Lessons from the hockey rink: sport and self-regulation in the classroom

This thesis discusses the knowledge the author gained through her own lived autoethnographic experiences playing hockey, interpreted through research-based evidence, to show how sport and exercise can impact students’ self-regulation skill development. Self-regulation skills are predictable and vital components to being successful in the classroom and later in life. Many special needs students in classrooms today are being diagnosed with disorders that often include a description of poor self-regulation skills such as AD/HD. The earlier children are involved in sports and learn different types of self-regulatory skills, potentially the more success they will have in life. Looking at the aspects of fitness, mental health, habit formation, life lessons, and social skills the author suggests strategies that educators can use in their classrooms to foster the development of self-regulation and advocates for getting children involved in organized sports outside of the classroom.