COMPARISON OF PHYSICAL FITNESS OF HIGH AND LOW ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to compare physical fitness of high and low academic achievement of lower secondary school students in Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic.
The participants were 320 students, 160 males and 160 females, drawn by using the Multistage Random Sampling. The samples were divided into two groups: high and low academic achievement based on Ministry of Education and Sports standardized score seven items related to physical fitness were tested, these included heart rate, percentage of fat, flexibility, leg strength, grip strength, 30 seconds sit-up and long distance run. The Independent Sample t-test with statistical significant level of 0.05 was used to test the hypothesis.
The results revealed that pulse rate (beat/ min) of the male groups with high and low academic achievement were mean 70.90 ± 9.53, 64.82 ± 6.72, t = 4.65, p = 0.00* and 69.67 ± 10.83, 63.07 ± 7.17, t = 4.54, p = 0.01* for the female groups; the mean of long distance running time (min. sec.) of the male groups with high and low academic achievement were 5.00 ± 1.03, 4.26 ± 0.57, t = 5.54, p = 0.00* and 5.42 ± 0.87, 4.53 ± 0.63, t = 7.30, p = 0.00* for female groups. However, the average of fat percentages, ability to sit leagth, leg strength, grip strength and 30 seconds sit-up between each pair of the groups showed no significant difference.
In conclusion, existing data suggested that aerobic physical fitness as reflected by resting heart rate and long distance run of lower secondary school students with low academic achievement was higher than those who had high academic achievement, while other physical fitness aspects revealed no difference.
(Journal of Sports Science and Technology 2015; 15(2); 133-144)