Examining the evidence for improved educational and learning outcomes through physical education in schools

In 2019, the Commonwealth Department of Education (DoE) commissioned researchers within the Faculty of Education at Monash University to conduct a literature review of relevant available research and evidence in Australia (and if appropriate overseas), where improved learning outcomes for school students have been demonstrated to result from effective implementation of the physical education element of the curriculum. The project sought to determine the benefits/impact that physical education (PE) may have on academic achievement (AA) in other curriculum learning areas (CLA). This process was guided by the following research question: Does physical education have measurable educative benefits/impact on student academic performance and meeting of learning outcomes in other curriculum learning areas? The review concluded that: 1) there is insufficient robust and consistent evidence to suggest that physical education has a measurable educative benefit/impact on student academic performance or the meeting of learning outcomes in other curriculum learning areas; and 2) •the studies collectively indicate an array of positive, neutral or inconclusive relationships between a variety of indices associated with PE/PA, AA and/or EF, this conclusion is irrespective of methodology or intervention design, regardless of the approach used and measurement tools.