RESEARCH SCRIPT – FEBRUARY 22, 2014
Matthew: A pleasant morning to you all! Today we will be discussing the research we have done regarding the effects of athletics on the academic performances and behaviors of high school Judenites.
Dyane: Now, it is fair to wonder why we have chosen this particular topic to deal with, and here is the answer. First of all, it is undeniable that for years, there has been an ongoing battle between sports and academics. It seems as though most people think that one cannot excel at both; it's either you're smart, or you're athletic. Based on conducted studies, though, it can be seen that it is indeed possible for a student to find success in both fields.
Nicole: Then we have the relationship between sports and behavior. There are some who claim that sports encourage violence and other harmful habits such as the use of performance enhancing drugs, drinking, and smoking. On the other hand, sports have also been known to promote teamwork and discipline in its participants, making them more likely to succeed in the future.
Marc: To express our views in a clearer manner, we created this visual representation. We believe that it takes all these – time management, commitment, discipline, a positive attitude, self-confidence, and focus – to achieve success. These are all skills and values that are constantly applied in sports, and if they were to be used outside of that aspect, they could be further enhanced and would likely prove to be a great help to any student.
Matthew: Now that we are familiar with the background of the study, we can move on to supporting it. There are a lot of other researchers who have dived into this topic before, and the results of their studies were helpful in supplying us with thoughts on how to improve our research. They also gave us an idea of the outcome we were to expect.
Nicole: Books from various authors provided us with information regarding our subject. Research done by Lumpkin shows that generally, athletes perform better academically, but an explanation for that may lie in the "no pass, no play" policy implemented in some schools.
Marc: Coakley and Meyersfound that interscholastic athletes do indeed rise over the non-athletes with their higher grades and better attitudes towards schoolwork. Rosenthal discovered that heir activeness tends to help them focus and use their skills efficiently. This suggestion was seconded by Sederwhen he noticed that student athletes usually develop better study habits than other students.
Dyane: The same information appears in the different studies we found, with most of them claiming a positive relationship between sports and mental health. Morris, Sallybanks, Willis, and Fujita all agree that physical activity can actually promote cognitive development. This gives students reason to be physically active, then, because it is said not to interfere so much as help in academic progress.
Matthew: For the non-academic aspects, the results are more varied. Most of them, like Lavallee, Kremer, and Moran, claim that sports can relieve depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as boost self-confidence. Maddox mentioned that as athletes are exposed to difficult circumstances on the field, they are able to deal with such situations more maturely. They were observed to have been more social and less insecure about themselves.
Dyane: Sports were found to aid in character building and overall personal development of students. Conflict occurs, though, when it comes to behavioral effects. According to Coakley, involvement in sports leads to popularity, and keeping up an image may lead to risky actions like heavy and binge drinking.
Marc: An equally acceptable argument against that claim states that sports can in fact lessen the boredom and free time of students, diminishing the occurrence of immoral juvenile acts, including crime, drug use, and suicide. Sports can serve as channels through which students can vent out stress and tension, helping them regain a balance in both emotions and energy.
Nicole: Overall, we can assume that while there are negative responses towards sports, there are also a lot of positive ones that can outweigh them. There is a greater chance that interscholastic athletes will turn out to be better students who behave well, stay in school, and can form unique interpretations of values and experiences.
Matthew: After reading up on related literature and studies, it was then our turn to design our own research and determine how we will go about it. We classified the variables present in the study accordingly, ending up with students and athletics as the independent variables and the effects as the dependent variable.
Dyane: Intervening variables include mental ability and peer pressure, while moderator variables include age, gender, and type of sport. The research design chosen is survey, and purposive sampling will be applied, singling out the varsity players in the high school department. Here is a tentative example of our survey forms.
Nicole: Similarly, the research instrument used is survey, although there will also be a bit of interviewing mixed in. From the surveys, we will gather the students' grades, the types of sports played, and the amount of time spent playing.
Marc: There are to be interviews with the students as well as their teachers and parents. That way, we will be able to determine the perspectives that students have on sports while discovering more about their performances and attitudes both at home and in school.
Matthew: In our step-by-step procedure, we will start off with a random selection of ten varsity students from each batch in the high school department. The survey forms will be distributed to them, and they will be allowed a week to accomplish them. While this is going on, we will arrange meetings with the respondents' teachers and parents to discuss how the students are doing.
Marc: After that, we will set up interviews with the students themselves to talk about the changes that they have noticed in themselves that may have something to do with their affiliation with sports. If the interviewees react positively, then that would mean contentment, but if they react negatively, then there might be some problem with academic and social balance.
Dyane: In addition to the surveys and the interviews, the report cards of the participants will also be obtained to verify the survey answers as well as to compare averages. We will analyze this by comparing the general averages of each student from before and after he/she joined a varsity team. The mean of the differences in the grades will be computed here.
Marc: The Pearson correlation coefficient, a method of testing the strength of the relationship between two variables, will also be used for the variables of hours in sports and academic marks. The following is the formula for this coefficient. N is the sample size or the number of pairs of hours and grades. X represents the averages while Y represents the hours of playing.
Matthew: The results of this equation will always be from +1 to -1, with positive numbers indicating a positive relationship between variables and negative numbers suggesting a negative one. If the outcome ranges from .20 to -.20, then there is almost no relationship present.
Dyane: The data on behavioral changes will be approached differently. They will be organized into three groups based on the students' perspectives: negative, neutral, and positive. As the group names suggest, bad views will be placed in the negative group, good views in the positive group, and the rest in the neutral group. These numbers will be collated to form a general outcome.
Marc: It is important to note that as with any research, we cannot be completely thorough and accurate with our data. Factors like personal issues, prior involvement in sports, the type of sports played (whether they are team or non-team), and commitments to other extracurricular activities will not be considered.
Nicole: The finalized data will be presented in separate tables, and all the values collected will be combined and summarized in words. Thus, we will be able to construct a conclusion for the entire study, with the recommendations for future researchers being made accordingly.
Matthew: Ideally, we plan to use the data gathered from our study to aid in administering more effective ways of dealing with students. Instead of simply punishing the students, we want to show them that there are better ways of learning essential life skills, one of these ways being through sports.
Marc: We are hopeful that the results will be able to contribute to the empowerment of students, as they will help determine the things that are worth paying attention to. People will become more aware of the dilemma that teenagers are facing, and it gives the latter a chance to be understood and not just be forced into making decisions.
Dyane: Others will see that physical, mental, and social health are of equal importance, and as such, one cannot work well without the others. It is crucial that all are valued, because it will ensure that future citizens of the world will be healthy and well-rounded individuals. Thank you. The floor is now open for questions.
