(1) Background: Society’s shift to a tech-focused era and has created a hyper-connected, sedentary lifestyle. The purpose of this study is to address two objectives: firstly, to describe and analyze the effects of an active breaks program associated with the learning of curricular content (CF-AB) on levels of attention, concentration, and academic performance (AP); secondly, to examine the relationship between intense physical activity (PA), attention, concentration, academic self-concept, basic psychological needs, and academic performance in schoolchildren who practice CF-ABs. (2) Method: A randomized controlled trial quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test study with a non-probabilistic sample included 313 secondary school students divided into intervention and control groups. The intervention, a curricular-focused academic break (CF-AB) (8 weeks, 5–10 min/session), is taken in the middle of the class and linked with the subject content. Measuring instruments: Attention Test D2, ad hoc test for the AP, self-concept AF5, Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale in General (BNSG-S), and the Global PA Questionnaire (GPAC.V2). (3) Results: Attention and concentration improved in both groups, with no significant differences. There were no significant differences in academic self-concept, but the intervention group showed higher scores in basic psychological needs. AP correlated positively with concentration, academic self-concept, and physical activity. A proportion of 20% of the variance of AP in spelling is explained by the regression model. Students who improved the most in AP practiced intense PA outside school, with good self-concept and satisfactory social relationships. Although concentration was related to AP, it did not explain the improvement. (4) Conclusion: CF-ABs may have a positive impact on attention and AP, with socioemotional factors and PA playing an important role in this effect. (5) Limitations and Future Research: The relationship between PA performed in class and AP should be considered with caution due to the multifactorial nature of AP. Future research should consider the number of sessions per week, the prolongation of the same during the school year, the intensity and duration of the activity, and the intervention type of active breaks. In addition, attention should be paid to possible incident factors in AP related to personal and social variables.

La educación evoluciona hacia enfoques pedagógicos y estrategias de enseñanza para optimizar el aprendizaje. Los descansos activos curriculares (DDAA-C) son una estrategia en crecimiento para abordar estos desafíos en entornos escolares. Esta investigación cualitativa presenta tres objetivos: 1) conocer las barreras y facilitadores que el profesorado percibe durante la intervención realizada mediante descansos activos curriculares (DDAA-C) en el aula; 2) estudiar la incidencia de los DDAA-C en la atención, concentración y rendimiento académico (RA) del alumnado desde la perspectiva del profesorado; 3) analizar las impresiones del profesorado sobre la intervención realizada mediante los DDAA-C. En esta investigación participaron seis docentes de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO) (n= 6) de un centro escolar de la Comunidad Autónoma Vasca (España), que impartían Lengua Vasca. La intervención, de 8 semanas, empleó el movimiento para repasar conceptos lingüísticos. Para obtener los datos, se realizaron entrevistas semi-estructuradas. Los resultados de la investigación indican que el profesorado percibe que la implementación de DDAA-C en entornos escolares puede mejorar la atención, concentración y el aprendizaje a pesar de las barreras de la falta de tiempo, espacio y recursos. La aceptación general que expresa el profesorado indica que la aplicación de DDAA-C puede ser un método valido de enseñanza aprendizaje.

In education, optimising academic achievement (AA) and promoting attention and concentration are essential elements. The main goal of this systematic review (SR) is to analyse and synthetise the scientific evidence to examine the impact that the different interventions with active breaks (AB) have on the AA, attention, and concentration of the students in educational contexts. To do this, the PRISMA protocol is followed (REG INPLASY: INPLASY202390082). The documents that comply with the inclusion criteria for this research are 29 scientific articles extracted from the databases Web of Science (WOS), SCOPUS and ERIC. The specific goals of this study are detailed through 13 research questions related to the characteristics of the works and their results, e.g. thematic and geographic diversity, variability in the research designs, inclusion of several educational levels and academic contents, as well as the presence of common intervention modalities and heterogeneous durations. The panoramic view suggested by the results presents AB as an interdisciplinary topic of international interest mainly focused on basic education, with measure instruments that are diverse and have variable duration, which might influence the comparability between studies. Even though some studies back up the positive effects of AB, the heterogeneity of approaches and results highlights the need of future research in order to unify criteria and allow a better understanding of the effects of AB and their applicability in several educational contexts.