CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction
Catholic schools are required to add religious education subject as part of

their curriculum since it helps to fulfill their mission which is to educate the

wholeness of a person. Religious education is concerned not only with the

intellectual knowledge of the students but it also includes emotional and the

spiritual aspects of life. Religious education assists students to understand and

appreciate religion and the variety of ways of expressing religious beliefs. All

students in Catholic schools will be provided with opportunities to deepen their

knowledge and understanding of religion and to appreciate how religion can

make a valuable contribution to their personal development.

As stated by. Rymarz (2012) Religious Education in Catholic schools

needs to remain relevant, cognitively challenging and interesting. At the same

time, other researchers such as Buchanan (2005, 2012); Coles (1990); de

Souza (2004); McClure (1996), claim that accentuating the cognitive has led to

Religious Education being seen purely as acquisition of knowledge thus

hindering the spiritual development of children. Hence, it is understandable that

teachers are confused as to how to best approach the teaching of content in the

Religious Education classroom.

As students studying in a catholic school, the researchers conducted this

research to know level of church participation among students who are studying
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religious education. The researchers would also like to give further discussion

regarding the topic that they have chosen. Furthermore, this study will also

determine whether the level of church’s participation is affected by the profile of

the respondents.

This study is very essential since it will determine whether teaching

Religious Education among the student has been effective or not.

Statement of the Problem

This study aimed to determine the religious background and level of

church participation of Senior High School students. Specifically, it intended to

answer the following research questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1Gender;

1.2Age;

1.3 Strand; and

1.4 School last attended during Junior High School?

2. What is the number of Religious Education subjects taken by the respondents?

3. What is the level of church participation of the respondents?

4. Is there a significant relationship between the number of religious education

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5. subjects taken and the level of church participation?Is there a significant

difference between the level of church participation when analyzed according to

their profile?

Hypothesis

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between religious education and the

level of church participation.

Ho2: There is no significant difference between the level church participation

when analyzed according to their profile.

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Conceptual Framework

Figure 01: This shows that the independent variable is the number of

religious education subjects taken. Meanwhile, the dependent variable is the

level of church participation tested by the respondents’ profile.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Number of Religious Level of Church

Education subjects taken Participation

Students’ Profile

 Gender
 Age
 Strand
Moderating Variable
 School last attended
during Junior High
School

Moderating Variable
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Significance of The Study

This study will benefit the following:

Students. Through this they will be aware on what is the level of their church

participation. They can further evaluate their learning on the said subject.

Teachers. Through this study they will be able to improve and enhance their

teaching styles. This will serve as their guide on how to motivate the students.

Institution. The result of this study is a big help for the school since it will

determine whether there are connections between studying religious education

on the level of church participation among the students.

Parents. The result of this study will help them guide their children and for

them to further evaluate the level of church participation of their child.

Future Researchers. Our study will serve as a guide to the future researchers,

since they can get an idea or related literature, in case we have the same

subject of study.
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SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This study was mainly focused on the number of religious education

subjects taken, profile and the level of church participation among grade 12

Senior High School students from Notre Dame of Kidapawan College, School

Year 2018-2019.

Religious education was limited only on the students who studied the said

subject. Student’s profile was delimited to gender, age, strand and school last

attended. Level of church participation was limited only on the catholic students.

This study was limited to fifty (50) Senior High School Students at Notre

Dame of Kidapawan College – Senior High School Department located in Datu

Ingkal St. Kidapawan City.

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Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined in this study for the purpose of common
understanding:

Catholics- a term for people who are members of the Roman Catholic Church.

Church Participation- central religious practice for many Christians.

Religious Education - the term given to education concern with religion.