Physical Activity and Educational Achievement ─ Insights from Exercise Neuroscience

A growing body of research evidence suggests that physical activity can have a positive effect on educational achievement. This book examines a range of processes associated with physical activity that are of relevance to those working in education, including learning, memory and attention, mood, and mental health symptoms, and draws on the latest research in exercise neuroscience to help explain the evidence. Cutting through the myths, and with contributions from leading scientists and educationalists from around the world, the book also looks ahead, asking what the limits of this research might be and what effects it might have on the future practice of education

Romain Meeusen is head of the department of Human Physiology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. His research interest is focussed on exercise and the brain in health and disease, exploring the influence of neurotransmitters on human performance, training, rehabilitation. He teaches in exercise physiology, training and coaching, sports physiotherapy, and has published 500 articles and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals, 18 books on sport physiotherapy, and lectured at more than 900 national and international conferences. He is a former Board member of the European College of Sport Science ECSS (2000-2013) and of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) (2010-2013) and is scientific advisor to the ‘Lotto Cycling Institute’ (Lotto-Soudal professional cycling team).

Sabine Schaefer is an assistant professor of exercise psychology at the University of Leipzig, Germany. She studied psychology at the Free University in Berlin, where she received her PhD in 2005, with a thesis entitled ‘Concurrent cognitive and sensorimotor performance: A comparison of children and young adults’. After her dissertation, she worked as a research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin. Her research focuses on the interplay of cognitive and motor functioning across the lifespan. In age-comparative studies, she has shown that older adults often have pronounced performance decrements when performing a cognitive and a motor task simultaneously, whereas children occasionally profit from such dual-task situations. Her research has also focused on cognitive and fitness interventions in old adults.

Phillip D. Tomporowski PhD is a professor of kinesiology at the University of Georgia, USA. Trained as an experimental psychologist, he has been involved in the study of learning and the effects of exercise on mental functions for four decades. He has authored, coauthored, or edited six books and contributed to a number of other books. He is widely published in journals on cognitive function and exercise issues in children and older adults and has received several grants to conduct studies in these and related areas. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and a member of the American Psychological Society.

Richard Bailey PhD is Senior Researcher at ICSSPE, and was previously a University Professor of Sport and Education in the UK. A former physical education teacher, he has undertaken post-graduate study in cognitive evolution, mental health, and epistemology. His research focuses on the relationship between physical activity, human development and education. He is the author of twenty books, more than a hundred articles and chapters, and currently writes a popular blog (Talking Education and Sport) and a column for Psychology Today magazine on sport and learning (Smart Moves).