investigated. It must be noted that caution was used when
searching for newspaper articles as not all of them were written by credible people.
The data was collected on February 24, 2023
Presentation and Analysis of Data
Figure 1.1 - Pie chart showing the percentage of respondents that either play sports or do not.
The chart shows that 50% of the respondents were both student athletes and regular students
Figure 1.2 – Pie chart showing the percentage of respondents that play any one of the sports listed
From the chart, it was determined that most of the respondents do swimming as a sport
Figure 1.3 – Pie chart showing how long the respondents have played their respective sport
The chart shows that most of the respondents are experienced athletes
Figure 1.4 - Pie chart showing the amount of time each day the respondents train
The chart shows that 28.6% train for 1-2 hours, 28.6% train for 2-3 hours, and 42.9% of
respondents train for more than 3 hours
Figure 1.5 – Pie chart showing the number of days the respondents train weekly
While there are some that train every day, most of the respondents train twice a week
Figure 1.6 – Bar chart showing the benefits students have received from playing sports
From the bar chart, 85.7% of the respondents say that engaging in sports helps them destress
from school
Figure 1.7 - Pie chart showing whether students believe that sports have negatively affected their social
lives
From the pie chart, most respondents disagree with this statement
Figure 1.8 – Pie chart asking respondents about free time after school
Most respondents stated that they do have free time
Figure 1.9 – Pie chart asking respondents if they get enough time to study
Majority of the respondents said “Yes”
Figure 1.10 – Pie chart asking respondents how many hours they study daily
Majority of respondents on give less than an hour of their day to study
Figure 1.11 – Pie chart showing the grades that the respondents receive at school
Grades A and C are the most common among the respondents
Figure 1.12 – Pie chart on the contribution of sports to the respondents’ academic performance
Majority of respondents stated that sports had nothing to do with their academic performance
Figure 2.1 – Bar chart showing reasons why some respondents do not play sports.
From the bar chart, most respondents say that sports are too time-consuming.
Figure 2.2 – Pie chart showing whether the respondents have free time after school or not
From the pie chart, more students said that they had time for themselves
Figure 2.3 – Bar chart showing reasons for how not participating in sports has benefitted the
respondents
Most respondents stated that they dedicate the time to whatever they want to do
Figure 2.4 – Pie chart determining whether or not the respondents’ social lives have been affect from
not playing sports
Most of the respondents’ responses rejected this statement.
Figure 2.5 – Pie chart asking respondents if they get enough time to study
Most respondents replied “Yes” to this question
Figure 2.6 – Pie chart asking respondents how often they study daily
From the pie chart most of the respondents study for 4 or more hours
Figure 2.7 – Pie chart asking the respondents what their grades are like
From the pie chart, most respondents have received B grades
Figure 2.8 – Pie chart showing whether the students believe that not playing sports has
benefitted their academic performance
From the pie chart, the response to this statement was mostly positive
Discussion of Findings
Sports can improve a student’s academic performance. However, it does come with its
caveats. While tabulating the results the researcher noticed many similarities between the
primary and secondary data collected for this research.
According to research done by Jennifer Ellison Brown on “The impact of physical
education and sport” (2016) “Children who participate in physical activity and other after-school
programmes are more engaged in and have a better attitude about learning, perform better
academically, and enjoy an increased sense of accomplishment, competence, and self-esteem.”
This statement is countered by Fig.1.11 and Fig.2.7 of this research. These figures show the
academic performances of both children engaged in sport and regular students respectively.
Though there may be similarities with the number of students who received Grade A’s, regular
students’ grades do not seem to drop below C, with the bulk of the respondents receiving Grade
B (57.1%). As for student athletes, there is a spread from Grade A to F, with the most
concentrated grades being A and C (28.6%).
From a publication by AtYourOwnRisk.org on “The Benefits of Sports” (2023),
“Children who participate in sports, compared to peers who do not play sports exhibit greater
personal confidence and self-esteem(para.3)”. This statement is complemented by the bar chart
on Figure 1.6. On this bar chart, 4 of the 7 respondents that play sports say that playing sports
has “enhanced their confidence”.
From a LoopNews article (2023), “Briana Williams grants scholarships to three student-
athletes”, it states that “Olympic sprint relay gold medallist Briana Williams has awarded
scholarships to three Excelsior High School student-athletes valued at $210,000.”. Using Figure
1.6 again, the researcher noticed that 4/7 of the respondents that play sports, say that
“Opportunities for scholarships have opened up for me”
Conclusion/Limitations of the Research/Recommendations
From conducting the investigation, the researcher deduced that while sports may have its
benefits on the students that play them, its impact on academics is few and far between.
While conducting the investigation, the researcher experienced a few hiccups along the
way. Some of which included:
Insufficient number of questionnaires answered to make a reasonable judgement
Respondents not fully understanding the question before answering
Time and human resource constraints
The researcher intended to have 30 people as a sample size, but could only amass 14
Lastly, the researcher believes that sports can help students academically and implores
stakeholders such as school teachers, coaches, parents, and others to investigate further.
References
Williams, M. (2023, February 1). Briana Williams grants scholarships to three student-athletes:
Loop Jamaica. Loop News. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from
https://jamaica.loopnews.com/content/briana-williams-grants-scholarships-three-student-athletes.
Writer, R. G.- S. T. A. R., & Writer, R. G.- S. T. A. R. (2023, February 7). Hibbert starts
university with 4.0 GPA. Sports | Jamaica Star. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://jamaica-
star.com/article/sports/20230207/hibbert-starts-university-40-gpa.
Hooton, T. (2022, February 15). Benefits of sports. Benefits of Sports | At Your Own Risk.
Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://www.atyourownrisk.org/benefits-of-
sports#:~:text=Organized%20sports%20participation%20may%20aid,social%20identity%20and
%20social%20adjustment.
Brown, J. E. (2016, July 6). Jennifer Ellison Brown: The impact of physical education and sport.
Sports | Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20160706/jennifer-ellison-brown-impact-physical-
education-and-sport#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20recent%20study,competence%2C
%20and%20self%2Desteem.
Appendices
Questionnaire
[The Impact of Sports on the Academic Performance of High School
Students]
Hello. I am a Kingston College Sixth Former kindly asking for a minute of your time to complete
this form. This is for my Caribbean Studies IA, so please respond with honesty.
1) Do you play a sport?
() Yes
() No
*The next section is for people that answered “Yes” to Question 1*
1) If yes, state the sport you play?
A. Swimming
B. Track and Field
C. Lacrosse
D. Cricket
E. Rugby
F. Table Tennis
G. Basketball
H. Football
2) How long have you been playing this sport?
() Less than a year
() Between 1-3 years
() Between 4-6 years
() 7+ years
3) How many hours do you train?
() 1-2 hours
() Between 2-3 hours
() More than 3 hours
4) How many times do you train per week?
() Once a week
() Twice a week
() Thrice a week
() Everyday
() Other
5) What benefits have you gotten from participating in sports?
[] It has shown me the importance of proper time management
[] Opportunities for scholarships have opened up for me
[] Engaging in sporting activities is a way for me to destress from school
[] It has kept me in shape and in good health
[] It has enhanced my confidence
[] It has improved my communication skills and problem solving
[] Other
6) Sports has negatively impacted my social life
() Strongly Agree
() Agree
() Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly Disagree
7) Do you have enough time for yourself once school ends for the day? (free time and
weekend)
() Yes
() No
8) Do you get enough time to study?
() Yes
() No
9) How many hours do you devote to studying?
() Less than an hour
() Roughly 1-2 hours
() Between 2-4 hours
() More than 4 hours
10) What are your grades like?
() Mostly A’s (90-100%)
() Mostly B’s (80-89%)
() Mostly C’s (70-79%)
() Mostly D’s (60-69%)
() Mostly F’s (Below 60%)
11) Playing a sport has helped my academics.
() Strongly Agree
() Agree
() Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly Disagree
*The next section is for people that answered “No” to Question 1*
1) Why don’t you do a sport?
[] It is an expensive venture
[] I simply do not have the time for it
[] They are very exhausting
[] It would interfere with my studies
[] I just do not like them
2) Do you have enough time for yourself once school ends for the day? (free time and
weekends)
() Yes
() No
3) How has not participating in sports benefited you?
[] I have been able to try new activities both within school (club) and outside of it
(hobbies)
[] I have more time dedicated to whatever I want to do
[] Other
4) My social life has been affected from not playing sports.
() Strongly Agree
() Agree
() Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly Disagree
5) Do you get enough time to study?
() Yes
() No
6) How many hours a day do you study?
() Less than an hour
() Roughly 1-2 hours
() Between 2-4 hours
() More than 4 hours
7) What are your grades like?
() Mostly A’s (90-100%)
() Mostly B’s (80-89%)
() Mostly C’s (70-79%)
() Mostly D’s (60-69%)
() Mostly F’s (Below 60%)
8) Not playing sports has positively impacted my academics.
() Strongly Agree
() Agree
() Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly Disagree
