Chapter 1_heng Choon Meng

Relationship Between Parents’ Level of Education and Students’ Performance in Physical Activities in Urban Area School

by

Heng Choon Meng

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

According to the U. S Department of Health and Human Service (1996, as cited by Barr-Anderson et al, 2008), physical activity is an important component of a healthy lifestyle, with numerous physical and psychological benefits for youth. Not only youth, people from all walks of life, young and golden age people, who endevour with physical activities in their daily life will have healthier body and always in optimal fitness. In addition, physical activity and good physical fitness can reduce risk of illness and contribute to optimal health and wellness (Corbin, Welk, Corbin & Welk 2008). Hence, physical activities play a major role in the development and maintenance of a healthy lifestyle. 1

Participation of students in physical activities is good for their health and improves their overall wellness mentally and physically. Hence, there are factors affecting students’ participating or unmotivated to involve in physical activities. Such as physical education program delivery and the environment, may influence physical activity participation (Barr-Anderson, Neumark-Sztainer, Schmitz, Conway, Pratt, et al, 2008). Intrapersonal, interpersonal, environment factors, enjoyment of class and perceived school environment are also factors that influence students participating in physical activities (Barr-Anderson et al, 2008).

Parents play an important role in early intervention services to have a significant effect on children’s developmental and social-emotional well-being (Mahoney & Wiggers, 2007). Parents have overwhelming opportunities than school and related services professionals to influence their children’s learning and development as they constant presence in their lives throughout the early childhood years. To illustrate this point, parents have three time higher opportunities to interact and influence children’s development compared with teachers even they have limited time with their children because of works or other responsibilities (Mahoney & Wiggers, 2007).

According to Klebanov et al, (1994, as cited by Davis-Kean, 2005), it is important to examined the process of how socioeconomic status, especially parents’ education, 2

indirectly relates to children’s achievements. Children from families with high economic and educational backgrounds often have high levels of achievements (Gonzalez, 2004). Parents’ level of education and knowledge influence their children’s academic aspirations and expectations, and engagement in school activities and academic success (Redding, 1991; Wallace & Walberg, 1991; Marjoribanks, 1994, as cited by Gonzalez, 2004). Parents’ level of education influences students to achieve academically or nonacademically.

Hence, the question arises, as why some students can achieve well in physical activities such as in sports and game activities, and some even ignore the physical activities in their life and even do not know how to perform physical activities and play games. Does their performance begin at home or at school? Does their parents’ education influence their performance in physical activities whether in and after school? A research done by Davis-Kean (2005) attributes children’s academic achievement to parent’ education. Can a similar co-relation exist between students performance in physical activities and parents’ level of education?

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Background of Study

Physical Activity and Parents’ Level of Education

Physical activity must be something that is a part of a person’s normal lifestyle (Corbin et al, 2008) and many reasons that influence students to carry on physical activities in their life. Teachers’ attitudes, behaviours and teaching styles; peers influences; students personal attitudes and behaviours; environmental factors such as activity areas (location, safety and equipment availability) and weather (hot and cold), and parents influences also will affects students’ participation in physical activities. Consequently, students’ performance of physical activities in and out of the school will be affected.

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Among factors that influence students’ performance in physical activities, parents’ influence is crucial and significant. Parents’ personal attitudes and behaviors, active or sedentary lifestyle, socio-economic status, occupation and incomes will influence and affect students’ performance in physical activities. This is because parents will be the role models and the sources of motivations for students to continuing their performance in physical activities. Among these factors, parents’ level of education, may or may not influence students’ participation in physical activities. Parents’ level of education is the level of education of father or mother (Martínez, Martínez & Pérez, 2004). Hence, this research is to study the relationship between the parents’ level of education and students’ performance in physical activity.

Problem Statements

According to Klebanov et al (1997, as cited by Davis-Kean, 2005), the literature on achievement consistently has shown that parents’ education is important in predicting children’s achievement. Jimerson, Egeland & Teo et al (1999, as cited by Davis-Kean, 2005) also stated that the majority of the literature on parents’ education pertains to the direct, positive influence on children’s achievement. However, does the parents’ level of education can be used to predict students’ performance in non-academic achievement and 5

performance, such as achievement and performance in physical activities? In addition, most of the research in the past was only addressed the parents’ education will cause effects to students’ academic achievements. There are indirect statements that parents’ education will influence or affect students’ performance and achievement in physical activities especially in sports.

Parents’ levels of education are categorised into four different levels in this research. “Tertiary” is the level of education higher than secondary school such as matriculation, graduates from college and university who posses certificates, diploma, degree, masters or doctor. “Secondary” is the level of education lower than higher secondary who possess certificates of STPM, SPM and PMR. “Primary” is the primary level of education and “Other” is not schooling before or schooling lower than primary level. Do parents will tell their children if they did not have schooling before? How high the influential of parents’ level of education to the students’ performance and achievement in physical activities especially in sports? Do both variables have direct relationship? Among two levels of parents’ educational background, which level of parents’ education influence and affecting the most students’ performance and achievements in physical activities?

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In this research, quantitative investigation would be appropriate to provide detail views of the relationship between parents’ level of education and students’ performance in physical activities. This research will also reveal which levels of parents’ education influence most students’ performance in physical activities. Parents’ level of education will be the independent variable and students’ performance in physical activities will be the dependent variable. Students and teachers will be the co-researchers as to identify the relationship between parents’ level of education and students’ performance in physical activities.

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Objectives of Study

In this research, the objectives of the study are to:

1. Identify relationship between parents’ level of education and students’

performances in physical activities specifically in sports in urban area school.

2. Identify which level of parents’ education influences most the students’

performance in physical activities specifically in sports.

Research Questions

1. What is the relationship between parents’ level of education and students’

performances in physical activities specifically in sports in urban area school?

2. Which parents’ level of education influences the most students’ performance in

physical activities specifically in sports?

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Significant of Studies

All the findings in this research will:

a) Increase and improves the awareness of parents, teachers and the society about

the important of physical activities to keep students’ body healthy, and assist on increasing students academic and non-academic performances.

b) Increase and improve the awareness of parents, teachers and school management

to seriously look into parents’ level of education as factors to influence students’ performance in physical activities.

c) Increase and improve the awareness of parents, teachers and school management

to motivate and stimulate children to actively participating in physical activities despite of their parents’ level of education.

d) Increase the awareness of parents to motivate and stimulate their children to

actively participating in physical activities despite of the children’ school is located in the urban or rural area.

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e) Increase the awareness of children that their performances and participation in

physical activities can continue without the influence of parents’ educational background.

f) Increase and improve students’ attitudes to participate in physical activities.

Conceptual Definition Below are the conceptual definitions for the keywords in the topic: Relationship :-

The way which two or more things are connected and affect each other.

Parent :-

Father or mother, male or female guardian of a student.

Parents’ level of education :Student :-

Level of education attainment by parents. Someone who is studying at a school. In this research student is someone who is studying in Seri Kelana Primary School (SK Seri Kelana).

Physical activities :-

Physical activities are bodily movement of any type and include recreational, fitness and sport activities as well as daily activities. But according to 10

researcher, in this research, physical activity is defined as sports and games such as football, badminton, athletics, basketball and etc that students can participate in school’s extra co-curricular physical activities, or sports and games that students can represent the team, group, class, school, district or zone, state and national level to perform in the competition. Performance of physical :-

How well students participate and represent the

activity

school’s sport and games team in the school, district or zone, district and national level competition.

Urban area :-

An area connected with a town or city. Limitation of Research

This research is a researched-based study where it mainly focuses on the relationship between parents’ level of education and students’ performance in physical activities in urban area school in Seri Kelana Primary School (Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Kelana).

Family

background,

individual

characteristics,

personal

outcomes

(Marjoribanks, 2004), environment availability and peer influences are limitation in this study.

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Family social status (education, incomes and occupation), ethnicity and races, individual characteristics (beliefs, academic achievement, educational aspirations, selfconfidence), personal outcome (educational attainment, physical and mental well-being, interest), environment availability (equipments, transportation, distance), peer influences (peers’ interest and social capitals) and the popularity of games and sports (Marjoribanks, 2004) are limitations in this research as these factors are influencing students’ participation, performance and achievement of physical activity (sport and games) in school. The home environments, where students’ physical activity behaviours are learned and supported (Davidson & Campbell, 2005, as cited by Jackson, Crawford, Campbell & Salmon, 2008), parents’ support or restrict students’ participation by providing accessibility of facilities and programmes, equipments, encouraging and praising, funding, transportation, and accessibility to items that may promote sedentary behaviours (i.e., television, computer, electronic games) in home and rules at home (as cited by Jackson et al, 2008) will affect students participation and performance in physical activities during and after school.

Students’ academic and non-academic performances are also limitation in this study. Students’ previous mid and final year examination results will be the model analysis for academic achievement. Physical activities in this research are mainly 12

described as sports. Only certain sports (i.e. badminton, football, athletics, volleyball and etc) students can choose in their school’s extra co-curricular physical activities, participate and represent (e.g. class, school, district or zone, state and national) to perform in certain level of competition. Students who represents may not achieve medals in the competition but they can perform in certain stage of competition. Besides, students mostly are exposing to sports and games that television and newspaper reported such as football, badminton and tennis. Hence, students’ performances in physical activities are hardly to measure in this research unless students’ participation and performance in school’ extra co-curricular physical activities and their performance in sports competition are taken as physical activities performance in this research.

The other limitation is that only handful of resources is related to this topic of research. Most of the researches are the relationship between parents’ education and students’ academic performance or relationship between physical activity and academic performance at school.

Limitations also occur before and during the administration of research. Teachers and students may unwilling to participate and be the respondents in this research; respondents forget to query their parents’ level of education, details of occupation and incomes and they do not know how to answer the questionnaire correctly; respondents 13

absent on the day researcher implement the research; respondents may answer only part of the questionnaire and they may not answer the questionnaires honestly; respondents are unequal number of boys and girls; respondents unable to understand the questions that ask in the questionnaire and could not answer correctly.

Edited : 10.7.2009_9.30 am Sir. The Yellow highlighted text is the text that I had been add and edited in my work. After editing my work, I will start to finish my phase 1 analisis data (draft). I will let u c my work as soon as possible.

Frm :Meng

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