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BSc in Psychology The Effects of Exercise, Motivation and Parent´s Education on Academic Achievement Among Adolescents in Iceland: A Cross-sectional Study May, 2018 Name: Jóhann Pétur Fleckenstein ID number: 1706942289

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Page 1: The Effects of Exercise, Motivation and Parent´s Education ...hann_BSc_Thesis.pdf · self-control resources that they can call into play and use to leverage their motivation. Their

BSc in Psychology

The Effects of Exercise, Motivation and Parent´s Education on Academic Achievement Among Adolescents in Iceland: A

Cross-sectional Study

May, 2018

Name: Jóhann Pétur Fleckenstein

ID number: 1706942289

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FACTORS AFFECTING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 2

Foreword and Acknowledgement

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the BSc Psychology degree,

Reykjavík University, this thesis is presented in the style of an article for submission to a peer-

reviewed journal.

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FACTORS AFFECTING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 3

Abstract – English

Academic achievement is an important factor regarding every person´s life. Therefore, it is vital

to examine factors concerning it. This study was conducted to examine the effects of exercise,

parent´s education, student motivation and gender on academic achievement among adolescents

in Iceland. The study used pre-existing data, collected by The Icelandic Research Centre for

Social Research and Analysis (ISCRA) in 2016. Participants were 2008 adolescents from every

secondary school in Iceland. Age ranged from 15-21 years old (Mage = 17.4). Gender distribution

was rather equal, 49.1% were males and 50.9% were females. Results using hierarchical linear

regression indicate that exercise, parent´s education and student motivation have positive effect

on academic achievement among adolescents. Furthermore, females seem to show better

academic achievement than males. The study concludes that many factors impact adolescent’s

academic achievement and adolescents need to be apprised of these factors and their positive

effects.

Keywords: Adolescents, exercise, parent´s education, motivation, gender difference,

academic achievement

Abstract - Icelandic

Námsárangur er mikilvægur þáttur í lífi flestra. Því má færa rök fyrir mikilvægi þess að rannsaka þætti sem hafa áhrif á námsárangur. Núverandi rannsókn rannsakaði áhrif hreyfingar, menntunar foreldra, áhugahvatar til náms og kyns á námsárangur ungmenna á Íslandi. Rannsóknin notaði eldri gögn frá Rannsókn og greiningu (R&G) frá 2016. Þátttakendur voru 2008 ungmenni frá öllum framhaldsskólum á Íslandi. Aldur þátttakenda var á bilinu 15-21 árs (Maldur = 17,4). Kynjaskiptingin var fremur jöfn, 49,1% voru karlkyns og 50,9% voru kvenkyns. Niðurstöður út frá aðhvarfsgreiningar líkani gefa til kynna að hreyfing, menntun foreldra og áhugahvöt til náms hafi jákvæð áhrif á námsárangur ungmenna. Einnig virðist sem stelpur njóti betri námsárangurs en strákar. Rannsóknin sýnir að það eru margir þættir sem hafa áhrif á námsárangur ungmenna. Jafnframt sýnir hún fram á mikilvægi þess að ungmenni fái fræðslu um þessa þætti og jákvæð áhrif þeirra. Lykilorð: Ungmenni, hreyfing, menntun foreldra, áhugahvöt, kynjamunur, námsárangur

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FACTORS AFFECTING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 4

The Effects of Exercise, Motivation and Parent´s Education on Academic Achievement Among

Adolescents in Iceland: A Cross-sectional Study

Academic achievement in itself is the performance outcome for a person who is studying

in school, college, and university (Steinmayr, Meißner, Weidinger, & Wirthwein, 2014).

Moreover, it indicates the level of intellectual education achieved by a person, a group, or a

whole nation (Ramachandran, 2012). Performance outcomes are in most cases measured through

grades (Steinmayr et al., 2014). More specifically, grades indicate the performance a student

achieves through a number or letter they receive for a course or for a single test (Grade, n.d.).

Steinmayr et al., (2014) argue that academic achievement should be a multifaceted construct that

comprises different aspects of learning. In this light, it can be argued that academic achievement

is a broad topic. Ramachandran (2012) draws attention to the fact that girls have better

achievement in school than boys, which he claims is contributed to by different factors, including

gender-typical dissimilarities in personality and motivation that accounts most for this difference.

An additional explanation is that girls are more intrinsically motivated for learning as it is

organized in a typical school environment. Regarding personality differences, girls have greater

self-control resources that they can call into play and use to leverage their motivation. Their

higher self-control makes it easier for them to follow demands set by the school even if they are

not interested in what is being required (Ramachandran, 2012).

In today´s society and more accurately in higher income countries, academic

achievement plays a significant role in every person´s life (Steinmayr et al., 2014). Putting the

words of Sarason, Davidson, Lighthall, Waite and Ruebush (1960) into some context, our world

depends on tests and our performance on them. They are a significant part of our culture, and our

existence is considerably built around them. Those words apply just as well today. With that in

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FACTORS AFFECTING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 5

mind and looking forward, studying factors that can have either a positive or negative effect on

academic achievement is important.

Many aspects of today’s society can affect student’s academic achievement. A study by

Sigfúsdóttir, Kristjánsson and Allegrante (2007) examined the relationship between health

behaviors and academic achievement. Their results showed that body mass index, diet and

physical activity explained up to 24% of the variance in academic achievement (Sigfúsdóttir et

al., 2007). These findings are consistent with similar studies, as it found evidence of a

relationship between health behaviors and academic performance. Kristjánsson, Sigfúsdóttir and

Allegrante (2010), further demonstrated and provided evidence that there is an even closer

relationship between health behaviors and academic achievement. Their results showed that

lower BMI, physical activity, and good dietary habits were all associated with higher academic

achievement (Kristjánsson et al., 2010).

As previously mentioned, health variables show a positive effect on academic

achievement. Therefore, of those mentioned, exercise as a factor concerning academic

achievement will be demonstrated. Since at least the time of the ancient Greeks, there has been a

belief that physical activity is associated with intellectual abilities. The relationship between

these two qualities were, however, not evaluated until the late 1950s (Tomporowski, Davis,

Miller, & Naglieri, 2008). In this context, it is important to note, exercise as a term has

sometimes been confused with physical activity and physical fitness. Caspersen, Powell and

Christenson (1985) proposed definitions to distinguish between these terms. Exercise is

described as a subcategory of physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive.

Furthermore, exercise has a final or an intermediate objective, that is improvement or

maintenance of physical fitness (Caspersen et al., 1985). Today it is recommended that healthy

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adults should exercise at least 20-30 minutes, three to five times a week (WHO, 2010).

Meanwhile, school-age youth should participate in 60 minutes of (moderate to vigorous)

physical activity daily (Strong et al., 2005). As has been mentioned earlier, exercise is a

subcategory for physical activity.

Regarding exercise, there is a gender differences when looking at the reason for

exercising and spending time exercising. Female exercise tends to focus on losing weight, while

male exercise tends to focus on gaining weight (Furnham, Badmin, & Sneade, 2002). In addition,

according to Nomaguchi and Bianchi (2004), overall females tend to spend less time exercising

than males.

Studies that have examined the effects of exercise on academic achievement have shown

that exercise positively effects academic achievement. Rasmussen and Laumann (2013) showed

that exercising seemed to result in slight improvement in learning effectiveness. In addition,

Davis et al., (2011) showed improvements in executive function and brain activation that was

attributed to exercise. A study by Gísladóttir, Matthíasdóttir and Kristjánsdóttir (2013) examined

exercise through participation in sports that are planned, structured, and repetitive. Results

showed similar results as previous studies (Davis et al., 2011). Findings indicate that taking part

in sports increases mental and physical conditioning and, additionally, taking part in sports

increases adolescent´s belief in their ability to succeed academically (Gísladóttir et al., 2013).

Thus, exercise seems to help the adolescent’s confidence in doing well in school.

Along with exercise, other factors have proven to effect academic achievement. Of those,

parent´s education and student motivation will be examined as they seem to have a large impact

on adolescent’s academic achievement (Afzal, Ali, Khan & Hamid, 2010; Bandura, 1986; Davis-

Kean, 2005; Goodman et al., 2011). Bandura (1986) argued that parental educational levels

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could be directly linked to children´s academic success. These results are attributed to shaped

behavior through observation and direct learning experiences (Bandura, 1986). Parent´s level of

education has since been shown to also be an important socioeconomic factor when looking at

academic achievement among adolescents (Davis-Kean, 2005). The previous study mentioned

found that parent´s education was related indirectly to adolescent’s academic achievement

(Davis-Kean, 2005). In addition, it has been shown that parent´s educational level is not only an

important predictor of adolescent´s academic achievement but also a predictor of their behavioral

outcome (Davis-Kean, 2005; Duncan, Brooks-Gunn, & Klebanov, 1994; Haveman & Wolfe,

1995; Nagin & Trembley, 2001; Smith, Brooks-Gunn, & Klebanov, 1997). A longitudinal study

by Dubow, Boxer and Huesmann (2009) showed that parent´s educational level when a child

was eight years old predicted educational success for the child 40 years later. Previous findings

on the subject were supported with results that a recent study concluded. Indicating that the

relationship between parental educational level and academic achievement among secondary

school students is positive (Khan, Iqbal & Tasneem, 2015). These results give evidence for the

distinctive role of parent´s education on adolescent’s academic achievement later in life (Dubow

et al., 2009).

Another predictor surrounding academic achievement is student motivation. It has been

proven to be one of the assumptions for good academic achievement among adolescents

(Björnsdóttir, Kristjánsson & Hansen, 2009). Motivation as a term has been separated into two

different categories, intrinsic and extrinsic (Levesque, 2011). Therefore, intrinsic motivation has

been explained as the untaught interest or enjoyment in an activity. Meaning, no reward is

needed (Levesque, 2011). Extrinsic motivation requires external motivating factors, for an

example, good grade or a reward (Levesque, 2011). Study by Goodman et al., (2011) found that

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intrinsic motivation is a stronger predictor for academic achievement than extrinsic motivation.

In addition, academic achievement was shown to increase between 23%-34% due to

aforementioned motivational factors (Afzal et al., 2010). This increase indicates the positive

impact motivation can have on academic achievement (Afzal et al., 2010).

In a study by Björnsdóttir et al., (2009), they found positive association between

student´s motivation and academic achievement. Additionally, a study by Mohamed and Waheed

(2011) examined motivation towards mathematics. There were no gender differences regarding

participants motivation towards mathematics. Moreover, motivation was at medium level,

despite the performance was considered at lower levels (Mohamed & Waheed, 2011). Indicating

that there is a connection between motivation and academic performance. Furthermore, Singh,

Granville and Dika (2010) found that motivation is an important factor when looking at

academic achievement surrounding adolescents. Results from the study found that attitude

towards the subjects examined, mathematics and science, had positive effect on achievement in

those subjects (Singh et al., 2010).

In conclusion, the accumulated knowledge that has been reported above shows the effect

of exercise, parent´s education and student motivation on academic achievement. Additionally,

gender differences regarding academic achievement was clarified. Therefore, to shed a light of

these factors on academic achievement, when looking at adolescents in Iceland, the hypotheses

made were:

1.   Females have better academic achievement than males.

2.   Exercise has a positive effect on academic achievement among adolescents.

3.   Higher education among parents has positive effect on academic achievement

among adolescents.

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4.   Higher motivation towards academics has positive effect on academic

achievement among adolescents.

Method

Participants

The participants in the current study were secondary school students in Iceland. To be

eligible for the study, they had to be in school the day the study was administrated. The current

study used pre-existing data and is therefore a part of a bigger study that was conducted by The

Icelandic Research Centre for Social Research and Analysis (ISCRA) and named Youth in

Iceland 2016 (Pálsdóttir et al., 2016). Participants were encouraged to take part in the Youth in

Iceland 2016 study although they were free to stop participation at any time. Participants did not

receive payment or any award for their participation at any time. The current study uses a sample

that was randomly drawn from the total number of participants in the Youth in Iceland 2016

study. Thus, the sample included 2008 participants. Gender distribution was rather equal, where

49.1% (n = 1003) were males and 50.9% (n = 1005) were females. Participants´ birth years was

from 1995- 2001, most of which were born between 1998-1999 (n = 947).

Procedure

As has been mentioned, the current study used pre-existing data from ISCRA, called

Youth in Iceland 2016 (Pálsdóttir et al., 2016). Therefore, the supervision of the data process was

overseen by ISCRA. The procedure stated that an anonymous questionnaire was distributed to

every high school student in Iceland on the day the study commenced. Teachers supervised the

administration of the survey questionnaire in each school under guidelines from ISCRA. They

questionnaire were anonymous, and participants were told not to put their name or social security

number in the questionnaire. The participants were encouraged to answer the questionnaire

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conscientiously and be honest in their answers. If they did not understand some part of the

questionnaire, they could ask for help. When finished with the questionnaire, participants put the

questionnaire in an envelope and returned it to the teacher. The questionnaires were then sent to

ISCRA for analysis of the data.

Ethical aspects.

As the current study uses pre-existing data, participants have already answered the

questionnaire. Therefore, ethics of the current study are in compliance with the ethics from

ISCRA on the questionnaire. Name, social security number or other identifying factors were not

used and therefore it is impossible to trace the questionnaire back to a specific individual. The

participants were encouraged to answer the questionnaire conscientiously and be honest in their

answers. Participants could stop participation in the study at any time they felt uncomfortable.

To be noted, the pre-existing data was collect in accordant with the rules of The Icelandic Data

Protection Authority.

Measurements

The measurement of the study was the aforementioned ISCRA questionnaire, which was

32 pages with 85 questions, divided into different sections. The current study used 15 of those

questions to shed a light on the hypotheses. The study was conducted in October/November

2016.

Dependent Variable.

Academic achievement. Academic achievement was the leading depended variable.

When examining it, two self-reported questions was used (see Appendix A). Translated from

Icelandic, the question regarding academic achievement read, “What was your mean grade in

your last semester in school, whether it was elementary school, secondary school or another

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school?” Then you answered for two separate subjects, Icelandic and Mathematics. Students in

Iceland are obligated to take these subjects, both in elementary school and secondary school.

These subjects were than computed into one variable. Additionally, the first answering scale

option read, “Does not apply” was made missing in the current study. Therefore, the interval

answering scale ranged from, (2) “3” to (9) “10”. The grading system in Iceland generally uses a

scale from 0-10 where under 5 is a fail grade and over 5 is a pass grade. There was a rather

strong correlation between the two subjects (r = .573).

Independent Variables.

Physical exercise. Physical exercise was one of the four main independent variables. To

measure exercise, four self-reported questions were used from the questionnaire (see Appendix

A). All questions used were sub questions, under the same assertion. Translated from Icelandic,

the statement read, “The following questions regard sports and exercise”. Important to note, the

questions were computed into one variable, hence, getting better variance. Translated from

Icelandic, the first questions read, “How many times to take part in sports or exercise in school

outside of the obligated gymnastic course?”. Second question read, “How many times do you

train or compete with a sports team?”. Third read, “How many times do you exercise outside of

the obligated course in school or with a sports team?”. The last question was, “How many times

do you exercise or train until your breathing heavily or starting sweating?”. All questions had the

same answering scale, (1) “Almost never”, (2) “1x week”, (3) “2x week”, (4) “3x week”, (5) “4-

6x week and lastly (6) “Mostly every day”. The questions were added, giving a scale that took

range from 4 (“Almost never exercising”) – 24 (“Mostly every day exercising”). For further

explanation, higher value means more exercise.

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Gender. Second independent variable was regarding the gender of participants.

Participants were asked on a nominal scale if they were male or female. Males were coded 1 and

females with 2.

Parents education. Parents education was the third independent variable. Participants

were asked two separate questions, first about their father’s education and then about their

mothers (see Appendix A). The questions were added, making one variable “parents education”.

Therefore, translated from Icelandic, the question used to examine parents’ education read,

“What is your parents’ education?”. To be mentioned, it was decided to make the first answering

option a missing one. The option was, (1) “Don’t know or does not apply”. Consequently, if

participants answered the first option for both parents, that was taken out of the current study. As

a result, translated from Icelandic, the five-point Likert scale read, (2) “Finished elementary

school or less, (3) “Started secondary school or similar institute”, (4) “Finished secondary school

or similar institute”, (5) “Started a university program” and lastly (6) “Finished a university

program”. As has been mentioned, the two questions were computed, hence, the scale took range

from 4-12. Lowest score being 4, being a sign of that both parents had finished elementary

school or less. Highest score being 12, indicating that both parents had finished a university

program. There was a moderate correlation between the two questions (r = .492).

Student motivation. The fourth and last independent variable was student motivation. To

measure attitude towards school, five self-reported statements were used from the questionnaire

(see Appendix A). All questions used were sub statements, under the same assertion. Translated

from Icelandic, the assertion read, “How well do following statements fit you?” The five

statements were computed into one variable, “student motivation”. The five statements were, “I

find the studies meaningless”, “The studies bore me”, “I feel ill-prepared for class”, “I don´t put

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enough effort into my studies”, and “I feel bad in school”. The statements were answered on a

five-point Likert scale, (1) “Does almost always apply to me”, (2) “Does often apply to me”, (3)

“Does sometimes apply to me”, (4) “Does seldom apply to me” and lastly, (5) “Does almost

never apply to me”. After being added, the scale ranged from 0-20. The scale had good internal

consistency (Cronbach´s a = .81).

Design and Data Analysis

To test the hypotheses mentioned above, SPSS Statistics (version 24) was used for data

analysis. Furthermore, hierarchical linear regression was utilized to examine the effects of

exercise, gender, parent’s education and student motivation on academic achievement. Four

separate regression models were used to see the effects independent variables would have on

academic achievement. The predictor with the strongest correlation with the academic

achievement was entered first. For all analysis level of significance was set at p < .05.

Results

Demographic characteristics

The participants in the current study were all born between 1995 and 2001. Therefore,

their age ranged from 15 to 21 years old when the study was conducted by ISCRA in 2016. The

mean age of participants was 17.38 years (SD = 1.25).

Descriptive analysis

Descriptive statistics for parent’s education, academic achievement, student motivation

and for exercise are given on Table 1. There were gender differences regarding some variables.

When looking at the participants academic achievement, females seem to have higher average

grade (M = 7.1, SD = 1.44) than males (M = 7.5, SD = 1.45). Females also seem to be more

motivated in school (M = 13.13; SD = 3.73) than males (M = 12.87; SD = 4), the difference is

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though really small. Furthermore, regarding exercise, males (M = 12.12, SD = 5.9) appear to

exercise slightly more than females (M = 10.78, SD = 4.8) overall.

Table 1

Descriptive Statistics for: Parents education, academic achievement, student motivation and

exercise

Variable n Min. Max. M SD

Parents education Male 821 4 12 9.4 2.4 Female 883 4 12 9 2.5 Academic achievement Male 871 3 10 7.1 1.44 Female 876 3 10 7.5 1.45 Student motivation Male 949 0 20 12.87 4 Female 972 0 20 13.33 3.73 Exercise Male 929 4 24 12.12 5.9 Female 966 4 24 10.78 4.8

Information provided in Table 2 are the correlations between the four independent

variables and academic achievement. As shown, all variables were significantly correlated with

academic achievement. Strongest correlation was between student motivation and academic

achievement (r = .318). Additionally, the weakest correlation was between parent´s education

and student motivation (r = .020). It is important to clarify that there seems to be a correlation

between exercise and student motivation (r = .100), though it is weak.

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Table 2

Correlations between four independent variables and academic achievement

Predictors 1 2 3 4 1. Parents education - 2. Gender -.078** - 3. Student motivation .020 .060** - 4. Exercise .102** -.124** .100** - 5. Academic achievement .213** .139** .318** .129**

Note. Statistical significance: * p < .05 ** p < .001

Regression analysis

To test hypotheses mentioned earlier in text, hierarchical linear regression model was

used to predict the effects of parent’s education, student motivation, gender and exercise on

academic achievement.

Parents education, student motivation, gender and exercise.

Information given in Table 3 shows results for the four models predicting for academic

achievement using hierarchical linear regression. Additionally, hierarchy method was used, as

the strongest predictor was first entered. Then followed the second strongest predictor, to the

least strong predictor surrounding academic achievement.

Table 3

Hierarchical linear regression models predicting for academic achievement

Predictor Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 b b b b

Student motivation .353** .348** .342** .336** Parents education - .200** .210** .149** Gender - - .138** .149** Exercise - - - .073** Adjusted R2 .125 .164 .183 .188

Note. b = Beta, standardized coefficient. Statistical significance: * p < .05 ** p < .001

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Model 1 in Table 3 shows that student motivation had quite a strong positive effect on

academic achievement (b = .353, p < .001). Therefore, giving evidence that better motivation

student has towards his academics has positive effect on academic achievement. Furthermore,

just the student motivation predictor counted for 12.5% (R2 = .125) in the variance of academic

achievement. In Model 2, along with aforementioned predictor, parent’s education was added.

Parents education had a weak positive effect on academic achievement (b = .200, p < .001).

Therefore, indicating that higher the parent’s education contributes to better academic

achievement. In addition, these predictors together counted for 16.4% (R2 = .164) in the variance

of academic achievement. Hence, adding 3.9% in the variance of academic achievement given in

Model 1. Furthermore, in Model 3, gender is added to the model. Gender proved to have weak

positive effect on academic achievement (b = .138, p < .001). Giving evidence that females have

better academic achievement than males. Model 3 counted for 18.3% (R2 = .183) in the variance

of academic achievement, hence, adding 1.9% in the variance of academic achievement given in

Model 2. Lastly, in Model 4, exercise was added. Exercise shows to have weak but positive

effect on academic achievement (b = .073, p < .001). Indicating that those who exercise more

have better academic achievement. Model 4 was statistically significant, F(4, 1417) = 81.95; p <

.001, as well and explained 18.8% (R2 = .188) in variance of academic achievement. Adding

exercise to the model increased the explained variance in academic achievement by 0.5%.

Discussion

The main purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of exercise, gender,

parent´s education and student motivation on academic achievement. Hierarchical linear

regression model showed that there was a gender difference regarding academic achievement. As

a result, supporting the first hypothesis of the study and agreeing with Ramachandran (2012) as

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FACTORS AFFECTING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 17

he draws attention to the fact that females show better achievement in school than males.

Claiming it is contributed by different factors, including gender-typical dissimilarities in

personality and motivation that accounts most for this difference.

In addition, exercise had significant effect on academic achievement. As a result,

supporting the second hypothesis of the study that exercising has positive effect on academic

achievement among adolescents. These findings are consistent with previous studies on the

matter. Rasmussen and Laumann (2013) showed that exercising seemed to result in a slight

improvement in learning effectiveness. In addition, results portrayed in the current study indicate

consistency with studies by Davis et al., (2011) and Gísladóttir et al., (2013), as their results were

that improvements in executive function and brain activation was attributed to exercise.

Furthermore, findings indicate that taking part in sports increases mental and physical

conditioning and, additionally, taking part in sports increases the adolescent´s belief in their

ability to succeed academically (Davis et al., 2011; Gísladóttir et al., 2013).

The third hypothesis was surrounding that higher education among parents would have

positive effect on academic achievement among adolescents. That was supported, as parent’s

education had a weak positive effect on academic achievement. Indicating that that higher the

parent’s education contributes to better academic achievement. Therefore, consistent with what

previous studies have shown as Bandura (1986) explained that parent´s educational level during

childhood could be linked directly to child’s academic success. In addition, Dubow et al., (2009)

give evidence for the distinctive role of parent’s education on adolescent’s academic

achievement later in life. The last hypothesis made was, better student motivation has positive

effect on academic achievement among adolescents. The current study supports that as higher

motivation towards their academics showed to have quite a strong positive effect on academic

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achievement, hence, giving evidence that higher motivation would have positive effect on

academic achievement. These findings are parallel with previous studies on the matter, as they

have found association between student motivation and better academic achievement

(Björnsdóttir et al., 2011; Singh et al., 2010).

It is important to note that the present study had some limitations. It was a cross-sectional

questionnaire survey that relied on self-reported answers. Therefore, it is not known if all

participants answered the questionnaire conscientiously and honestly. In addition, the factors

examined were not measured through a standardized measurement, hence, it is not known if it

was valid. Though it is important to note, that the scale for student motivation showed acceptable

internal consistency. The current study had also some important strengths. The study uses a

rather large sample (n = 2008), hence, representative for the overall population. Additionally, the

gender distribution was equal. Furthermore, as the current study was a cross-sectional one, future

studies should be longitudinal and see the effects of these factors on academic achievement over

time. Also, future studies should examine whether exercise has positive effect on student

motivation. Moreover, if the relationship between exercise and academic achievement is

mediated through student motivation. The current study simply demonstrates that there is a

connection between exercise and student motivation.

In conclusion, the current study brings evidence that exercise is a vital part of

adolescent’s life and can alter their academic achievement in a positive way, thus, debunking the

myth that those who take part in sports do worse academically. In this context, one can argue that

governments need to put more emphasis on the school’s responsibility in informing and

educating children and adolescents about the importance of exercise. Moreover, exercise has to

be made more appealing and available for all children and adolescents to ensure full participation

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FACTORS AFFECTING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 19

for all, academically and socially. Additionally, parents need to be informed of the benefit that

their educational level, as it is not only beneficial to them, but also to their children in the long

run. Furthermore, adolescents need to be educated of the benefits that motivation can have on

their academic achievement. The current study shows that these factors have impact on

adolescent´s academic achievement, demonstrating how multifaceted contributions to learning

can be.

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Appendix A

Questionnaire

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