The impact of sport participation on academic performance among Maltese secondary school students

Abstract

Existing research suggests that smaller class sizes, diverse teaching methods, and engagement in sports yield positive returns on students’ educational outcomes. This paper investigates whether students participating in sports when preparing for their Secondary Educational Certificate, a pivotal milestone in their life, exhibit higher academic performances in English language and Mathematics than their non-participating counterparts. Utilising online self-completion questionnaires from students who underwent exams in the past two years, these findings reveal a statistically significant positive correlation between the frequency of sports participation and academic performance regarding improved grades. Furthermore, the study highlights that this positive influence of sports is more evident in Mathematics than in English. Additional insights from this study indicate that students in private schools generally achieve higher grades than state school students, and academic marks vary according to the students’ residential district due to diverse cultural backgrounds.