Dave Jones, an Ed.D. graduate, was asked to present for Advocates for Health in Action (AHA). AHA is a Wake County organization whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of Wake County residents by facilitating and supporting community initiatives and is focused on well-being, healthy eating and physical activity (website). AHA works hand-in-hand with schools across the county. Dave presented his dissertation research to principals, teachers, and parents through an online Smart Solutions School webinar on September 26th. He shared the highlights of his research of over 2,000 students in a public school district indicating the relationship between physical fitness, academic achievement, poverty, and gender. His dissertation at UNCG was titled, “The Relationship between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement among 4th and 5th Grade Boys and Girls from High and Low-Poverty Schools.” Overall, students from low-poverty schools generally outperformed students from high-poverty schools in all measurements of fitness and academic achievement with gender also having an effect. Fitness was also a significant predictor of math and reading schools across both poverty levels. Dave suggested recommendations for Wake County schools that could potentially improve the fitness and academic scores for those students in need. Specifically, increasing physical activity and fitness levels is one step that can be taken to increase academic achievement, especially in high-poverty schools who already struggle with this. Additional information on the webinar can be found here.
Dave was in the inaugural cohort of Ed.D. students completing their degree online who graduated in 2018. For more information on Dave’s dissertation, an article the AHA wrote on his work can be found here.
Story by: Shelby Anderson