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MAED106 ISSUES AND TRENDS IN EDUCATION

Technical Report · April 2019

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ISSUES & TRENDS/ PROBLEMS

in
EDUCATION

DR. DAVID CABABARO BUENO

d_bueno@columban.edu.ph
docdave3090@gmail,com
docdave30@yahoo,com

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ISSUES & TRENDS/ PROBLEMS

in
EDUCATION

All Rights Reserved

Philippine Copyright 2019 by
DR. DAVID CABABARO BUENO

NO PART OF
THIS eBOOK MAY
BE REPRODUCED IN
ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS
WITHOUT THE WRITTEN
PERMISSION FROM
THE AUTHOR

ccirespub@gmail.com

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ISSUES & TRENDS/ PROBLEMS

in
EDUCATION
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The course aims to give an understanding of some topical and
contemporary issues in educational administration and how such issues
have influenced the educational system. You are required to do and submit
literature reviews or syntheses (IMRaD format) on the various current
issues, trends or problems affecting the educational system in the
Philippines.

Course Aims
The course aims to give an understanding of some topical and
contemporary issues in educational administration and how such issues
have influenced the educational system in the Philippines.

Course Objectives
In order to achieve the aims, there are overall objectives being
synthesized from the specific objectives of the course. You have to ensure
that you have achieved the objectives after you must have diligently studied
each topic.

Generally, you should be able to achieve the following general

objectives at the end of the course:

1. Explain the evolution of educational administration.

2. Discuss the various principles of educational administration.
3. Describe leadership in educational administration.
4. Illustrate the use of power and authority in school administration.
5. Discuss the relevance of communication in the school system.
6. Explain how to manage time in school administration.
7. Describe the preparation and administration of budget in the
school system.
8. Examine motivation of staff in the school system.

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9. Explain how successful school administration can be ensured
through school-community relations.
10. Discuss the solutions to examination malpractice in the Philippine
educational system.
11. List the causes and effects of students’ crisis in tertiary
institutions
12. Describe the influence of globalization on educational system in
the Philippines.
13. Examine the roles of Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) in educational development.
14. Identify the problems of higher educational administration in the
Philippines and their solutions.
15. Conduct and submit syntheses or literature reviews of various
educational issues, trends or problems affecting the current state
of Philippine higher education system.

Course Learning Outcomes

Each student must conduct and submit syntheses or literature
reviews of various educational issues, trends or problems affecting the
current state of Philippine higher education system. Submit soft copies of
these reviews (IMRaD format) to ccirespub@gmail.com and
docdave3090@gmail.com. Expect that these publishable articles will be
uploaded as technical and scientific research articles/reports at
www.researchgate.net and columban.academia.edu every end of
trimester for future research purposes.

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Course Contents
Possible Topics. There are fifteen possible topics in this course.
These were presented as follows:

 Historical development of educational administration

From the colonial period to date, various educational policies have

been made in the Philippines. These policies have informed
various educational decisions at one time or the other, many of
which have influenced the educational system positively and
negatively. You will study the historical development of
educational administration which will be presented in stages.
These stages are the colonial period, the first republic, the second
republic, and the current republic (to date).

 Principles of Educational Administration

In the previous unit you studied the historical development of

educational administration from the colonial era to the current
republic. The implementation of educational policies during the
period would have based on certain principles. In this topic, you
will discuss the principles of educational administration. You are
going to learn the meaning and importance of principles of
administration. You will also learn the types of educational
administration principles such as fundamental principles,
prudential principle, humanitarian principle, principle of change
and bureaucratic principle.

 Leadership in Educational Administration

Recall that in the previous topic you studied the principles of

educational administration. You learned that these principles
assist educational administrators to avoid the rule of thumb in the
choice of leadership styles in specific situations. In other words,
principles of educational administration are guides to educational
administrators in their choice of leadership styles. This topic will
present leadership in school administration. You will study the
concept of leadership and leadership theories. You will also study
the implications of leadership theories for school administration.
The topic will also teach you various leadership styles and their
implications for school administration. Other things you will learn
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in this topic also include the functions of school leaders and
leadership qualities in schools.

 Power and Authority in School Administration

A leader in an organization needs power and authority to

influence the subordinates into taking actions toward the
accomplishment of organizational goals. Leadership effectiveness
therefore depends on the ability of the leader to achieve the goals
of the organization through the appropriate use of power and
authority. You will recall that you were taught leadership in school
administration. In this topic, you will study power and authority
in school administration. Specifically, you learn what power is, the
sources of power and the uses of power in the school system. This
topic will also distinguish between authority and responsibility.
You will also learn the exercise of authority by school
administrator, types of authority and authority relationship. The
topic will also present the differences between power and
authority in school administration and delegation of authority in
school administration.

 Communication in the school system

In the last topic, you learned power and authority in school

administration. Recall that effective use of authority by the school
administrator demands effective communication, provision of
facilities, staff motivation and delegation of duties to competent
staff among others. This topic will present communication in the
school system. You will learn the meaning, process and dimension
of communication. You will also study how to ensure effective
communication and the barriers to effective communication in
school administration.

 Time Management in School Administration

Recall that you learned communication in the school system. You

were told that school administrator should make use of the
appropriate symbols, channels and time in communicating to
people and that wrong timing of information is an impediment to
effective communication. In this topic, you are going to learn time
management in school administration. The topic will explain what
time management is and the reasons for time management. You

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will also learn the strategies for time management in the school
system and the factors which influence the time management of
school administrators.

 Budget preparation and administration in the school system

Remember that you learned time management in school

administration. The topic explained various strategies which
school administrators can use to manage their corporate time in
order to achieve the objectives of the school system. It must be
emphasized that in addition to time management, there is need for
a financial plan through which programs designed for the
achievement of the objectives of the school can be implemented.
Such financial plan is usually referred to as a budget. In this topic,
you will learn budget preparation and administration in the
school system. Specifically, the topic will teach you the meaning
and importance of school budget, the preparation of a school
budget and methods of budgeting. You will also learn the approval
and administration of school budget, supervision and evaluation
of school budget and the problems of school budget preparation
and implementation.

 Motivation in school administration

The previous topic taught you budget preparation and

administration in the school system. It concluded that the goals
and objectives of the school system cannot be achieved without
school budget. However, you should note that the staff who are
vested with the responsibility of implementing policies and
programs designed to achieve such aims and objectives in line
with the school budget, must be motivated in order to achieve the
desired results. Therefore, this topic will teach you motivation in
school administration. You will learn the meaning and the
underlying principle of motivation. You will also be taught the
theories of motivation and strategies for staff motivation in the
school system.

 School-Community Relations

The last topic discussed motivation in school administration. You

learned that it is necessary to motivate staff in order to enhance
their commitment towards the achievement of the aims and
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objectives of the school system. It must be emphasized that the
efforts of staff in achieving such aims and objectives must be
corroborated with the efforts of the community. This is more so
because school is an agent of community development. Therefore,
this unit will teach you school-community relations. Specifically,
the unit will examine the concepts of school and community, the
school-community relations and the roles of the school to the
community. You will also learn the roles of the community to the
school, the factors influencing school-community relations and
the school administrator’s roles in school-community relations.

 Examination practices in educational system

In the last topic, you learnt school-community relations. The topic

emphasized the importance of school-community relations in the
attainment of the goals and objectives of both the school and the
community. This topic will teach you examination malpractice in
Philippine educational system. Specifically, you will learn what
examination malpractice is, the trend of examination malpractice
and forms of examination malpractice. You will also learn the
causes and effects of examination malpractice as well as the
solutions to examination malpractice.

 Students’ crises in tertiary institution

In the last topic, you were taught examination practices in

Philippine tertiary institutions. In this topic, you will learn
students’ crisis in tertiary institutions. You will be taught the
meaning of students’ crisis, types of crisis and historical overview
of students’ crises in tertiary institutions. You will also learn the
causes and effects of students’ crises and the strategies for
managing students’ crises in tertiary institutions.

 The influence of globalization on educational system

In the last topic, you learnt students’ crises in tertiary institutions.

This topic will teach you globalization and the Philippine
educational system. You will learn the concept of globalization,
the influence of globalization on educational system and its
implications for the educational system. You will also learn the
challenges of globalization for the Philippines.
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 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in

Education

In the last topic, you learned the influence of globalization on

educational system in the Philippines. In this topic, you will learn
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as part of
globalization process in the educational system. Specifically, you
will learn the meaning of ICT, types of ICT resources and the
application of ICT. The topic will also teach you the problems of
ICT application in educational system and the strategies for
strengthening its usage in Philippine schools.

 Other Problems/ Issues/ Trends in Higher Education in the

Philippines

The previous topic taught you Information and Communication

Technology (ICT) in education. There is no doubt that the various
applications of ICT will facilitate effective administration of the
educational system. In this topic, you will learn the problems/
issues/ trends and perspectives in higher education in the
Philippines. The topic will also teach you solutions to the
identified problems. Such topics on: Shortage of Skilled
Manpower; Political Instability; Poor Monitoring and Supervision;
Poor Funding of Education; Undue Politicization of Education;
Inconsistent Education Policies; Corruption and Poor
Accountability; Industrial Crisis; Brain-drain Syndrome; Poor
Physical and Instructional Facilities; Enrolment Explosion;
Teachers’ poor conditions of service; Curriculum Deficiency; or
Student Indiscipline maybe considered.

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Samples of

IMRaD
Format Paper

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The Benefits of Sports on Secondary Physical

Education: A Literature Review
Dr. Ellaysa Pingpang Dela Sportsminded
tfbnrespub@gmail.com
Dean, Graduate School Sports Management
The Fly by Night Colleges, Inc.
Olongapo City, Philippines
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction
Children are naturally filled with an inner desire and intrinsic motivation to
move, learn, and navigate their environment (Haywood, Getchell, 2014). As children
age, physical activity levels drop and their motivation to move and learn are more
dependent on their peers versus their own inner desire (Ayers, Sariscsany, 2011).
Students are often disinterested, unmotivated, and less active in physical education
classes that are taught the same way day in and day out. Due to this lack of or
decrease in motivation to learn and move, physical educators are searching for ways
to positively affect this phenomenon.
Those who teach or are part of an educational environment know that
teaching is a very rewarding career but also know that it can present many
challenges. This is especially true in teaching physical education to secondary
school students. Teachers are taught and expected to incorporate different teaching
methods, differentiate instruction, plan thoughtfully, take students’ needs into
account and assess students in order to effectively educate the student body of a
school. Even the most experienced physical education teachers can struggle with
these important aspects of teaching and look for ways to grasp student attention,
increase motivation, and to keep them actively engaged in meaningful and
educational activities.
Many of these tasks can be achieved through the use of a Sport Education
model (Siedentop, 2011). Sport Education is and can be a curriculum, unit, or
method of teaching that is used in physical education programs from elementary to
high school. Its developer Daryl Siedentop, created this model in hopes to provide
children with a more authentic and enjoyable sport experience in physical
education. This model was constructed with three major goals in mind; to increase
competency, literacy and enthusiasm among students (Siedentop, 2011). Student
competency is typified by skill and knowledge gained in a variety of sports. Literacy
components are increased through a greater understanding of rules, rituals and
traditions of sport. Enthusiastic players show enjoyment in, and value sport and

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physical activity. To aid in success of these goals, Sport Education has ten unique
features that can be adjusted due to teaching experience, resources, and time.
According to Siedentop (2011), what makes Sport Education different from
other variants of teaching sports in physical education, are the ten main “features”.
One of the most unique and important features of Sports Education, is that seasons
are used rather than traditional units. Another feature of Sport Education is that
students are organized into mixed-ability teams that they stay with throughout the
season. Within these teams, students can assume different roles throughout the
season. These roles can be, but are not limited to, player, coach, scorekeeper,
referee, journalist, sports caster, team captains, etc.
Through these roles and responsibilities, modes of learning and application
of knowledge can be seen in the psychomotor and cognitive domain as scores,
records, statistics, and standings are kept (Siedentop, 2011). Other features
include, modified activities that often are small sided games, gradual introduction
to the activity or sport for the seasons, and a series of competitions for competitive
play. Typically, organization of Sport Education lessons includes, teams who
compete with one another and the non-playing teams acting as the “duty teams”.
Additionally, other features include season records and/or statistics that
are kept and often made public. A seasonal champion is determined based on a point
system that includes wins/losses and other areas of interest. For example, fair play,
sportsmanship, and duty team responsibilities can contribute to these standings.
Finally, a festive season ends in a culminating event or celebration (Siedentop,
2011). The following shows how the goals, features, and set up of Sport Education
can positively impact students in secondary physical education classes.
Through the use of the Sport Education model, student activity levels in a
secondary physical education class can also increase above NASPE’s (Now SHAPE
AMERICA) recommendation of a minimum of 50% moderate to vigorous physical
activity in a given class segment (Pritchard et al., 2015). This is an important
outcome achieved by a Sport Education model in a secondary school physical
education class as obesity rates among adults have risen to 36.5% as students in
secondary schools are reaching adult age (CDC, 2016). Other positive effects that
teaching in the Sport Education model can have is an increase in enjoyment and
certain types of motivation (Cuevas et al., 2016).
According to Siedentop (2011), Sport Education models allow students to
not only apply their knowledge of physical education though the use of their
physical body, but also through discourse and other means of communication. This
style of teaching allows students to apply their knowledge through other roles seen
in sports such as referee, coach, sports caster, news writer, and others. Other
valuable lessons can skills can be learned through the use of this method such as
building teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership, and cooperation (Siedentop, 2011).
Teachers must be ready to apply different teaching methods to their classes
in order to better service their students. More specifically, a properly planned and
applied Sport Education unit may be able to facilitate positive outcomes that are
desired by educators and students.
The purpose of this synthesis is to review the literature on the effects Sport
Education can have on secondary school physical education. More specifically, this

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synthesis will review research on the benefits that Sport Education can have on
secondary school physical education students in terms of enjoyment, activity time
and participation, skill increase, content knowledge, and motivation.

Literature Review

Enjoyment. A major necessity in education and especially so in physical

education, is that students should enjoy their educational experiences. According to
Wallhead, Garn, & Vidoni (2014) previous evidence explains that a major predictor
of physical activity for older adolescents in physical education is enjoyment. One of
the benefits of a Sport Education program is that students enjoy their time
participating in this method of education. Siedentop specifically created this unit to
have a festive theme where students would typically enjoy physical education
(Siedentop, 2011). To support this notion, a study conducted by Wallhead, Garn, and
Vidoni (2014) looked at the effects that a Sport Education model curriculum had on
their high school students’ motivation for physical education and leisure-time
activity. Though this study looks into motivational factors, results show the
importance of enjoyment and the role it played in physical activity in physical
education. This study compares two teaching methods, the Sport Education model
and a multi-activity model. Two classes were used, with one class being taught using
the Sport Education model and the other using the multi-activity model. In this
study, the Sport Education class was taught four sports and twenty-five lessons per
sport. The multi-activity model is described as having a greater breadth of sports
being taught with units that consist of four to nine lessons each, which is more
consistent with a traditional approach. To measure the enjoyment aspect of this
study a questionnaire was used. More specifically, two subscales from a version of
the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory were used and reworded for use in the physical
education settings by McAuley et al. (1989). Results of this study show that the Sport
Education class reported greater increases in enjoyment of the required physical
education program, than the students being taught using the multi-activity model.
When compared to the multi-activity model who had stable levels of enjoyment, the
Sport Education group reported an increase in enjoyment in physical education
throughout the implementation of the program. Enjoyment in physical education
through the use of Sport Education is supported in another study conducted by
Wallhead, Garn, and Vidoni (2013). Wallhead et al. (2013) once again looked into
the effects that Sport Education could have on secondary physical education
students, but this time in specific relation to enjoyment, relatedness and leisuretime
physical activity. More specifically, Wallhead et al, (2013) looks into the role that
socialization in Sport Education can play. The participants for this study were 363
10th grade students who had completed a yearlong mandatory high school physical
education program and were all taught using Sport Education. To measure
socialization and connection to enjoyment, three social goals that included
affiliation, recognition, and status were assessed through The Social Motivational
Orientations in Sport Scale (Allen, 2005). To specifically measure enjoyment, a
questionnaire that used five items from a reworded physical education version of
the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (Ryan, 1982) was administered. After the season
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was completed, the questionnaires were administered and data was then analyzed.
To measure relatedness between the social aspects of Sport Education and
enjoyment, correlations were calculated as a means to explore simple associations
among the variables. Statistics revealed that these students had achieved higher
than average scores on all the social aspects which include affiliation, recognition,
and status. Findings also indicated higher than average scores of enjoyment which
exceed the midpoint of their scales. According to Wallhead et al (2013), these
findings suggest that prolonged exposure to the features of Sport Education helped
to develop student’s social bonds and helped to create a positive environment that
promotes peer to peer approval. It is also suggested that these positive social
increases heavily contributed to student’s enjoyment of physical education. To
summarize, the direct set up of Sport Education and the socialization that naturally
occurs within directly contributed to high student enjoyment in physical education.
Activity Time and Participation. One of the main purposes of physical
education is to teach children in the physical domain. Through this, there should be
natural participation in physical activity in any given lesson. Often, teachers might
spend too much time in instruction, classroom management, and other aspects of
teaching that takes away from activity time and student participation. According to
NASPE (now SHAPE AMERICA), there should be a minimum of 50% of class time
dedicated to moderate to vigorous physical activity in any given class. Through the
use of Sport Education, high levels of activity time and increased participation in a
secondary physical education class can be achieved. A study conducted by
Pritchard, Hansen, Scarboro, and Melnic (2015) alludes to the fact that Sport
Education can help to achieve NASPE’s standard of a minimum of 50% of class time
dedicated to moderate to vigorous physical activity in any given class. In this study,
two high school classes took part in Sport Education in physical education. During
these lessons, students learned about fitness education with an aim to measure and
increase scores in fitness levels, knowledge, and physical activity. To measure the
physical activity of the students, each student was fitted with Actigraph GT3X
triaxial accelerometer. Accelerometer data were downloaded using the computer
software Actilife in order to determine the amount of time the students in the
classes were in moderate to vigorous activity, and vigorous activity. Through the
analysis of this data, it was determined that students spent well over the 50%
recommendation. In fact, students in these classes spent an average of 60.47% of
the lesson in the moderate to vigorous physical activity zone. To break this down
even further, the data shows that 50.11% of the lesson was spent in the moderate
zone and 10.36% was spent in the vigorous zone. Though these numbers show
favorable data, the numbers could have been even higher in the moderate to
vigorous zones. The authors allude to the fact that accelerometers may have not
measured the activity levels as well as they could have due to the placement.
Placement of the accelerometers were on the right hips of the physical activity zones
show that Sport Education can help to contribute to activity time in class as well as
the level of activity. Though quantitative data shows how students can participate
and be more active in class through Sport Education, first-hand accounts and
comments by students in a study conducted by Perlman (2012) prove its usefulness
even further. In Perman’s (2012) study, research looked into the effects that a Sport

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Education class could have on amotivated students (those with low levels of
motivation). Through one on one semi-structured interviews and questionnaires,
the amotivated students who perceived themselves as being low skilled started to
find roles within the team outside of playing in which they could contribute to team
success. The amotivated and self-perceived low skilled students also had increased
opportunity to participate without scrutiny and fear of being scolded for missing a
shot or dropping a pass, which led to increased opportunity to practice and execute
skills. This study shows the positive effects that Sport Education had on the
secondary students who are amotivated and usually dislike participation in physical
education.participants and some activities in class required students to keep their
body steady such as Dyna-Band curls. In order for the accelerometers to measure
physical activity, the hips must be engaged in movement. The amount of time spent
in moderate to vigorous.
Skills. One of the reasons Daryl Siedentop created the Sport Education
model was in hopes to make students more competent in terms of skill development
(Siedentop, 2011). Once again, the physical domain is emphasized through Sport
Education. One of the most important benefits of Sport Education implementation
is that there can be a noticeable increase in physical skill. To support this fact, a
study conducted by Pereira et al. (2015), examined 6th grade student’s technical
performance improvements in three track and field during a physical education
class. Two classes, totaling 47 sixth-grade students took part in a track and field unit
with one class being taught using Sport Education and the other using direct
teaching. The three track and field skills that were analyzed were the shot put, triple
jump, and hurdles. To analyze the performance of students, videos of students
performing the skills were filmed and then viewed searching for specific criteria.
When analyzing the videos, researchers looked for nine technical components of
skill in the shot put event, ten technical components of skill in the triple jump event,
and nine technical components of skill in the hurdle events. A pre-test was used to
measure student skill prior to the implementation of both Sport Education and
direct teaching groups. After analysis of skills during the pre-testing period,
students were clustered into two groups, higher skilled and lower skilled. During
the post-testing, the data also compared students by gender. Finally, retention tests
were also used to analyze the effectiveness of each teaching method in regards to
retaining skills after each unit/season was complete. After analysis, results showed
that both boys and girls who took part in the Sport Education class showed
statistically significant improvement from the pre-test to the post-test. Interestingly
so, only boys showed statistically significant improvement from the pre-test to the
post-test in the direct instruction class, while girls showed slight but no statistically
significant improvement in skill. Finally, results showed favorable increases in skill
in regards to both low and high skilled classified students in the Sport Education
class. High skilled students showed improvement in the triple-jump, hurdles and
the sum of the scores of all three events. Lower skilled students improved in all the
events and the sum of the scores for all three events. There were no improvements
found from post-test to retention-test for the Sport Education class. In the direct
instruction class, higher skilled students improved in the triple jump, hurdles and
in the sum of the scores for the three events. Interestingly so, no improvements

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were found for lower skilled students from pre-test, post-test- and retention-tests.
This again makes a case for the Sport Education model as the results show the
importance that this method of teaching can have on the overall class development
in regards to both gender and skill level (Pereira et al., 2015). Low skilled students
and girls showed exceptional improvements while taking part in Sport Education.
The benefits of skill development through the use of Sport Education was backed by
research that analyzed skill development of students enrolled in a Sport Education
volleyball season. Cho et al. (2012) specifically looked at the development of two
volleyball passes, the forearm pass and overhead set after the implementation of
Sport Education. Pre and post tests were used to measure difference in skill. 66 6th
grade students and 64 7th grade students were assessed in these skills following a
6 to 8 week season. Specific form of the forearm pass and overhead set were
assessed using a scale of success. Level 3 on the scale consists of viewing a student
successfully completing the skill with correct form 75% of the time or more, Level
2 50-74% of the time, Level 1 1549% of the time, and Level 0 less than 15% of the
time. After analyzing results, average form of skills increased from 1.26 to 1.44 for
6th grade students and 1.25 to 1.77 for 7th grade students. This data shows the
positive effects that can occur when teaching Sport Education to secondary
students. Along with statistical representations of skill benefits, students often
describe a self-perceived feeling of improved skill and ability. One study that looks
into amotivated students (those with low levels of motivation) explores the benefits
a Sport Education class can have on motivation (Perlman, 2012). Through the
discoveries of this study, it was found that students who were amotiavted and often
did not participate, blamed their lack of skill or ability to contribute in class as a
primary factor. After implementation of sport education, a total of 30 of the 33
amotivated students commented that their selfperception of ability and affect in
class improved while participating in the Sport Education classes.
Content Knowledge. In regards to Sport Education, Siedentop (2011)
describes a competent sports person as one who “has developed sufficient skill to
participate in games and activities satisfactorily, understands and can execute
strategies appropriate to the complexity of the activity and is a knowledgeable game
player”. Siedentop also describes a literate sports person as one who “understands
and values the rules, rituals, and traditions of sports and other physical activities
and has learned to distinguish between good and bad practices within those
activities, whether in children sport, youth sport, school sport, or a professional
sport. As stated previously, competence and literacy are two of the major Sport
Education goals. Content knowledge and the use of the cognitive domain are clearly
stressed in these statements through the words of “understands” and “executes”.
According to Blooms Taxonomy of higher thinking, understanding is a level in which
learners can exhibit cognitive processing. Executing strategies appropriate to the
complexity of the activity falls under the category/level of apply/application in
Blooms taxonomy. Content knowledge is genuinely addressed and improved in
Sport Education as is evident in a study done by Pereira et al. (2016). In this study,
the researchers looked into the knowledge development of two sixth-grade physical
education classes in the area of track and field. Each class, that totaled in 47
students/participants was either placed or taught in the Sport Education class or

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the direct instruction class. There were 20 total lessons for both the Sport Education
and direct instruction class, with 45 minutes dedicated to each lesson. As typified
by Sports Education, the Sport Education class consisted of teams while the direct
instruction was teacher-directed and was non-team based. This study was
conducted in conjunction with the aforementioned study by Pereria et al. (2015)
that measured the technical improvement of 6th grade students in track and field
events. Data consisted of students’ knowledge of the rules and technical execution
in three different track events. These events were the shot put, triple jump, and
hurdles. To measure knowledge of rules and technical execution of the three track
and field events, a 25 item test was administered. Pre and post tests were used in
order to measure differences in knowledge form the start of the unit to the end.
Students’ scores were also compared by sex and skill level. Results by sex shows
that both boys and girls showed statistically significant improvements in content
knowledge for the shot put, triple jump, and in the total scores of the three events
in the Sport Education class. In the direct instruction unit, girls showed statistically
significant improvement in content knowledge for the shot put and hurdles events
and in the total scores of the three events. Boys showed significant improvement in
only the triple jump event and in the total scores of the three events. According to
Pereira et al. (2016), sex was not a differentiating factor in improved content
knowledge for either Sport Education or Direct Instruction. This can be seen as a
positive outcome as equal improvement of content knowledge for both boys and
girls should be strived for as teachers need to serve all of their students. Results in
terms of skill level for the Sport Education class showed that although the higher
skill-level group increased scores in all of their measures, statistically significant
improvements in content knowledge were found only for the lower-skilled group.
The lower-skill level group showed statistically significant improvement in content
knowledge for the shot put, triple jump, and in the total score of the three events.
In the direct instruction class, the higher skill-level group showed statistically
significant improvements in content knowledge in the triple jump event and in the
total scores of the three vents. The lower skilled group showed significant
improvement in the hurdles event and in the total scores of the three vents.
According to Pereira et al. (2016), these results show that Sport Education was
particularly beneficial to the lower skilled students. It was also beneficial to the
higher skilled students, but to a lesser extent. In the direct instruction unit, both
higher and lower skilled students gained content knowledge, but with the lesser
skilled students not benefiting from instruction as much as the Sport Education
class. Often, lower skilled students are left behind in physical education classes.
Low skilled students have been seen to especially benefit from Sport Education
which is a very important benefit of its implementation. Again, both Sport
Education and direct instruction improved content knowledge, but Sport Education
showed much higher improvement when comparing the two methods. Additionally,
the aforementioned study by Pritchard, Hansen, Scarboro, & Melnic (2015) adds to
and highlights the benefits Sport Education can have on content knowledge. In this
study, content knowledge changes were investigated following the implementation
of Sport Education in a fitness unit. In this study, 32 high school students
participated in 20 lesson of fitness education using the Sport Education model. To

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measure content knowledge differences, a 35 question multiple choice test was
used to measure overall health-related fitness knowledge. Pre and post tests were
used to measure differences that occurred after the implementation of Sports
Education. Data consisted of correct answers on the fitness knowledge test with a
maximum score of 35. Students on averaged scored 15.03 correct questions
answered on the pre-test. Following implementation of Sport Education, students
averaged 19.34 correct answers on the posttest which was a statistically significant
increase in knowledge. Pritchard et al. (2015) attributed this increase to the design
of the Sport Education model in that content knowledge was consistently provided
to the participants. A Sport Education role, such as coach was responsible for
ensuring that teams were on task and provided with accurate information from
their coaching plan (Pritchard et al., 2016). This information also helps to confirm
Siedentop’s assertion that learning can be seen and applied in the cognitive domain
through Sport Education, and in this case through the specific role of coaching.
Motivation. Motivation to participate in physical education can vary from
student to student, and school to school, based upon many factors. Motivation,
according to the self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) lies on a continuum,
where a student can be intrinsically motivated, extrinsically motivated, or
amotivated (Vallerand, 2001). Many teachers have experienced the struggle to
consistently motivate an amotivatied student. Perlman (2012) describes an
amotivated student as an individual with low levels of motivation. Another positive
aspect of introducing Sport Education is that it can effect various types of motivation
and different types of students. In Perlman’s (2012) study, she examined the
perceptions and experiences of 33 amotivated students during four consecutive
seasons of Sport Education in physical education. Prior to this study, these 33
students were identified as amotivated as they scored extremely high on an
amotivation scale (Academic Motivation Scale for Physical Education; Vallerand,
Pelletier, Biais, Briere, Senecal, & Vallieres, 1992) and two intrinsic motivation
scales (Self-regulation Questionnaire for Physical Education; Goudas, Biddle, & Fox,
1994). To study and examine perceptions and experiences, data consisted of field
notes by the observers, formative semi-structured interviews with students and
teachers, and reflective journals kept by the students. Initial perceptions from the
students in the study were predictable, with each student explaining and exhibiting
behaviors supportive of the term amotivation (Perlman, 2012). Key statements
point to the overall lack of valuing physical education. For example, in a follow up
question asking why they believe physical education is ‘stupid’, a student replied by
stating “we don't do anything important. It's just gym [rolling her eyes in disgust].
(Week 2)” Other reasons behind the students amotivation were that they did not
feel a part of the group for reasons such as; lacking adequate skill or ability and/or
social capital to feel included. To summarize, the amotivated students shared a
common lack of valuing physical education, lack of having fun, low perceptions of
skill level/ability to contribute, and/or felt they were not popular enough to feel
included, or needed. During, and after the implementation of Sports Education,
student’s perceptions of physical education were positively impacted, as well as,
levels of fun, self-perceptions of skill/ability to contribute, and/or not feeling
popular enough to be included or needed. Students who were amotivated started

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to experience fun, and found value in their own participation. An example of this can
be seen in a follow up question asking a student to elaborate why class is becoming
fun. “Student 20: Ummm... yeah feeling like I am doing something right... like helping
get some points and playing more. (Week 12). Students started to perceive class as
fun due to their increased participation and contributing to team success. This point
leads to the overall perception that the previously amotivated students felt their
skill or ability levels increased throughout participation. A total of 30 of the 33
amotivated students commented that their self-perception of ability and affect
improved while participating in the Sport Education classes. The social aspect of
their amotivation positively changed as well. Students pointed to the fact that they
felt needed by their teammates and others with high social capital (high skilled,
athletes, popular). A key aspect of Sport Education are the roles that can be used.
The following quotes shows the importance of these roles and the positive effect it
can have on feeling needed and wanted by classmates. “[Bill] is trying to help me
play better and also makes sure I get to my field [to officiate]... this is probably the
first time that someone is actually helping me. (Interview, Student 24, Week 11). In
a follow up question asking why students felt they were not getting yelled at as
much by other students a student replied by saying “Student 11:... maybe they
[other students] can't win without me. Overall, qualitative data shows that the
students who were identified as amotivated, started to show signs typical with
motivated students. Much of this student’s engagement in physical education was
due to a decreased fear of failure, increased level of enjoyment to play, and
improvement in ability, which were all directly associated with the implementation
of Sport Education (Perlman, 2012). When tasks and activities in physical education
are perceived as fun, meaningful, and relevant, students are more likely to be
motivated to participate. Though the previous study focused on amotivated
students, benefits in motivation can be achieved by a broader span of students. This
is proved true in a study conducted assert that Sport Education promotes pleasure
and wellbeing in physical education classes. This finding was especially important
for this study, as intrinsic motivation is associated with higher levels of effort and
interest among students (Ntoumanis & Standage, 2009). Overall, motivation can be
positively effected in different types of students through the use of Sport
Education.by Cuevas, García-López, & Serra-Olivares (2016). In this study, the
researchers aimed to analyze the impact of Sport Education in terms of effecting
self-determination and motivation in secondary physical education students. 86
students were used and split into four classes. In comparison to Perlmans (2012)
study on amotiviated students, these participants were randomly selected with a
larger span of students in terms of motivation. Two classes acted as the
experimental group and were taught using Sport Education. The other two were the
control group and were taught using “traditional physical education” methods. After
assessing and analyzing data which consisted of answers to multiple
questionnaires, results again showed the benefits of Sport Education. Results and
analysis pointed to statistically significant increases in intrinsic motivation for the
Sport Education class when comparing pre-test scores to post-test scores.
According to Cuevas et al. (2016), the results are in line with former studies that
assert that Sport Education promotes pleasure and wellbeing in physical education

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classes. This finding was especially important for this study, as intrinsic motivation
is associated with higher levels of effort and interest among students (Ntoumanis &
Standage, 2009). Overall, motivation can be positively effected in different types of
students through the use of Sport Education.

Methodology
The purpose of this part is to review the methods and procedures used to
synthesize the benefits of Sport Education on secondary physical education. More
specifically, to review research on the benefits Sport Education can have on
secondary school physical education students in terms of enjoyment, activity time
and participation, skill increase, content knowledge, and motivation. The studies
collected for this synthesis were located using the EBSCO database from the College
at Brockport Drake Library. Within the EBSCO database the following databases
were searched: Academic Search Complete and SPORTDiscuss. From these searches
a total of ten articles met the criteria for inclusion in this literature review. Criteria
for selection included full text articles and scholarly/peer reviewed articles. A date
range of the year 2000 to 2017 was used in this search. All other articles or sources
selected as part of this literature review provided context about the topic,
background information and supplemental information to complete the review. All
sources are cited in the reference section of this paper.
In order to yield appropriate articles for this synthesis, key words and
phrases were used to narrow selection. The phrases “Sport Education model”,
“Sport Education model + Motivation”, “Physical education + Sport Education
model”, and “Physical education + Sport Education model + activity time” were used
to search for and select articles. The phrase “Sport Education model” in conjunction
with the aforementioned search criteria yielded 4,378 hits on the database. The
phrase “Sport Education model + motivation” yielded 364 hits on the database. The
phrase “Physical education + Sport Education model” yielded 3,634 hits on the
database. The phrase “Physical education + Sport Education model + activity time”
yielded 451 hits on the database. “Secondary physical education” was another key
word used to narrow down the large number of hits per search. It was important to
sift through the article hits to make sure each article used included only secondary
physical education students. It was important that each article had to do with the
main topics of this literature review which were the benefits in regards to
enjoyment, activity time and participation, skill increase, content knowledge, and
motivation.
Specific criteria were used in order to be a part of this literature review.
First, the articles reviewed the benefits of Sport Education in secondary physical
education. Second, secondary students that fell into grades 6-12, both male and
female, were subjects in the study.
For this synthesis and review of literature, a total number of ten articles
were used to compile data and relevant research. The critical mass of all
participants in this study were 1,471 students in secondary physical education
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classes. There were 773 girls and 698 boys included in the ten articles. An
abundance of journals were used that provided sufficient data. The Journal of Sports
Science and Medicine provided two articles for this study. The Physical Educator
provided two articles for this study. The Journal of Teaching in Physical Education,
Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, Asia-Pacific Journal of Health Sport and
Physical Education, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, Kinesiology , and the
Revista Internacional de Medicina y Ciencias de la Actividad Físicay del Deporte all
provide one article for this synthesis and literature review. To acquire data, each
article was read over multiple times.
Every subject/participant in this synthesis all fell into groups with specific
categories. Students in every article had to be part of a secondary physical education
class. This means each student fell between the grade range of 6th grade and 12th
grade. Both males and females were being taught and part of each articles study.
Each class in the articles studies had to be physical education teachers. Finally, each
study included a class that was being taught using Sport Education.

Results and Discussion

The purpose of this part is to present the results and discus the benefits of
Sport Education on secondary physical education. Benefits as part of the literature
review were in the topics of enjoyment, activity time and participation, skill
increase, content knowledge, and motivation. This section will discuss specific
findings in relation to these topics.
The use of Sport Education has the potential to aide physical educators who
are looking for new ways to reach all of their students. Often, teachers might teach
the same content the same way year in and year out. This may benefit some
students, but others may be left behind. Studies have shown the benefits of Sport
Education and how it can reach a wide range of students participating in a
secondary physical education course.
It is no secret that The United States is facing an obesity epidemic. It is
especially concerning that this epidemic is affecting younger Americans. One major
benefit seen from teaching Sport Education lessons to a secondary physical
education class is that students have the potential to increase time spent in the
moderate to vigorous physical activity zones (Pritchard et al., 2015). Through this
time in heightened movement and exercise, student’s heart rates will increase and
in return, burn more calories, which is necessary to drop weight.
Active participation such as being in the moderate to vigorous exercise
zones is one benefit, but participation as a whole class is also desirable. Another
result of introducing Sport Education to a secondary physical education class is that
it can help motivate amotivated students to participate in physical education. In the
study done by Perlman (2012), she discovered that the amotivated students in her
class did not participate for reasons such as self-perception of low skill, fear of
ridicule, and fear of failing in front of classmates. After completing a Sport Education
class, students showed signs associated with motivated students due to the roles
associated with sport education and the multiple avenues of achieving. Roles such
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as score keeping, playing, coaching, and acting as part of the duty team provided
these students with many ways to participate and contribute to team success. It
reduced the fear of failing in front of others and helped them gain social acceptance
from those with higher social capital.
Another important discovery from the literature review was that lower
skilled students seemed to particularly benefit from Sport Education. Many times,
those who participate in physical education are the higher skilled students. Through
this participation, they reap the benefits of the activity and lesson. In a study that
looks into skill acquisition in track and field events, it was discovered that lower
skilled students were able to improve skill to a higher degree than those who just
participated in a direct teaching class (Pereira et al., 2015). In another closely
related study conducted by many of the same researchers, it was discovered that
lower skilled students showed significant improvement in content knowledge when
compared to direct style teaching (Pereira et al, 2016).
Through the common themes and topics of enjoyment, activity time and
participation, skills, content knowledge, and motivation, other benefits of Sport
Education were brought to light. Specifically, the literature review pointed to
students who especially benefit from participating in Sport Education. It is clear that
the set-up of Sport Education and the roles within this way of teaching allows
students who are amotivated and/or lower skilled to increase participation, skill
development, and content knowledge if taught correctly.

Recommendations for Future Research

The purpose of this chapter is to present recommendations for future

research in relation to the benefits of Sport Education on secondary physical
education. Throughout extensive reading and sifting through previously conducted
research, several recommendations for future research on this topic came to mind.
One area that would help contribute to the argument that Sport Education is
beneficial to secondary students is to further research on whether Sport Education
can help students maintain participation post completion of secondary education.
A few studies in the literature review look into this area, but failed to make a
connection between Sport Education participation in secondary physical education
and the likelihood to participate outside of class. I would recommend research to
look into if this is possible, or ways to improve Sport Education so this can be
achieved. One of the goals of physical education is to make students lifelong learners
and movers, so looking into transferability of participation would be beneficial to
this argument.
A second recommendation for future research would be to look deeper into
comparing Sport Education to other forms of teaching such as direct style.
Specifically, I would recommend research be done on examining skill increase when
comparing Sport Education to another style of teaching. Much of the research done,
including some of the articles in this literature review do not include a comparison
between Sport Education and another style of teaching. If more research can be
conducted comparing skill increase in regards to teaching style, then it may lead to
showing the benefits of Sport Education.
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One final recommendation for future research would be to further research
on lifetime activities in regards to Sport Education. Most Sport Education lessons
are focused primarily on popular athletics. As physical education makes a shift
towards lifetime activities, it would be interesting to see if researchers could see the
benefits of lifetime physical activities being taught through Sport Education. In
addition, it would be great to see how teaching these lifetime activities could
contribute to students participating in these activities at the completion of
secondary school.

References

Braga, L., & Liversedge, P. (2017). Challenges and facilitators to the implementation
of a sport education season: the voices of teacher candidates. The Physical
Educator, 74(1), 19+.

Cho, O., Richards, K. A., Blankenship, B. T., Smith, A. L., & Templin, T. J. (2012). Motor
skill development of students enrolled in a sport education volleyball
season delivered by in-service physical education teachers. The Physical
Educator, 69(4), 375+.

Cuevas, R., García-López, L. M., & Serra-Olivares, J. (2016). SPORT EDUCATION

MODEL AND SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY: AN INTERVENTION IN
SECONDARY SCHOOL CHILDREN. Kinesiology, 48(1), 30-38.

Hastie, P. A., & Wallhead, T. (2016). Models-Based Practice in Physical Education:

The Case for Sport Education. Journal Of Teaching In Physical Education,
35(4), 390399.

Méndez-Giménez, A., Fernández-Río, J., & Méndez-Alonso, D. (2015). SPORT

EDUCATION MODEL VERSUS TRADITIONAL MODEL: EFFECTS ON
MOTIVATION AND SPORTSMANSHIP. / MODELO DE EDUCACIÓN
DEPORTIVA VERSUS MODELO TRADICIONAL: EFECTOS EN LA
MOTIVACIÓN Y DEPORTIVIDAD. Revista Internacional De Medicina Y
Ciencias De La Actividad Física Y Del Deporte, 15(59), 449-466.

Pereira, J., Araújo, R., Farias, C., Bessa, C., & Mesquita, I. (2016). Sport Education and
Direct Instruction Units: Comparison of Student Knowledge Development in
Athletics. Journal Of Sports Science & Medicine, 15(4), 569-577.

Pereira, J., Hastie, P., Araújo, R., Farias, C., Rolim, R., & Mesquita, I. (2015). A
Comparative Study of Students' Track and Field Technical Performance in
Sport Education and in a Direct Instruction Approach. Journal Of Sports
Science & Medicine, 14(1), 118-127.

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Perlman, D. (2012). An examination of amotivated students within the Sport
Education Model. Asia-Pacific Journal Of Health, Sport & Physical Education,
3(2), 141-155.

Pritchard, T., Hansen, A., Scarboro, S., & Melnic, I. (2015). Effectiveness of the sport
education fitness model on fitness levels, knowledge, and physical activity.
The Physical Educator, 72(4), 577

Wallhead, T. L., Garn, A. C., & Vidoni, C. (2013). Sport Education and social goals in
physical education: relationships with enjoyment, relatedness, and leisure-
time physical activity. Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy, 18(4), 427-441.

Wallhead, T. L., Garn, A. C., & Vidoni, C. (2014). Effect of a Sport Education Program
on Motivation for Physical Education and Leisure-Time Physical Activity.
Research Quarterly For Exercise & Sport, 85(4), 478-487.

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Characterization of Bullying Incidences among

Senior High School Learners in a Catholic School
Setting towards a Prevention Action Plan:
A Cross-Sectional Study
Dr. David Cababaro Bueno
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0072-0326
Dean of Graduate, and Director, Research, Innovation and Knowledge Development at
Columban College, Inc.,
Olongapo City, Zambales, Philippines

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract

This study focused on the characterization of bullying

occurrences among senior high school learners (SHSL) in a Catholic
school. The researchers utilized the descriptive cross-sectional design,
closed-ended survey-questionnaire, and descriptive Statistics for data
analysis. All the senior high school teachers teaching among over 1,500
SHSL participated in the study. Verbal, emotional and physical bullying
were prevalent almost weekly among SHSL. The bullying victims were
usually thin, fat, considered ugly, talk or sound differently, shy, and
those with low self-esteem. The bullies were cool and wanted to feel
superior, powerful, and usually have psychological and family-related
problems. There was a tendency for the bullies to feel better and
impress others. Bullying behavior was a result of being from a broken
home, copying parents’ aggressive behavior, watching violent films,
teachers’ poor classroom management, retaliation for being bullied in
the past, and feeling older or stronger than others, which may result to
being fearful, lonely, and depressed. Reporting to family members,
school counselors and authorities, being absent from school, and
avoiding the bullies were the common strategies manifested by the
bullied learners. The results indicated that bullying was prevalent and
a problem in the school setting. This study demonstrated that if school
authorities can bring their ideas together with a plan to help learners
and other adults identify bullying, the negative behavior as effect of
bullying may be decreased or prevented. The school authorities may
enhance the prevention strategies towards safer school environment.

Keywords—Basic education, bullying, senior high school learners, safe

environment, Catholic school, descriptive cross-sectional design,
prevention strategies

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Introduction
Bullying among school learners is certainly not a new phenomenon. Despite
many strategies put in places to control it, the problem persists. School is perceived
to be a place where students should feel safe and secure but the opposite is the case.
The reality is that a significant number of students are the target of the bullying.
Bullying though old is a widespread and worldwide problem. Most adults can
remember incidents of bullying in which they were either bullies or bullied. In fact,
until recently, the common perception had been that bullying was a relatively
harmless experience that many children experience during their school years.
Bullying has been defined variously by researchers. Bullying occurs when a person
wilfully and repeatedly exercises power over another with hostile or malicious
intent. A wide range of physical or verbal behaviors of an aggressive or antisocial
nature are encompassed by the term bully. These include “insulting, teasing,
abusing verbally and physically, threatening, humiliating, harassing and mobbing”
(Colvin et al, 1998). Bullying may also assume a less direct form (sometimes known
as “psychological bullying”) such as gossiping, spreading rumors and shunning or
exclusion (O’Connell et al, 1999).

A broad definition of bullying as opined by Olweus (1993) is when a student

is repeatedly exposed to negative actions on the part of one or more other students.
These physical actions can take the forms of physical contact, verbal abuse or
making faces and rude gestures. Spreading rumors and excluding the victim from a
group are also common forms of bullying. These negative actions are not necessarily
provoked by the victim for such action to be regarded as bullying; an imbalance in
real or perceived power must exist between the victim and the person who
victimizes him or her (Coloroso, 2002). According to Schuster (1996) this power of
imbalance and the fact that bullying behaviors are repeated over time are what
differentiate bullying from other forms of aggressive behavior. Pepler & Craig
(2000) observed that bullying is the most common form of violence. It is what drives
the culture of violence, permitting the most powerful to dominate the less powerful.
These researchers were also of the opinion that bully starts out very young and
small, a push during recess or some name callings. Bullying among children and
adolescents is a growing concern among educators and parents. Bullying has been
identified as a serious problem that is pervasive in homes and schools. Bullying in
schools has been the focus of many studies over the last three decades (Dussich &
Maekoya, 2007).

Although bullying has been widely investigated with students, adults have
limited knowledge on bullying (Frisen, Jonsson, & Persson, 2007). Research studies
have indicated that children often do not agree with adults on what behaviors
should be regarded as bullying or how to address it (Larson, & Sarvela, 2002). This
is a serious issue because adults are often the first line of intervention when bullying
problems arise. Being bullied has been linked to future social and emotional
problems in children (Crick & Bigbee, 1998) so it is important to be able to build
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consensus about perceptions of bullying between adults and students in order to
design effective interventions. Discrepancies between student and teacher
perceptions of bullying may make it difficult for teachers to recognize bullying and
understand victims (Kockenderfer-Ladd & Pelletier, 2008).

Therefore, it is essential to conduct research that identifies teachers’

perceptions of who is bullied, who bullies, and why. It is also important to
investigate teachers’ understandings about risk factors and effects of bullying
because it may contribute to teachers’ willingness to intervene. Investigations of
discrepancies among teachers’ beliefs can contribute to staff training on how to
recognize and deal with bullying occurring at school. The present study intends to
examine senior high school teachers’ perceptions on the prevalence of bullying in a
Catholic school setting towards a proposed intervention strategy for a safer school
environment.

This study focused on the prevalence of bullying as perceived by senior high

school teachers in a Catholic school setting. It aims to analyze the: (1) the nature of
bullying in school; (2) the perceptions of the teachers about the victims of bullying
and bullies; (3) factors associated with bullying behavior among students; (4) the
psychological consequences of bullying on the students; (5) the coping strategies
the students are using to avoid bullying; and (6) the prevention action plan for a
safer school environment.

Methodology
The researchers used the descriptive cross-sectional design using a
validated and reliable closed-ended questionnaire. It is one of the common study
designs to describe the participants’ perceptions on green practices during the
specified period of study. The cross-sectional design is an observational study using
a validated instrument. This means that researchers recorded information about
the participants without manipulating the study environment. In short, the
researchers tried not to interfere while the participants were surveyed using a well-
defined instrument and compared the different perceptions and various variables
within the specified time frame (Bueno, 2017). Information was collected from the
teachers through the administration of the adopted instrument on “Perceptions
about Bullying Behavior Questionnaire” (PBBQ) from Asamu (2006) and Forero,
Mclellan, Rissel & Bauman (1999). The data gathered were analyzed using
Descriptive Statistical tools.

Results and Discussion

Nature of Bullying in a Catholic School Environment

The nature of bullying in school as described in this study includes the types,
occurrence and characteristics of bullying. More than 10% of the students
experienced physical bullying, 58.04% encountered verbal bullying, and 31.74%
experienced emotional bullying. Thus, the most common type of bullying

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occurrence among is verbal bullying, followed by emotional and lastly physical
bullying. Bullying is a situation when one or more students are repeatedly cruel to
another student for a period of time, weeks or even months. Bullying behaviors can
be physical by hitting, kick, pushing, etc., verbal through threats, name calling,
teasing, taunting, etc., and/or emotional through exclusion, blackmail, spreading
rumors, etc. Deciphering a bullying behavior from teasing behaviors can come with
difficulty.

Roberts (2000) explained that some teasing normally occurs during child
development and is valuable in building social skills necessary to be assertive and
stand up for themselves; it is the manner, incidence, and intensity that mark the
behavior as bullying. In understanding bullying developmentally, the behaviors
begin in elementary school, but reach their peak in middle school and begin to
decrease in high school (Bulach, Fulbright, & Williams, 2003). The results were
supported by the study conducted by Pepler (1998), where 53% of observed
bullying episodes included verbal bullying, while physical bullying took place in
only 30% of the observed episodes. However, the most common definitions in use
were adopted by Roland (1989) and Olweus (1991). Roland defines bullying as
“long standing violence, physical or psychological, perpetrated by an individual or
group directed against an individual who cannot defend himself or herself”. In line
with this Olweus also defines bullying, but more carefully and restrictive, as
“repeated, negative actions over time, including hitting, kicking, threatening,
locking inside a room, saying nasty and unpleasant things, and teasing”. The two
most common forms of bullying examined by researchers are physical and verbal
bullying. Physical bullying involves physical attacks on the victim, including hitting,
kicking, pushing, shoving, spitting, throwing object(s), or anything which does
physical harm to the individual or their belongings (Olweus, 2001).

Verbal bullying commonly involves verbal taunts directed at the victim.

These can be actions such as insults, taunting, teasing, and name calling (Olweus,
2001; O’Moore & Kirkham, 2001). Although, physical and verbal bullying are often
identified as two different forms of bullying, these forms of harassment tend to co-
occur (Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007). For this reason, physical and verbal bullying can
be placed into a category called direct bulling. Direct bullying, or overt type bullying,
includes physical and verbal aggression repeatedly focused on a single target
(Peskin, Tortolero, & Markham, 2006). For instance, research performed by
Orpinas, Home, and Staniazewaki (2003) found that close to 60% of students
reported being victims of direct bullying. The other type of bullying identified by
researchers is indirect bullying. Indirect bullying, also known as relational or social
aggression, includes social exclusion or attempts to isolate a target from social
participation, spreading gossip, refusing to socialize with the victim or excluding
them from activities, criticizing physical appearance or characteristics of the victim
(Olweus, 2001; O’Moore & Kirkham, 2001; Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007). Accordingly,
while at school, participants have witnessed someone bullying to the extent that a
student is being bullied cries or appears to feel frustrated, sad, anxious, bad, angry,
lonely, and/or worthless. About 16.34% have witnessed someone bullying other
students daily, 55.40% have observed bullying weekly, 20.25% have seen monthly,
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and 8% have perceived bullying once a year. Thus, the frequency of occurrence of
bullying is alarming to the extent that it is happening every other day in a week. The
places of occurrence of bullying are classrooms (32.85%), hallways (26.72%),
comfort rooms (19.66 %), athletic field (10.29 %), canteen (8.17 %) and library
(2.29 %). This means that bullying among students can happen anywhere in the
school premises. Thus, safe school environment is being sacrifice because of the
occurrence of these types of bullying among students. However, it is commonly
believed that bullying takes place primarily on the way to and from school, but
Olweus (1993) has reported that without a doubt most bullying takes place at
school. This is in support to the findings of the study. In fact, Olweus (1993) found
that three times more bullying took place at school than in route to and from school.

Sheras (2002) explained that the locations within the school that are
unsupervised like bathrooms and locker rooms are most often used by bullies. In a
study conducted by Winter (2001), tenth graders in a rural school said that they
thought adults should stop bullying, and situations should not be allowed to go as
far as they do. In addition, Winter found the most problematic areas were hallways,
the cafeteria, restrooms, locker rooms, and school grounds. Pepler (1998)
investigated bullying in the classroom. They found that teachers intervened in only
18% of the episodes counted by the researchers. As the observations were video
recorded, the teacher was viewed in the same frame as a bully encounter 50 % of
the time. Teachers were unaware of a bullying interaction in 13 of the 30 episodes,
and finally teachers were aware of 50 % of bullying when in close proximity of the
interaction. Atlas and Pepler’s study explained the influential nature of the teacher’s
roles in reducing bullying in a school, knowledge on what bullying behavior entails,
as well as intervening tactics, for both the victim and the perpetrator. About 37.27%
mentioned that bullying is a large problem in the school, 48.59 % revealed that
bullying is somewhat of a problem, and showing signs of getting worse, and 14.12%
mentioned that bullying in the schools is somewhat of a problem, but showing signs
of getting better. The findings revealed that bullying among autonomous high
schools is showing signs of getting worse. The school authorities can take a major
role in preventing such occurrence. If not given proper attention, several effects
may come into play as revealed by previous findings. Research indicates that all
forms of bullying can produce social and emotional problems in children (Ostrov, &
Werner, 2006).

Cumulative evidence has shown that bullying has acute consequences

ranging from suicide, murder, absenteeism at school, and medical conditions such
as faints, vomiting, paralysis, hyperventilation, limb pains, headaches, visual
symptoms, stomachaches, fugue states, and long-term psychological disturbances
such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, and hysteria (Bond et al., 2008). Gender
differences have been found in the types of effects reported by victims. Boys who
are victims are at a greater risk of acting out and delinquency as young adults while
girls who are victims have a greater risk of experiencing poor mental health such as
peer rejection, anxiety, depression, and isolation (Bond et al., 2008). Therefore,
bullying is a serious concern and without intervention the effects are likely to
worsen over time (Espelage & Swearer, 2003). Types of bullying can also make a
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difference in effects. Crick (1996) conducted a study with children from schools. At
these two schools, she assessed aggression, pro-social behavior, and social
adjustment three times during the academic year using a peer-nomination measure.
Results indicated that students who experienced relational aggression were most
at risk for future adjustment problems. Physical bullying, on the other hand, is most
strongly associated with physical injuries and anxiety, while verbal bullying is
associated most with reductions in self-esteem and increased depressive
symptoms.

Perceptions about the Victims of Bullying and Bullies

The participants show the same level of agreement on their perceptions

about the victims of bullying in all items. Thus, they revealed that victims are usually
thin, fat, considered ugly, talk or sound differently, shy, and with low self-esteem.
Moreover, they moderately agree that victims come from poor families, have no
friends, changes classes just to escape bullies, and changes school to escape bullies.
These mean that the victims are still on their respective schools despite the
occurrences of bullying. Lastly, the respondents revealed the same level of
agreement that victims should stand up for himself/ herself and become more
psychologically stronger to stop bullying. Moreover, the victims should stop being
different by losing weight or getting the right clothes if they want bullying to stop.
Thus, the overall computed mean is 3.64, which means “Agree”.

Bullies most often chose their targets based on the target’s physical
appearance, mannerisms, or the fact that the victim just does not fit in (Beane,
1999). Olweus (1993) explained that victims are usually more anxious and cautious
than other students. Oftentimes, especially with boys, victims are physically smaller.
Victims usually grant their perpetrator with a “reward” such as their lunch or an
outward show of fear or sadness (Beane, 1999; Olweus, 1993). As general rule,
according to Olweus (1993), victims do not have friends, and withdraw from others.
Sheras (2002) indicated that victims are often socially isolated and have a low self-
esteem. Burcum (2003) stated that the perpetrator of a school shooting was a victim
of bullying. The mannerisms of the student indicated he could have been a victim of
bullying. Many students who are bullied are invisible to school personnel (Bender,
Shubert, & McLaughlin, 2001).

In the school shooting incident, a teacher, described the bullied child as an

ordinary kid (Burcum, 2003). School staff can have difficulties picking out children
who are the victims of bullying. Victims of bullying begin to show signs of the
negative behavior experienced (Sheras, 2002). Therefore, these students begin to
spend less time in the classroom learning causing a sudden drop in grades. Twenty-
two percent of fourth through eighth graders say they experience difficulties
academically due to bullying (Beane, 1999), and victims of bullying can become
afraid of meeting new people, become frightened when approached by another
child, and have more anger and resentment with no apparent reason (Sheras, 2002).
Physically, explained by Sheras (2002), victims of bullying can experience more
hunger due to fear of the cafeteria or their lunch being stolen, lack of sleep caused

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by nightmares, bedwetting, and pain due to waiting until getting home to use the
bathroom. Researchers examining bullying have identified some key factors that
correlate with becoming a victim of bullying, including: gender, being younger in
age (higher risk in elementary or middle school versus high school), location of
residence (school or residence is located in a low SES high crime area (Alvarez &
Bachman, 1997), race or ethnicity (Caughy, O’Campo, & Muntaner, 2004), and
visible signs of disability (Farrington, 1993). Farrington (1993), however, claimed
that there was a slight difference between victims and other students and that the
victim may have more signs of handicap (wearing glasses, physical limitations,
speech difficulties) than other students. Lumeng and colleagues (2010) found that
children are more likely to be bullied because they are overweight regardless of
other socio-demographic, social, or academic performance factors. Individuals with
aggressive attitudes (victim or non-victims) were more likely to report carrying
weapons to school, use alcohol or engage in physical fights at school
(Brockenbrough et al., 2002). Group memberships may be different depending on
whether the individual is the victim or antagonist (Craig et al., 1998). In addition,
researchers have found that individuals who were bullied were more likely to
engage in aggressive behavior or fighting when compared to subjects who were not
bullied (Rudatsikria, Mataya, Siziya, & Muula, 2008). On the other hand, a victim
who was classified as aggressive was at an increased risk for victimization (Hanish
& Guerra, 2000). Thus, studies have shown that students who have someone to
confide in, a friend or adult at school, may not be victimized (Cook, Williams, Guerra,
Kim, & Sadek, 2010). The participants agree that bullies are really cowards
underneath, think they are cool, want to feel superior or to show that they have
power, and have psychological or family-related problems. Moreover, they believed
that bullies bully others to feel better and impress others. They are jealous of the
victim, lack respect for other people, annoyed by the victim’s appearance, become
tired of bullying after getting older (matures), but can find other victims at the same
time. Moreover, the respondents also shared the same feeling when they
moderately agree that bullies have low self-esteem. Thus, the overall computed
mean is 4.07, which means “Agree”. Sheras (2002) clarified that all students feel
anger; bullies usually have an inability to channel their anger in an acceptable
fashion.

Beane (1999) explained that bullies are different from a student who may
tease someone occasionally, because a pattern of intimidation forms. Perpetrators
of bully behavior have little empathy for others, have a more positive attitude
toward violence, and are aggressive to parents and teachers as well as their peers
(Olweus, 1993). According to Sheras (2002), bullies find victims who are weak in
some way to harass in mental or physical ways. Thus, the National Association of
Social Workers (2002) explained that bullies are usually solely concerned with their
own pleasure and will use others to get what they want. However, the National
Association of Social Workers found that bullies are not always socially isolated, and
it may even be easy for bullies to make friends. In fact, Sheras (2002) indicated
bullies are often average or above-average in popularity. Bullies are reported to
have poor behavior at school with destruction of property, intimidation of younger

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children and a short attention span (Sheras, 2002). These negative behaviors can be
linked to lifestyle outside of school beyond the years spent in school (Beane, 1999).

Factors Associated with Bullying Behavior among SHSL

All the participants agree that bullying behavior is a result of being from a
broken home, copying parents’ aggressive behavior, watching violent films,
teachers’ poor classroom management, retaliation for being bullied in the past, and
feeling older or stronger than others. However, being from a monogamous or
polygamous family may be “moderately” considered as factor of bullying behavior.
Thus, the computed mean is 3.82, which means “Agree”. According to Shen (1997),
school violence is on the rise. Violence from the home and communities is stretching
into the schools, and school shootings and suicide are the result of the advancement
of traumatizing encounters over time (Hazler, 2000). Social withdrawal, feelings of
isolation, loneliness, persecution, and rejection, as well as low interest in school, and
expression of violent writing and drawings are indications of a student bullying that
often lead to violence (Beane, 1999). Research shows that it is usually the victim of
long-term bullying that commits violent school crimes (Bender, Shubert, &
McLaughlin, 2001).Brown and Taylor (2008) is one of the few existing studies that
actually investigate the link between bullying and educational attainment and
wages. Henningsen (2009) identified the two main determinants of victimization as
low family income and not feeling safe with one’s parents, and Wolke et al. (2001)
confirmed that low socio-economic status correlates with both victimization and
bullying, and moreover find that ethnic background/skin color is associated with
victimization. However, Persson and Svensson (2010) find no effects of class-size
on victimization. Farrington and Ttofi (2009) systematically review evaluations of
such programs to intensity interventions to reduce bullying and victimization.

Psychological Consequences of Bullying among SHSL

The participants perceived the psychological consequences of bullying on

school learners. They all agree that it may result to being fearful, lonely, and
depressed. However, they moderately agree that bullying behavior may result to
being happy and confident. Thus, the overall computed mean is 3.60, which means
“Agree”. Rigby, (2008) suggests that bullying is “the systematic abuse of power in
interpersonal relationship”. In other words, bullying is when a person is picked on
over and over again by an individual or group with more power, either in terms of
physical strength or social standing. Thus, there are apparently imbalances in
physical and psychological strength between bully and the victim (Olweus and
Solberg, 1998). Drawing from the work of Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990), Moon &
et al. (2008) have associated the phenomenon of bullying with a sort of criminal
behavior. Rigby, (2008) identified and categorized the possible consequences and
negative health conditions of those involved in bullying as follows: Low
psychological well-being; poor social adjustment; and physical un-wellness. Other
claims in relation to the negative consequences for those who bully are that children
who habitually bully significantly experience higher levels of depression (Salmon,
et al, 1998) or even suicidal ideation (Rigby, 2008). An alternative theory of bullying

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is the developmental psychological perspective on antisocial behavior (Patterson,
Reid and Dishion, 1992).

Coping Strategies Used by the SHSL to Avoid Bullying

The perceived coping strategies used by the learners to avoid bullying

revealed that reporting to school authority/ counselor, running away from school
for many days, telling their parents, and avoiding the person are the common
strategies. However, they moderately agree that bullying the person back may be a
good choice. Moreover, the overall computed mean is 3.83, which means “Agree”.
Interventions for learners should not only be directed to students who show
characteristics of a bully or a victim, but should be preventative in nature for all
students (Atlas & Pepler, 1998). Thus, Salmivalli (2001) reported it is helpful to give
students an opportunity to take responsibility when a bullying episode occurs.
Sheras (2002) provided simple intervention tactics for students, and Samlivalli
(2001) noted though, that it is also necessary for students to understand when
things are too out of hand for them to be involved, in which case adults need to have
ultimate responsibility for reducing bullying in the school. A peer onlooker of
bullying is defined as child who is watching the bullying episode for at least five
seconds of any portion of the episode (Atlas & Pepler, 1998). An onlooker of a
bullying situation attempts to avoid the situation, for fear they may be the next
victim if there is an attempt to intervene (Beane, 1999). There are peer interveners,
as well. They are students who physically or verbally end the bully-victim
interaction (Pepler, 1998). On the other hand, Newman, Horne, and Bartolomucci
(2000) explained that peer onlookers are also considered to be bystander victims.
Similarly, Newman, Horne, and Bartolomucci (2000) indicated some core
conditions for teachers to maintain to help in the intervention and reduction of
bullying behaviors. Visibility of adults (Beane, 1999); supervision (Olweus, 1993);
and teacher intervention (Pepler, 1998) were some of the recommendations.

Prevention Action Plan

Bullying is not only about learners’ behavior. Preventing bullying requires

everyone’s cooperation. A “Bullying Prevention Action Plan” provides the necessary
information and tools to successfully implement bullying prevention strategies in
the education community, and defines key areas to engage and involve the broader
community. When we create safe, respectful learning environments, we build and
nurture safer school environment for all SHSL.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The most common type of bullying occurrence was verbal bullying, followed
by emotional and physical bullying. These types were occurring weekly in schools’
premises such as classrooms, hallways, comfort rooms, athletic field, etc., and were
somewhat of a problem, and showed signs of getting worse. The victims of bullying
were usually thin, fat, considered ugly, talk or sound differently, shy, and with low
self-esteem. The bullies were really cowards underneath, thought they were cool,

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_______________________________________________________
wanted to feel superior or to show that they have power, and have psychological or
family-related problems. Moreover, they believed that bullies bully others to feel
better and impress others. They were jealous of the victim, lack respect for other
people, annoyed by the victim’s appearance, become tired of bullying after getting
older (matured). All the respondents agreed that bullying behavior was a result of
being from a broken home, copying parents’ aggressive behavior, watching violent
films, teachers’ poor classroom management, retaliation for being bullied in the
past, and feeling older or stronger than others. However, they moderately agreed
that bullying behavior may result to being happy and confident. All the respondents
agreed that reporting to school authority/ counselor, running away from school for
many days, telling their parents, and avoiding the person were the common
strategies. This study indicated that bullying was a problem in the school setting.
This study demonstrated that if teachers can bring their ideas together with a plan
to help students and other adults identify bullying, the negative behavior can be
decreased or prevented. There were practical implications of these results for
intervention or prevention strategies in schools. Schools can either use these results
along with other related studies to create intervention/prevention strategies or
conduct similar studies based on the current research study. The school authorities
may enhance the prevention strategies towards safer school environment.

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Environmental Factors that Influence Physical

Activity Participation in Children and Youth: A
Synthesis of the Literature
Dr. Ellaysa Pingpang Dela Sportsminded
tfbnrespub@gmail.com
Dean, Graduate School Sports Management
The Fly by Night Colleges, Inc.
Olongapo City, Philippines
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Abstract- Physical activity participation in children and youth is widely regarded

as important to ensure proper health. There are many environmental factors that
contribute to children and youth being able to participate in physical activity on a
daily basis. This synthesis reviewed literature regarding environmental factors that
influence physical activity participation in children and youth. Data was collected
using the EBSCOHOST search engine, found on The College at Brockport’s Drake
Memorial Library online research website. Key words in SPORTDiscus and
Academic Search Complete databases were combined to obtain 10 studies that
focused on this synthesis’s purpose and research questions. A synthesis data coding
table was compiled with the data from each article. The following five research
questions were answered: (a) what are physical activity (PA) patterns of
participation like in children and youth? How and when do they change over time,
(b) what factors influence PA participation in children and youth, (c) what are the
facilitators and barriers to PA participation in children and youth, (d) how are the
factors that influence participation in PA different for high SES and low SES children
and youth and (e) how are the factors that influence participation in PA different for
urban and rural children and youth? Results indicated factors that contributed to
PA participation in children and youth included SES status, urban/rural location,
accessibility/availability, gender, race/ethnicity, and technology. Major factor that
contributed to PA participation in children and youth included the safety of parks
and facilities, and distance. These are two factors that were found within youth of
both high and low SES and urban/rural locations.

Keywords: Physical education, environmental factors, physical activity, children,

youth, synthesis

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Introduction

Buses line the outside of the building, mini-vans are being directed by a
crossing guard telling mom and dad to say “good-bye” to their children and let them
out before they go into school to spend the next six hours of their day. Minutes start

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to turn into hours and soon it is either time for lunch, recess, physical education
class. These are the times school age children and youth typically experience
physical activity. While some children will participate in afterschool sports,
community sports or recreational programs, there are many children and youth for
whom school hours may be the only time in the day when they get for physical
activity (Hellmich, 2013). Why do some children get numerous opportunities to
participate in sport and physical activity and others get so little? Determining what
environmental factors influence physical activity participation in children and
youth can provide administrators and others in higher education with an
understanding of what they can do to combat inactivity and level the playing field
so all children get the Center of Disease Control’s (CDC) recommended 60 minutes
a day of physical activity (CDC, 2018a).
Over the past decade, the importance of physical activity on health and well-
being across the life span has been established through policy makers and scientists
(Paxton, Estabrooks, & Dzewaltowski, 2004). Physical inactivity leads to health
issues later in life, however, one of the issues that can be seen early in life is
childhood obesity. There are many factors that lead to childhood obesity, among
them are race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES) and geographical location such
as an urban or rural community. Khan, Newsome, Dol, Yang and Duncan (2018),
found that environment, access, affordability, and parents’ own health behaviors
contribute to the health and physical activity of children and youth. Khan et al.
(2018), provides a helpful beginning to looking at environmental factors that
influence physical activity in children and youth.
The National Physical Activity Plan (2018) aims to get children and youth
physically active each year by encouraging regular physical activity. Each year they
produce a report card which tracks how well the plan is succeeding in areas such as
overall physical activity, sedentary behaviors, active transportation, active play,
physical fitness, family and peers, school, community and built environment and
organized sport. Overall, physical activity has received a “D-” every year since 2014.
This grade indicates that the plan is succeeding with less than half of children and
youth or approximately 20-26% (National Activity Plan, 2018). Other areas that are
within the “D to D-” range are sedentary behaviors and active transportation.
Perhaps AT the most surprising indicator listed with a “D-” grade on the National
Activity Plan’s report card is the school indicator. Although schools provide physical
education (PE) class, only 22 states have laws mandating the minimum number of
minutes that students should participate in physical education (National Activity
Plan, 2018). And although schools often provide opportunities for students after
school, many of these activities are part of a pay-to-play policy. Pay-to-play relates
to the participants being charged to participate in an activity. More than a quarter
of U.S. states have pay-to-play policies in place which may widen the gap between
low and high SES groups, which may in turn, lead to lower physical activity
participation among children and youth that are a part of the lower SES group
(National Physical Activity, 2018).
Numerous studies have explored the environmental factors that influence
physical activity participation in children and youth and these studies often focus
on environmental factors such as SES and geographical location. Studies conducted

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by Duncan, Strycker, Chaumeton, and Cromley (2016) and Kasehagen, Busacker,
Kane, and Rohan’s (2012) both explored SES and geographical location on physical
activity of children and youth. More recently, there have been studies that have
explored other factors, such as transportation, perceived ability, sedentary
behavior, family support and many more. Paxton, Estabrooks, and Dzewaltowski
(2013) explore perceived competence and its relation to physical activity among
youth, while Swanson, Schoenberg, Erwin, and Davis explore perspectives of
physical activity among Appalachian youth. Studying environmental factors that
influence physical activity participation in children and youth will help
professionals in PA develop an understanding of the causes of physical inactivity in
children and youth. With this understanding, administrators and professionals in
the field of physical activity can develop and implement programs to increase
physical activity in children and youth.
The purpose of this synthesis project is to explore environmental factors
that influence physical activity participation among children and youth of different
SES and urban/rural locations.

Review of Literature

The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature that was used as a
foundation for this synthesis. There were a total of ten articles that fit the criteria to
be considered part of the critical mass. Of the ten articles, six focused on
demographic characteristics, three focused on perceived competence, and one
focused on trends in physical activity.
Demographic Characteristics. Harris, et al. (2015), study sought to
examine how park access differs among school-age youth in the United States (U.S.),
by using demographic characteristics and urban city of block groups. This study
obtained population data using the 2010 U.S. Census and American Community
Survey, in which data from all 50 states of the U.S and District of Columbia was
considered. The 2012 data from TomTom Incorporated was obtained and used to
define local, state and national parks. Population and park data were used to form
and define block group boundaries which were identical to the 2010 U.S. Census. A
total of 216,013 block groups were analyzed from the 2010 U.S Census, with an
average of 207 youth per block group (Harris, et al., 2015). A block group is defined
to contain between 600 and 3,000 people and are used to present data and control
block numbering. Block groups consists of clusters of blocks within the same census
tract (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). Block groups in this study were defined as urban,
large rural, small rural, or isolated as defined by USDA’s Economic Research Service
Rural-Urban Commuting codes (RUCA) (Harris, et al. 2015). The U.S. Census uses
RUCA codes to track urbanization, population density, and commuting patterns as
well as incorporates a degree of influence from nearby urbanized areas. The block
groups consisted of 11,018,770 blocks and the number of blocks within a block
group averaged to be 51 blocks. Harris et al. (2015) found that 67.5% of block
groups were classified as majority white, 10.6% majority black, 12.8% majority
Hispanic, and 7.8% did not have a majority race/ethnic group within the block
group. Both Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaskan Native were
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represented within the block groups but at a percentage less than one. Park access
was determined by a block group being within a half mile of a park. Harris et al.
(2015) determined this distance through a study by Nicholls (2001), and mimicked
this approach. Using this definition of park access, 61.3% of the 53,968,234-youth
had access to at least one park, however Harris, et al. (2015) found that park access
varied by race/ethnicity, median education, and median household income, all of
which are demographic characteristics. Among these demographic characteristics,
it was found that youth within the block groups with lower median education, and
lower median household income had the greatest proportion of park access. The
most notable difference in park access found by Harris, et al. (2015) was among
urban and rural block groups. Urban block groups were found to have higher park
access versus all rural block groups even compared to racial/ethnic, education, and
household income categories. This study also represented which areas of the U.S.
had a higher proportion of park access. It was found that Northeast, Pacific, and
West regions of the U.S. had the highest park access which includes states such as
California (85.6%), Connecticut (82.5%) and Hawaii at approximately 80.0%
(Harris, et al., 2015). Overall this study by Harris et al. (2015) revealed that
demographic characteristics are related to park access among school-age youth.
The demographic characteristics of location, race/ethnicity, median education level,
and median education level influenced park access. However, Harris et al. (2015)
found that park access depends largely on whether youth live in urban or rural
areas. These findings persist when adjusting for race/ethnicity, median education
level, and median household income. When looking at the region of the U.S and
states that have the highest proportion of park access, these were the regions and
states that have the highest proportion of urban block groups. Harris et al. (2015)
findings support the findings of similar studies done on park access. These findings
are important because they show that demographic characteristics and location
influence children and youth’s access to parks and physical activity.
A second study by Monnat, Lounsbery, McKenzie, and Chandler (2017)
sought to examine 16 specific PA practices in elementary, middle, and high schools
in Nevada and their association between multiple school demographic
characteristics. The authors hypothesized, “schools with greater proportions of
demographically vulnerable students (Black, Hispanic, lowSES), schools with higher
student-to-teacher ratios, and rural schools would be less likely to have PA
supportive practices in place.. Data was collected in this study with the use of a web-
based survey distributed by email from the district superintendent offices to all
Nevada K-12 public school principals in the fall of 2014. A sample of 412 schools
was included, which is 63.2% of all K-12 Nevada public schools. This data was used
to perform binary logistic regression to determine odds ratio and 95% confidence
interval for the association between school demographic characteristics and school
PA practices (Monnat et al. 2017). All analyses were done using SAS software and a
total of 14 PA measures were used. Completion of this analysis demonstrated the
importance of the school having availability of indoor and outdoor PA spaces,
certified PE instructors, classroom breaks, and bike racks. The authors did not find
significant demographic disparities and attribute this finding in part to the state of

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Nevada laws. Nevada has laws and regulations in place for PA in schools, such as
requiring students to participate in at least 150 min of PE a week.
The third study had a two-part purpose. Duncan, Stycker, Chaumeton &
Cromley (2016) sought to determine whether relations between neighborhood
variables and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and active transport
(AT) to/from school differed across African American, Latino American, and White
urban early adolescent girls living in the U.S. where the effects of age and family
income are controlled (Duncan, et al. 2016). The study also sought to determine the
extent to which relations between neighborhood variables were similar to or
different across the three ethnic groups (Duncan et al. 2016). There were 372
participants in this study, 128 African American girls, 120 Latino American girls and
124 White girls. All the participants resided in an urban-suburban area of Portland-
Gresham, Oregon. Only families who had 10-, 12-, or 14-year-old girls were
recruited. These families were randomly recruited from 41 socioeconomically
diverse and geographically dispersed neighborhoods using telephone, door-to-
door, and word-of-mouth (Duncan et al. 2016). Out of the families recruited, 67.8%
consented to participate. The researchers conducted interviews with parents
present to assess girls younger than the age of 12, for girls older than 12
assessments were done in private, away from family members, to enhance
confidentiality. Assessments and interviews lasted between 30-75 minutes. Duncan
et el. (2016) used a GT3X+ Actigraph accelerometer device to track the participants’
activity. The participants were to wear the device for seven consecutive days and
24 hours a day except when in water. The accelerometer was used to calculate mean
minutes a day the participants were active. The researchers used cut points derived
from a study conducted by Freedson, Pober, and Janz (2005). These cut points are
500-3,999 counts per minute (CPM) for moderate activity, 4,000-7,599 CPM for
vigorous activity and 7,600+ CPM for very vigorous activity. Cut points were
determined using ActiLife5 software and using the formula, METs=2.757+
(0.0015xCPM) – (0.0897 x age) – (0.000038 x COM x age) (Duncan et al. 2016).
Active transportation to/from school was determined by the use of two
survey items for both participants and parents. The survey questions were
separated based on how often the participant walked, biked, rode a scooter, etc. to
school and then how often they did the same returning home from school.
Responses between participant and parents were summed and averaged to create
an AT to/from school variable. In order to find neighborhood variables, 13 items
from the survey were used. An example of one of the items used was for the
participants to rate to what extent specific barriers in their neighborhood influence
their PA participation. These responses were rated on a scale of 1= never to 4 = very
often (Duncan et el. 2016). A total neighborhood barrier score was created by
averaging the score of the 13 items, with lower scores indicating fewer perceived
barriers and higher scores indicating greater perceived barriers to PA. The last
variable used in the analysis was a demographic one, which was age and family
income per capita. Duncan et al. (2016) used a 1-6 score based on family income
and then divided the number based on the number of family members to adjust for
household size which resulted in the score used in the analysis.

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Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine relations between
neighborhood environment variables, MVPA and AT to/from school, while
multiple-group SEM was also utilized to test for differences across the three ethnic
groups. MPlus software was used to estimate models using a sample size of
approximately 120 participants per ethnic group. The goal of this analysis was to
test for significant differences by ethnic groups.
After the analysis, Duncan et al. (2016) found that across both MVPA and AT
to/from school and all three ethnic groups that a greater perceived neighborhood
PA facility accessibility is positively and significantly related to PA and AT to/from
school. This finding represents that youth PA is influenced by the presence of
nearby recreational facilities. AT to/from school was influenced by three factors,
distance, neighborhood environment, and the demographic characteristic of
income. When looking at these three factors, they are all influenced by SES.
Participants of lower SES not only related to more AT, but also living in closer
proximity to the school. However, these neighborhoods also have fewer built in
social environmental supports which were found to influence PA participation and
choices. In connection to Duncan et al. (2016), the three final studies explored
Neighborhood Park and playground availability, neighborhood characteristics and
PA, and SES on habitual PA and sedentary behavior. The first study done by Hughey,
Kaczynski, Child, Moore, Porter, and Hibbert (2017) had a two-part purpose. First,
examine youth obesity and its association with neighborhood park and playground
availability and second, assess whether youth race/ethnicity and SES were
responsible. Hughey et al. (2017) used a large county in the southeastern U.S. which
had a population of 474,266 in 2013. This population was 77.1% Non-Hispanic
White, 18.5% African American, and 8.5% Hispanic or Latino. A median income of
$48,886 was reported with approximately 15.0% of the population living below the
federal poverty line. Within this county, physical education teachers from 51
elementary schools collected height and weight data from 14,232 youth. This data
was used to determine BMI of the participants. Demographic characteristics were
obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008-2012 American Community Survey to
determine block groups, in which 255 were used. Park and playground availability
were determined by a geographical information system (GIS: ArcGIS 10.2.2), and an
audit from all available open playgrounds in 2013.
Using two-level linear models, Hughey et al. (2017) found youth
race/ethnicity and SES were significantly related to a higher BMI, which is a result
of lower PA in both African American and Hispanic youth. It was also found that
higher park availability is associated with lower BMI among males and females,
however there is a growing safety concern within areas with minority youth and
low SES. This concern comes with unsafe circumstances which may begin to limit
park use in these areas. Kasehagen, Busacker, Kane, and Rohan (2012), examined
neighborhood characteristics and their on effects youth physical activity within
different types of rural-urban commuting areas (RUCAs). By analyzing data from
the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), a survey designed to provide
prevalence estimates for a variety of physical and emotional health indicators in
children younger than 18. Kasehagen et al. (2012) was able to focus on the parental
report of the youth’s neighborhood characteristics. By focusing on this variable

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Kasehagen et al. (2012) found that urban youth were less physically active than
rural youth. It was found that the presence or absence of neighborhood parks may
not be a great indicator of PA, in part due to neighborhood parks not being viewed
as safe locations for PA, which represents a possible barrier to PA.
The third study in this category was conducted by Drenowatz, Eisenmann,
Pfeiffer, Welk, Heelan, Gentile and Walsh (2010). The purpose of this study was to
examine physical activity and sedentary behavior and whether they differ in
children by SES independent of BMI. Two cohorts were used in this study, 271
children, consisting of 117 males, and 154 females in the first cohort and 131
children, 63 males, and 68 females in the second cohort. In cohort one, the average
age was 9.6 years and 8.8 years in study two. BMI was assessed according to
standard procedures and was recorded. Household income data was supplied by
the parents of the children and was used to determine SES. In order to determine
habitual PA, a pedometer was used in cohort one and an accelerometer in cohort
two. A pedometer measures steps/day and an accelerometer measures time spent
in MVPA. In cohort two, data from time spent watching television and on the
computer was self-reported and used to measure sedentary behavior. Drenowatz et
al. (2010) analysis indicated a significant difference in sedentary behavior between
SES groups. This finding was consistent within both cohorts and showed that higher
SES groups spent less time being sedentary. Drenowatz et al. (2010) pose several
possible reasons for differences in habitual physical activity. One reason stated by
the authors is socio-environmental influences which include accessibility to
facilities and safety. A second finding was that, lower PA participation among lower
SES groups was found in both cohorts. Lastly, sedentary behavior such as screen
time and television use was higher among lower SES groups in both cohorts.
Perceived Barriers. The first two studies in this category addressed youth
perspectives on PA, primarily within rural environments. First, Swanson,
Schoenberg, Erwin, and Davis (2012) explored perspectives of Appalachian youth
on PA. Through understanding these perceptions, the authors had the goal of
developing programming to increase PA that is culturally appropriate. The central
portion of Appalachia was used in this study. This region includes 410 counties over
13 states, with 22 million people which is approximately 8% of the U.S, population.
Data from five counties in this region was collected. These five counties were
studied due to their low SES and health indicators, which are among the lowest in
the U.S. Eleven focus groups were used with participants between the ages of 8- to
17-years. Focus group questions were designed to gain insight in areas such as what
the participants like and dislike about PA and exercise, what keeps them from
participating in PA and exercise, and what should be kept in mind when programs
are planned. Upon analysis of the focus group data, the authors found that the
perception of the difference between PA and exercise was that PA was associated
with leisure activity or something done for fun where exercise was serious and
structured. The authors also found many barriers to participating in PA, which
included not having resources dedicated to PA such as, lack of time, technology, and
money, all of which are typically described by adults and those who are from an
urban environment (Swanson, et al. 2012). Swanson et al. (2012), noted that the
rural youth group is vulnerable to the same pressures as their urban counterparts.

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Besides the structure of their environment, they are vulnerable to the same
pressures that come from their peers and the growth of technology.
A second study that explores youth perspectives on PA was done by Paxton,
Estabrooks, and Dzewaltowski (2013). The purpose was to investigate the
relationships between perceived physical competence, attraction to PA, and PA
behavior. The authors hypothesized that the attractions youth have to PA would be
mediated by their physical competence. The Head, Heart, Health, and Hands (4-H)
youth development club was used to recruit participants. 4-H clubs from a
midwestern state were selected due to their offering of wellestablished programs
in a rural environment. A total of four clubs across two counties were used in this
study which had a total membership of 97. Of these 97 members, 63 participants
provided parental consent for a response rate of 66.5%. All participants were
Caucasian and made up of 66% female and 34% males. The participants were asked
to complete The Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQOC). This
questionnaire uses nine questions to assess participation in common sports, leisure
activities, PE class, recess, evenings after school and on the weekend (Paxton et al.
2013). The second purpose of this study was to determine perceived physical
competence. This was assessed through the Physical Competence Scale for Children
which is scored on a four-point scale. The third and final purpose was to assess
attraction to physical activity. The Children’s Attraction to Physical Activity Scale
(CAPAS) was used which consists of 15 items derived from five subscales which are:
peer acceptance, physical exertion, games and sports, liking of exercise, and
importance of exercise (Paxton et al. 2013). Upon analysis of the three measures,
the authors found that perceived physical competence, attraction to PA, and PA
behaviors are related. This finding is important because it extends previous
research demonstrated within the rural youth population. A second finding extends
previous research by demonstrating statistical mediation of perceived physical
competence, and physical activity relationship by youths’ perceptions of attraction
to physical activities (Paxton et al. 2013). Lastly, this study provides insight to
practical interventions and development for rural youth. Although the authors
found that rural youth participants were not very active, 4-H programs provided a
practical intervention for programming for rural youth. This finding is important
because it provides an avenue to increase PA among rural youth.
A third and final study in this category was done by Vermeesch, Ling,
Voskuil, Bakhoya, Wesolek, Bourne, Pfeiffer, and Robbins (2015). This study
explored perceived barriers to PA. This study had a three-part purpose. First, they
sought to determine differences in ratings of a total of 509 girls from eight
midwestern U.S. schools participated. Participants and their parents completed a
demographic survey which provided data on age, academic grade, race/ethnicity,
and SES. In order to gain insight on recreational screen time and sedentary behavior
participants reported the number of hours they spent engaging in activities such as
watching television, talking on the phone and computer use. To assess minutes per
hour of sedentary activity and PA, participants were asked to wear an
accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3plus). The accelerometer was to be worn for seven
consecutive days except when showering, swimming, and sleeping at night. Lastly,
perceived barriers to PA data was gathered with the use of a nine-item Perceived

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Barrier Scale. This tool was designed to measure perceptions of obstacles
interfering with PA. Data was then analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS). Independent sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA were used to
examine biological and sociocultural differences in screen time, sedentary activity,
BMI, PA, and perceived barriers (Vermeesch, et al. 2015).
Analysis of the data found that on average participants spent approximately
38 minutes of each hour outside of school sedentary or approximately six hours of
each day. The authors found that participants from low-SES groups reported
significantly greater perceived barriers to PA. Perceived barriers included lack of
skill, difficulty finding programs, being tired, hating to sweat, and having pain prior
to and during puberty. This study found that among girls, pubertal stage,
racial/ethnic, and SES differences in girls’ were the top perceived barriers to PA.
Understanding this finding is important because it provides insight to the biological
and sociocultural differences in perceived barriers to PA. Understanding these
perceived barriers allows for the design more effective interventions by using
systematic and meaningful personalized strategies to assist diverse groups of urban
girls in overcoming their perceived barriers to PA (Vermeesch et al. 2015).

Trends in Physical Activity. One study focused on trends in physical

activity and sedentary behaviors of United States youth. Bassett, John, Conger,
Fitzhugh, and Coe’s (2015) research sought to study time trends in physical activity
and sedentary behavior in U.S. children and adolescents. Information was located
using PubMed and derived by using peer-reviewed journal articles and data from
the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) survey. Information on sports
participation was gathered from the National Federation of State High School
Associations and U.S Department of Education, while participation for other
outdoor activities was gathered from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S.
National Park Service.
Upon reviewing and analyzing the information the authors found a decline
in youth PA within multiple areas. These areas included active transportation,
physical education and outdoor play. All of these areas were once common areas for
children and youth to expend large amounts of energy. The authors also found that
due to declines in these areas that there is now an increased reliance on structured
activities. Structured activities include before and after school activities, community
recreation and organized sports programs. These findings are important because
they provide areas of PA that need to be increased among U.S. youth to limit
sedentary behaviors. The authors suggest that the use of the sociological model will
provide useful framework when developing ways to promote PA. The use of this
model starts with individual factors which include knowledge, skills, and attitudes
about PA, which are all important factors that influence behavior. Using this model
and moving outward, relationships with parents, teachers and peers all influence
PA in children and youth. Lastly, organizations such as schools and communities
provide an important setting for children and youth to learn and participate in PA.
Both of these settings play an important role in increasing PA levels and decreasing
sedentary behavior among children and youth.

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Methodology

The purpose of this chapter is to present the methods used to synthesize

research that pertains to environmental factors such as SES and location that
influence physical activity participation in children and youth. The following
methods were utilized when gathering research articles and in data collection, data
coding and data analysis/reporting.

Data Collection. All studies selected for this synthesis were located by
searching the EBSCOHOST search engine where SPORTDiscus and Academic Search
Complete were both utilized to help find relevant articles. The first search of
SPORTDiscus and Academic Search Complete yielded 32,918 articles using the
search terms “physical activity” and“children or adolescents or youth or
adolescents or youth or child or teenager.” The search was then limited to peer
reviewed articles and articles published between 2008 - 2018. These parameters
limited the number of articles down to 22,455, at this time the search terms, “United
States” and “factors or causes or influences or reasons” were added which resulted
in 671 articles were identified. Of these 671 articles, 120 of them were searched for
relevance to the research questions, the search ended after 120 articles due to many
articles being repeated and a majority of the articles having no relevance to the
topic. Out of the 120 articles, seven articles were downloaded and saved. From these
seven articles five had relevance and were used towards the critical mass. Two
articles were deemed relevant for this synthesis, but not suitable for the critical
mass. Using the same two databases the search term “socioeconomic status” was
added to the terms above.
Using the same parameters in the search, 132 articles were found. Only one
article was downloaded and saved to be used towards the critical mass. This was
the only article deemed fit to be downloaded and saved due to its relevance to the
topic and it was not found in the previous search.
Next, 587 articles were found by removing the search term “socioeconomic
status” and adding “participation.” Of these 587 articles 120 were reviewed for
relevance to the research questions. One of the 120 was downloaded and saved to
be used towards the critical mass. Only one article was used due to many of the
articles involving populations that did not include children and youth.
Lastly, a third search using “urban” and “rural” and removing
“socioeconomic status” and “participation” was used. Keeping the databases and
search parameters the same as the previous search, 79 articles were found. These
79 articles resulted in three articles being downloaded and saved to be used toward
the critical mass. These articles were saved due to having information relevant to
specific urban and rural settings. Other articles in this search were not used due to
having the wrong age groups, setting, and/or country.
In order to be included in the critical mass, an article had to be a data-based
research study published in a peer-reviewed journal between 2008 - 2018. Another
parameter to be included in the critical mass was that the article had to investigate
one of the following criteria, based on the research questions: (a) physical activity
(PA) patterns of participation in children and youth and how and when they change,

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(b) factors that influence PA participation in children and youth, (c) facilitators and
barriers to PA participation in children and youth, (d) factors that influence PA
participation in high SES and low SES children and youth and (e) factors that
influence PA participation in urban and rural children and youth.
A total of ten articles met all requirements and formed the critical mass of
the research synthesized in this paper. Some articles were excluded from this
synthesis because they did not contain research relevant to the topic.
Articles for this synthesis were obtained from the following peer reviewed
academic journals: Journal of Physical Activity and Health, BMC Public Health, Journal
of Behavioral Medicine, Preventive Medicine, Maternal & Child Health Journal,
Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, and Nursing Research.

Data Coding. Information obtained for this study involved a two-step

approach in an effort to extract the data and make it easily accessible. First, all
articles that were approved for the critical mass were put into a word document
grid where their citation, purpose, rational, participants, etc. can be found
(Appendix A). The purpose of the article grid was to have all article information in
one area for reference. The article grid includes the following categories: (a) APA
citation of the study, (b) purpose, (c) methods and procedures, (d) analysis, (e)
findings, and (f) discussion and recommendations for future research.

Data Analysis. Of the ten articles used in the critical mass, four were
quantitative, four articles were qualitative and two used mixed methods. Qualitative
studies collected data using interviews and focus groups while quantitative studies
used surveys and questionnaires to collect data. The quantitative and mixed method
studies incorporated a variety of methods when analyzing the data. Many of these
studies used, ANOVA, ANCOVA, ANDRE, SPSS, and MPlus Software.
One study used two cohorts, the first cohort used 271 children, 117 males
and 154 females and the second cohort used, 141 children, 63 males and 64 females.
These two cohorts were used to study SES and sedentary behavior of youth between
the ages of 8.8-9.6 years-old. A second study used 372 girls from an urban-suburban
area, this population was made up of 128 African American girls, 120 Latino
American girls, and 124 White girls. This population was used to study the
differences in physical activity of girls of different race/ethnicity and SES
backgrounds. Three studies used information from the U.S Census to study SES,
park availability, and/or urban and rural location to study physical activity within
the population of children and youth. Of the last five articles examined as part of the
critical mass, one used 14,232, third to fifth grade students from a county in the
southeastern region of the U.S. This study examined variations by gender, SES, and
race/ethnicity in physical activity of children and youth. Another study used 439 K-
12 public schools in Nevada to look at demographic characteristics and physical
activity practices, a second used 63 children from the Appalachian region to gain
their perspectives on physical activity. The last study consisted of 63 participants,
ages 9-11 and made up of 66% girls, with all participants coming from a rural
background.

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Results

The purpose of this part is to report the results of this synthesis based on
the original research questions. A total of ten studies were found suitable for the
critical mass and were used to create the results for this synthesis. The following
research questions were proposed for this synthesis:

What are physical activity (PA) patterns of participation like in

children and youth? How and when do they change over time? There were a
total of five studies included in this synthesis that focused on reporting physical
activity participation patterns in children and youth and how they have changed
over time. Results from these studies revealed many common patterns in physical
activity among children and youth and what causes them to change. Some of the
patterns explored in these studies include more children and youth moving toward
organized sport rather than recreational play, children and youth participating in
more sedentary activities rather than participating in PA, and children and youth
moving away from AT to/from school. A study done by Bassett et al. (2015),
revealed that there has been a decline in PA among children and youth. One trend
they revealed is an increased reliance on structured activities, such as after school
activities, and individual and team sports. The studies that supported an increased
reliance on structured activities were Swanson et al. (2012) and Monnat et al.
(2017). Within each study, perspectives of PA among children and youth and
demographic characteristics among children and youth were explored. Both of
these studies found that the school setting provides an essential setting to increase
PA in children and youth. A second trend found within the studies that are included
in this synthesis was an increase in time spent in sedentary behaviors. Sedentary
behaviors have become more of a trend with the increase that has been seen in
technology. Basset et al. (2015) found an increase in time spent using electronic
media such as, video games, cell phones, and television. Basset et al. (2015) also
found that on average 8-18 year old’s’ spend approximately 53 hours a week using
electronic media. Swanson et al. (2012) discovered that technology contributed to
a decline in PA among children and youth. Swanson et al. (2012) found that the
growth of technology has contributed to youth feeling that there are more
important things to do than participate in PA. A quote from a girl in their 15-17-
year-old group stated, “I’ve got better things to do, like Internet and stuff. Well that’s
not better things to do, but it’s a thing you want to do more” while a boy in the 8-10-
year-old group stated that his first priority when he comes home from school is,
“video games, TV, computer, all that stuff. That’s what I usually do, sitting around
the house.” (Swanson et al. 2012, p. 45). Technology is one trend that has changed
over time, for example, while time spent watching television decreased from 1999-
2009, the domains of cellphones, music players, and the internet were added and
increased total screen time among children and youth (Bassett et al., 2015). The
third major trend that was found is AT to/from school. While transportation
methods such as the use of the automobile, have increased as a way to transport
children and youth to/from school, methods such as walking and biking have
decreased drastically (Bassett et al., 2015). This trend can be seen in part due to

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more families owning an automobile and due to communities growing outward.
Distance to school plays a significant role in walkability for children and youth
to/from school (Duncan et al., 2016). However, Duncan et al. (2016) found that
neighborhood environment and safety were also found to contribute to the decline
in AT to/from school, a finding that is supported by Hughey et al. (2017).

What factors influence PA participation in children and youth? A total

of five studies focused primarily on the factors that influence PA participation in
children and youth. Results from the first study showed that park access and
recreational facility availability was a factor that influenced PA participation among
children and youth (Hughey et al., 2017). Duncan et al. (2016) found the presence
of parks and recreational facilities is important for youth PA. This factor is
important because the perceived environment such as accessibility, comfort and
convenience contributes to PA in children and youth. Harris et al. (2015) found that
park access can encourage higher levels of PA in children and youth. Accessibility
and availability are factors that many of these studies explored. Many of these
studies explored the importance of schools providing programs for students to
participate in to help increase PA in children and youth. Monnat et al. (2017) found
that availability of indoor and outdoor PA spaces was among the top ways to
increase PA in children and youth. Access and availability are related to park access
and recreational facility access, the factor that was mentioned above. Hughey et al.
(2017) mention that parks are a key component of communities that promote
health, especially among children and youth. The factors of access and availability,
especially with parks and recreational facilities, is important for children and youth
because they aid in combatting childhood obesity by aiding children and youth in
obtaining the recommended PA minutes per day (Hughey et al. 2017). With access
and availability comes the safety of these facilities. Drenowatz et al. (2010) found
that a factor contributing to PA participation in children and youth was safety of
these facilities. There may be many parks around a neighborhood but the way they
are perceived in terms of safe places contributes to families wanting their children
and youth to use them. The idea of safety as a part of access and availability was
supported by Kasehagen et al. (2012), Duncan et al. (2016) and Hughey et al. (2017).
For example, Kasehagen et al. (2012) found that lack in perceived safety of parks
limited their use. Socioeconomic status was a factor that was found within all five
of the studies that explored factors that influence PA participation in children and
youth. Vermeesch et al. (2016) found SES was a major issue when it came to children
and youth being able to access PA facilities and programs. SES is a factor that
contributes to park access, recreational facility access, and availability of PA
programs. A family’s SES will influence where they live and if they have expendable
income to pay for programs outside of the school setting (Duncan et al., 2016). The
final three studies done by Kasehagen et al. (2012), Monnat et al. (2017) and Hughey
et al. (2017) all express SES as a common factor in PA participation in children and
youth. In fact, all three of these studies found SES was a contributing factor to either
the presence of amenities or PA programs within neighborhoods.

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What are the facilitators and barriers to PA participation in children
and youth? When looking at the research conducted in relation to facilitators and
barriers to PA participation in children and youth there were several
commonalities. The main facilitators that were found for PA participation in
children and youth included physical and mental health benefits, amusement, and
sociability. Participants of the 11-14-year-old group in Swanson et al. (2012) study
described PA as a way to feel better, sleep better, and weight loss. Participants from
Swanson et al. (2012) study also expressed that when PA is fun it is more enjoyable
and they want to participate rather than when PA is hard or feels like you have to
do it, it makes them not want to take part in it. Two studies supported Swanson’s
et al. (2012) findings related to facilitators to PA participation in children and youth.
The first study was done by Vermeesch et al. (2015) which found that children and
youth, especially girls were more likely to participate in PA if the activity is
enjoyable. The second study was conducted by Hughey et al. (2017) and found that
the health benefits associated with PA was a facilitator of PA participation for
children and youth. Children and youth experience many barriers in relation to PA
participation. These barriers include SES, gender, race/ethnicity, lack of resources,
lack of knowledge/skill, psychological barriers, environment, geography, as well as
perceived barriers (Swanson et al., 2012, Hughey et al., 2017, & Vermeesch et al.,
2015). Swanson et al. (2012) explored the barriers of lack of knowledge,
psychological barriers, SES, and geography. This study found that many children
and youth feared a lack of knowledge/skill to participate confidently and the
psychological barriers of poor motivation and anticipation of injury. Participants in
the Swanson et al. (2012) study expressed that they felt there was no one to
properly teach them proper PA techniques and they had a fear of the pain associated
with PA. Swanson et al. (2012) attributed the barriers of lack of knowledge and
psychological barriers to geography. This study explored rural children and youth
who had limited access to proper PA structures in their environment. Participants
expressed that “everything’s too far away” (Swanson et al., 2012, p.45). Many of the
participants in this study expressed that living farther away from facilities or having
lack of knowledge/skill that they need to have equipment at home or programming
done for them. While some participants expressed that they felt their family could
afford to put equipment in their home they were aware that many of their
classmate’s families could not. The same was found when addressing paying for
coaching and PA programs. Many of the children and youth in this study expressed
that they wanted programming and proper teaching of PA techniques but were
aware that their family could not afford it. One participant expressed that, “yeah, we
could not pay no fees because we’re broke” (Swanson et al., 2012, p. 45). Vermeesch
et al. (2015) findings support the findings of Swanson et al. (2012). Vermeesch et al.
(2015) found lack of knowledge/skill, motivation, environment, race/ethnicity,
gender and SES to be barriers that affected PA participation in children and youth.
SES was found to be one of the primary barriers to PA participation in children and
youth. SES was found to contribute to children and youth having access to PA
programs or classes to aid in gaining the knowledge and skills of PA. Lack of
motivation was another barrier found by Vermeesch et al. (2015) which is a similar
finding of Swanson et al. (2012). Lack of motivation was consistently identified by

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participants within the Vermeesch et al. (2015) study, where lack of motivation
primarily came from being tired. Lastly, the barrier of environment on PA
participation in children and youth was also found in this study. Environment was
primarily associated with access to facilities and a sense of safety in the children
and youth’s ability to walk to these facilities to participate in PA. The barrier of
environment is consistent with the findings of Swanson et al. (2012). A third study
conducted by Hughey et al. (2017) supports the findings of Swanson et al. (2012)
and Vermeesch et al. (2015). Hughey et al. (2017) who explored the barriers of
gender, SES and race/ethnicity and how they relate to PA participation in children
and youth. These barriers were found to contribute to access to PA facilities for
children and youth. While Hughey et al. (2017) explored gender, SES, and
race/ethnicity, they found that all three of these barriers contribute to the barrier
of access. Similar to both Swanson et al. (2012) and Vermeesch et al. (2015) the
barrier of access is associated with the environment the children and youth are in.

How are the factors that influence participation in PA different for high
SES and low SES children and youth? There are a variety of factors that influence
PA participation for children and youth of both high and low SES. However, the
factors that influence PA participation in children and youth of high SES are
different than those of children and youth of low SES. A study performed by
Drenowatz et al. (2010) found that the factor of accessibility was more prevalent in
children and youth of low SES compared to children and youth of high SES. Children
and youth of low SES lacked the ability to access facilities needed to participate in
PA as well as facilities that are safe to use. This finding is consistent with studies
performed by Kasehagen et al. (2012), Duncan et al. (2016), Harris et al. (2015) and
Hughey et al. (2017). All of these studies explored access of parks and recreational
facilities and they all found that children and youth of lower SES had either less
parks or facilities around their environment or a lack of safe parks and facilities. A
barrier that is connected to access and availability that is prevalent in children and
youth of low SES is access to PA programs, such as before and after school programs
and club sports. This connection was found by Swanson et al. (2012) in which
participants expressed their lack of expendable funds to participate in PA programs.
Sedentary behavior was a barrier found in low SES children and youth which differs
from children and youth of high SES. Drenowatz et al. (2010) found that among ages
8.8-9.6-yearolds, sedentary behavior was significantly higher in children and youth
of low SES compared to children and youth of high SES. A reason for increased
sedentary behavior among children and youth of low SES was proposed by both
Drenowatz et al. (2010) and Hughey et al. (2017). Authors of both studies proposed
that increased sedentary behavior in children and youth of low SES is largely due to
accessibility to facilities and safety to play outside in low income neighborhoods.
These findings support Kasehagen et al. (2012), Duncan et al. (2016), Harris et al.
(2015) and Hughey et al. (2017) studies. Low SES and high SES children and youth
experience similar factors that influence PA participation. The way high SES
children and youth experience them are different. For example, high SES children
and youth experience the issue of access to PA facilities. However, high SES children
and youth experience not being within walking or biking distance to facilities and

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rely on parents to transport them (Harris et al. 2015). While children and youth of
high SES experience accessibility issues they do not experience the issue of safety
that low SES children and youth do (Denowatz et al. 2010).

How are the factors that influence participation in PA different for

urban and rural children and youth? Park and facility access were a main factor
that influenced PA participation in children and youth and that was different
between urban and rural children and youth. Urban children and youth were found
to have an increase in park and facility access compared to children and youth living
in rural areas (Harris et al. 2015). The study performed by Harris et al. (2015) found
that 64% of children and youth living in urban areas had access to parks or facilities
for PA, while less than 37% of children and youth living in rural areas had access to
parks and facilities needed for PA. States such as California (85.6%), Connecticut
(82.5%), and Maryland (approximately 80.0%) were among the highest percentage
of parks and facilities to children and youth, while states such as Maine (18.1%),
Vermont (approximately 20.0%) and North Dakota (21.8%) ranked among the
lowest (Harris et al. 2015). The states with the highest percentage of parks and
facilities were the states that had the highest proportion of urban block groups,
while the states with the lower percentage had a higher proportion of rural block
groups. Supporting the study performed by Harris et al. (2015) is a study conducted
by Hughey et al. (2017). Hughey et al. (2017) found that park access is higher among
children and youth of urban areas compared to rural areas. Supporting this finding
is a study conducted by Swanson et al. (2012) that found park and facility access to
be one of the primary reasons rural youth does not participate in PA. Despite this
finding, Kasehagen et al. (2012) found that rural children and youth were more
physically active than their urban counterparts. While Kasehagen et al. (2012)
found that parks and facilities influenced PA participation, it was found that urban
youth neighborhood parks may not be viewed as safe locations for physical activity
for children and youth. Paxton et al. (2013) provides support to Kasehagen’s et al.
(2012) finding of rural youth being more physically active than their urban
counterparts. Paxton et al. (2013) found that interventions and programs such as 4-
H clubs provide an avenue to learn and participate in PA. Sedentary behavior was
found in both urban and rural children and youth as a factor that influences their
PA participation. Swanson et al. (2012) found that rural youth are sedentary
because they feel they have nothing to do, which supports having limited access to
facilities. Their urban counterparts were found to be sedentary because they felt the
facilities they had were not safe (Drenowatz et al. 2010, Kasehagen et al. 2012,
Duncan et al. 2016, Harris et al. 2015 & Hughey et al. 2017). While the factors
influencing PA in children and youth of urban and rural environments may be the
same, the way they are experienced are different.

Conclusion

A total of ten articles were examined to investigate the environmental

factors that influence PA participation among children and youth of different SES
and urban/rural locations. The research revealed many factors that influence PA

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participation among children and youth. These factors included SES status,
urban/rural location, accessibility/availability, gender, race/ethnicity, and
technology. The most significant factor found within the research was SES and
access/availability to PA facilities. This factor was found in the majority of the
research and also emphasized neighborhood and facility safety in relation to
access/availability. Results provided valuable insights regarding how to improve
PA participation among children and youth of different SES and urban/rural
locations. The research showed that implementing programs such as before and
after school programs are valuable services that can aid in increasing PA
participation among children and youth. Vermeesch et al. (2015), Swanson et al.
(2012), and Hughey et al. (2017) explored barriers of SES, race/ethnicity, and
gender and their relation to PA participation in children and youth. These three
studies concluded the barriers of SES, race/ethnicity, and gender contribute to
access to facilities needed for PA. Drenowatz et al. (2010), Kasehagen et al. (2012),
Duncan et al. (2016), and Harris et al. (2015) added the barrier of location to
Vermeesch et al (2015), Swanson et al. (2012), and Hughey et al. (2017) findings.
Drenowatz et al. (2010), Kasehagen et al. (2012), Duncan et al. (2016) found that
location such as urban/rural contributed to children and youths’ access to PA
facilities. These findings provide valuable insight into developing interventions that
are needed to provide access PA facilities to increase PA participation in children
and youth. Sedentary behavior was a trend found within the research. Studies
conducted by Bassett et al. (2015) and Swanson et al. (2012) found the increase in
technology and the ability to access this technology easily has contributed to
decreased PA among children and youth. However, both Bassett et al (2015) and
Swanson et al. (2012) expressed that the increase in sedentary behavior is also
attributed to the limited accessibility to safe parks and PA facilities. Perceived safety
of parks and facilities used for PA was found by Drenowatz et al. (2010), Kasehagen
et al. (2012), Duncan et al. (2016) and Hughey et al. (2017). Access/availability,
safety and location were the three key points found within the research. The
research explored how environmental factors influenced PA participation in
children and youth in relation to these three key points. Understanding how
environmental factors influence PA participation in children and youth and these
three key points can provide valuable insight to the development of PA programs
and the promotion of PA in children and youth.

Future Research

In order to continue learning about the factors that influence PA

participation in children and youth there must be a continuation of research. One
suggestion for future research is to explore PA participation in various subgroups
further. These subgroups include gender, race/ethnicity, and urban/rural locations.
With future research within subgroups it is also important to explore possible
interventions, such as community-based programming and ways to incorporate
local perspectives into the promotion of PA.
A second suggestion for future research is directed at exploring park
features and quality concerns that are important for consistent park use. The final

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suggestion for future research is an extension of exploring park features. Future
research is needed to explore the effects of neighborhood characteristics and to
explore the effects of both perceived and objective neighborhood environment
(Duncan et al. 2016, & Kasehagen et al. 2012).
Future research is crucial to help explore the factors that influence PA
participation among children and youth of different SES and urban/rural locations.
Future research can help to provide insight on what causes these factors as well as
the interventions that are needed to increase PA participation among children and
youth.

References

American Psychological Association. (2018). Socioeconomic status. Retrieved from

https://www.apa.org/topics/socioeconomic-status/.

Bassett, D., John, D., Conger, S., Fitzhugh, E., & Coe, D. (2015). Trends in physical
activity and sedentary behaviors of United States youth. Journal of Physical
Activity and Health, 12, 1102-1111.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018a). Physical activity basics.
Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/index.htm?CDC_AA_refVal=
https%3A%2F
%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fphysicalactivity%2Fbasics%2Fchildren%2Findex.ht
m.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018b) Transportation health impact
assessment toolkit. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/transportation/
promote_strategy.htm.

Drenowatz, C., Eisenmann, J., Pfeiffer, K., Welk, G., Heelan, K., Gentile, D., & Walsh, D.
(2010). Influence of socio-economic status on habitual physical activity and
sedentary behavior in 8- to 11-year old children. BMC Public Health, 10, 1-
11.

Duncan, S., Strycker, L., Chaumeton, N., & Cromley, E. (2016). Relations of
neighborhood environment influences, physical activity, and active
transportation to/from school across African American, Latino Americans,
and White girls in the United States. International Journal of Behavioral
Medicine, 23, 153-161.

Harris, C., Paul, P., Young, R., Zhang, X., & Fulton, J. (2015). Park access among school-
age youth in the United States. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 12,
94-101.

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Hellmich, N., (2013). Report: More PE, activity programs needed in schools.
Retrieved from
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/05/23/physical-
education-schools/2351763/.

Hughey, S., Kaczynski, A., Child, S., Moore, J., Porter, D., & Hibbert, J. (2016). Green
and lean: is neighborhood park and playground availability associated with
youth obesity? Variations by gender, socioeconomic status, and
race/ethnicity. Preventive Medicine, 95, 101-108.

Kasehagen, L., Busacker, A., Kane. D., & Rohan, A. (2012). Association between
neighborhood characteristics and physical activity among youth within
rural-urban commuting areas in the US. Maternal & Child Health Journal,
16, 258-267.

Monnal, S., Lounsbery, M., McKenzie, T., & Chandler, R. (2016). Associations
between demographic characteristics and physical activity practices in
Nevada schools. Preventive Medicine, 95, 4-9.

National Physical Activity Plan. (2018). The 2018 United States report card on
physical activity for children and youth. Retrieved from http://
www.physicalactivityplan.org
/projects/PA/2018/2018%20US%20Report%20Card%20Full%20Versio
n_WEB.PDF?pdf=page-link.
Paxton, R., Estabrooks, P., & Dzewltowski, D. (2013). Attraction to physical activity
mediates the relationship between perceived competence and physical
activity in youth. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 75, 107-111.

Ratcliffe, M., Burd, C., Holder, K., & Fields, A. (2016). Defining rural at the U.S. Census
Bureau. Retrieved from
https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications
/2016/acs/acsgeo-1.pdf.

Swanson, M., Schoenberg, N., Erwin, H., & Davis, R. (2012). Perspectives on physical
activity and exercise among Appalachian youth. Journal of Physical Activity
and Health, 9, 42- 47.

Vermeesch, A., Ling, J., Voskuil, V., Bakhoya, M., Wesolek, S., Bourne, K., Pfeiffler, K.,
& Robbins, L. (2015). Biological and sociocultural differences in perceived
barriers to physical activity among 5th-7th grade urban girls. Nursing
Research, 54, 342-350.

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 _______________________________________________________

Analysis of classroom assessment skills and

practices across levels in a Catholic
educational institution
Dr. Segundo Chavez Redondo, Jr.
Dr. David Cababaro Bueno

Abstract- This study concentrated on the analysis of the classroom assessment skills and
practices of teachers across levels in a private Catholic school. The descriptive cross-sectional
design was utilized to gather descriptive and comparative data during the Academic. All
teachers from elementary, junior and senior high school were considered as participants.
Reliability estimates of teachers’ perceived skill in classroom assessment were done using
Cronbach’s Alpha, which was α = .95. The data gathered were analysed using Mean, and
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at .05 level of confidence. The teachers across levels are very
skilled in calculating central tendency of teacher-made tests, assessing students’ class
participation, using assessment results in planning, decision-making, communicating and
providing feedback, problem solving, evaluating class improvement, and writing true or false
tests. Moreover, they are skilled in writing multiple-choice tests measuring higher order
thinking skills (HOTS). Furthermore, there is a moderate positive correlation between the
assessment skills and practices of elementary, junior, and senior high school teachers.
Traditional forms of assessment are more preferred by the teachers compared to the
alternative assessment.

Keywords: Classroom assessment, skills and practices, cross-sectional design, elementary,

junior and senior high school teachers

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I. INTRODUCTION
Educational assessment is an essential component of the teaching
profession. It is the process used in the classroom by the teacher to obtain
information about students’ performances on assessment tasks, using a
variety of assessment methods, to determine the extent to which students
are achieving the target instructional outcomes. In this regard, researchers
suggest that a sound educational assessment requires a clear conception of
all intended learning outcomes of the instruction and a variety of assessment
procedures that are relevant to the instruction, adequate to sample student
performance, and fair to everyone. This means teachers should competently
be able to choose and develop assessment methods appropriate for
instructional decisions; administer, score, and interpret results of externally
produced and teacher-made assessment; use assessment results when
making educational decisions; develop valid grading procedures;
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communicate assessment results to various audiences; and recognize
unethical, illegal, and inappropriate methods and uses of assessment
(Alkharusi, Aldhafri, Alnabhani, & Alkalbani, 2012).

Thus, teaching is a multifaceted process that requires teacher

competencies in measurement and assessment skills. Such skills may
include: test planning and construction; grading; interpretation of test
results; use of assessment results to inform teaching and learning;
interpretation of standardized tests; and communicating results to relevant
stakeholders (Koloi-keaikitse, 2017).

Assessment of students is very critical because effective teaching

decisions are based on the ability of teachers to understand their students
and to match actions with accurate assessments (McMillan, 2008). However,
past research has shown that there are many problems associated with
teachers’ classroom assessment practices. These include teachers’ lack of an
adequate knowledge base regarding the basic testing and measurement
concepts (Stiggins, 2014), limited teacher training in assessment and failure
of teachers to employ and adhere to measurement guidelines they learned in
measurement courses (Campbell & Evans, 2000). Teachers adopt different
classroom assessment practices to evaluate students’ learning outcomes,
and they spend much of their classroom time engaged in student assessment
related activities. Teachers control classroom assessment environments by
choosing how they assess their students, the frequency of these assessments,
and how they give students feedback. All these are a clear indication that
classroom assessments play an integral part of the teaching and learning
process. Just like teachers everywhere, Columban College, Inc. (CCI) teachers
are the key drivers of the education process. Their instructional and
classroom assessment practices are a means by which the education system
is enhanced and defined (Nenty, Adedoyin, Odili, & Major, 2007). For this
reason, it is imperative to understand the ways in which teachers feel about
assessment practices, their perceptions regarding assessment training and
their experiences as they attempt to use various assessment methods to
evaluate students’ learning outcomes. It is also important to understand
their thought processes as they develop and use assessment methods, grade
students’ work and interpret assessment results. Teachers’ assessment
practices are an essential element for addressing students’ learning needs,
and they can ultimately improve the education system and accountability.
Understanding teachers’ assessment practices serves as a way of finding out
if teachers adopt or use quality assessment methods to meet the learning
needs of students (McMillan, 2008).

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The role of student assessment at the various levels in the educational
system is to generate information to be used for making “high stakes”
decisions, such as selecting and placing students in appropriate training
programs. Student assessment in a private educational institution also plays
an important role of helping students prepare for standardized examinations
needed for those “high stakes” decisions. However, few formal studies on
teachers’ classroom assessment skills and practices have been conducted.
This makes it difficult to have a clear understanding about the nature and
magnitude of assessment issues of teachers in the elementary to senior high
school. This study endeavors to bring an awareness regarding how teachers
generally perceive their classroom assessment skills and practices as
paradigm shift towards outcomes-based assessment practices.

This study assessed the teacher’s response pattern in a set of items that
measured their perceived skills in classroom assessment practices. In order
to gain insights into teacher’s response to their perceived skill in assessment
scale, an Item Response Theory (IRT) model was utilized. IRT refers to a set
of models that connects observed item responses to a participant examinee’s
location on the underlying trait that is measured by the entire scale
(Mellenbergh, 1994). IRT models have been found to have a number of
advantages over other methods in assessing self-reported outcomes such as
teacher beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes (Hambleton, Swaminathan, &
Rogers, 1991). IRT is a general statistical theory about examinee item and
test and how performance relates to the abilities that are measured by the
items in the test. IRT models have the potential to highlight whether items
are equivalent in meaning to different respondents, they can be used to
assess items with different response patterns within the same scale of
measurement, therefore can detect different item response patterns in a
given scale (Hays, Morales, & Reise, 2000). Thus, IRT is regarded as an
improved version of Classical Test Theory (CTT) as many different tasks may
be performed through IRT models that provide more flexible information.
Test items and traits of the test taker are referenced on the same interval
scale (Koloi-keaikitse, 2017). Thus, in order to understand what students
know or do not know, educators need assessment. Classroom assessment is
possibly the first and most important part of the teaching and learning
process that includes measurement, feedback, reflection, and change.
Classroom assessments play an important role as they are essential for
generating information used for making educational decisions. Classroom
assessments also serve many purposes for teachers such as: grading,
identification of students with special learning needs, student motivation,
clarification of students’ achievement expectations, and monitoring
instructional effectiveness (Stiggins, & Bridgeford, 2014). Thus, classroom
assessments must be transformed into the content and use of assessment
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information and insights as part of an ongoing learning process. The purpose
of classroom assessment is not just to generate information for decision
making, but also to foster learning improvement. For this reason, if properly
offered on a frequent basis it would help students to refine and deepen their
understanding of what they learn. Classroom assessments are also essential
for conveying expectations that can stimulate the learning (Wiggins, 2008).
The more information we have about students, the clearer the picture we
have about their achievement, learning challenges and where those
challenges emanate. For this reason, there is a need to pay attention to how
it is used, as failure to do this may lead to inaccurate assessment of students’
achievement and may ultimately prevent students from reaching their full
academic potential (Stiggins, & Bridgeford, 2014). In other words,
assessment serves as an important deciding factor for the future of students’
learning outcomes. Educators must have a clear understanding of the
assessment practices that teachers use as they assess students, and the
assessment challenges teachers face. The most efficient way to measure,
understand, and appreciate teachers’ assessment practices is to assess their
perceptions about classroom assessment methods. Classroom assessment
involves a wide range of activities from designing paper-pencil tests and
performance measures to grading, communicating assessment results, and
using them in decision-making (Zhang & Burry-Stock, 2013). Although there
is a great deal of research on teachers’ assessment practices, few empirical
research attempts have been made to link these practices to teachers’ skills
in the classroom assessment environment.

Thus, there is no empirical investigation on comparative analysis of the

classroom assessment skills and practices of the basic education teachers
from elementary to senior high school that demonstrates comparative
analysis. Given the paucity of such research, Cavanagh et al. (2005) suggest
that two strategies can instead be applied: (1) examine the assessment skills
in terms of forms/approaches, and (2) examine the actual assessment
practices that teachers use. Integrating teachers’ perceptions will build a
foundation and rationale for the assessment practice they use in their
classrooms, through which one can learn to what extent and in what ways
students’ impacts their learning. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine
assessment skills and practices about assessment of teachers particularly in
a private educational system.

II. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

This study focused on the classroom assessment practices of teachers
across levels and departments towards outcomes-based assessment model.
The specific objectives of the study are to analyze: (1) the skills of teachers
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in the areas of classroom assessment; (2) the practices of teachers related to
classroom assessment; and (3) relationship between the classroom
assessment skills and practices of the teachers.

III. METHODOLOGY

A descriptive-cross-sectional design was used to gather descriptive and

comparative data for the purpose of describing the characteristics of several
groups of teachers relative to their classroom assessment practices.
Descriptive cross-sectional design is used to describe characteristics of a
population or phenomenon being studied at a given time. It does not answer
questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred. Rather it
addresses the "what" question. The characteristics used to describe the
situation or population is usually some kind of categorical scheme also
known as descriptive categories. Surveys can be a powerful and useful tool
for collecting data on human characteristics, such as their beliefs, attitudes,
thoughts, and behavior (Dillman, Smtyth, & Christian, 2009; Gay, Mills, &
Airasian, 2009; Mertens, 2014), hence the survey design fit very well within
the framework of this study. All teachers from various levels were covered
in this study. Thus, there was no sampling technique used. The elementary
school teachers, junior high school and the senior high teachers were
included. The Classroom Assessment Practices and Skills (CAPS)
questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument. The questionnaire
contains closed-ended items. The initial set of items was adopted from
Assessment Practices Inventory (Zhang & Burry-Stock, 2013). This
instrument was created and used in the United States of America to measure
teachers’ skills and use of assessment practices across teaching levels,
content areas, and teachers self-perceived assessment skills as a function of
teaching experience. The Zhang & Burry-Stock (2013) instrument consists of
several items measured on two rating scales “use” and “skill” The “use” scale
was meant to measure teachers’ usage of assessment practices on a scale
from 1 (never) to 5 (always). The “skill” scale was designed to measure
teachers’ self-perceived from 1 (not at all skilled) to 5 (very skilled). To check
the content-validity of the instrument, the draft questionnaire was given
content experts in classroom assessment and teacher training. They were
asked to review the items for clarity and completeness in covering most, if
not all, assessment and grading practices used by teachers in classroom
settings, as well as to establish face and content validity of the instrument
and items. Necessary revisions were made based upon their analyses. The
draft questionnaire with various items was pilot tested with a total sample
of 10 teachers from primary school, 10 junior high school, and 10 senior high
school to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the questionnaire in terms

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of question format, wording and order of items. It was also meant to help in
the identification of question variation, meaning, item difficulty, and
participants’ interest and attention in responding to individual items, as well
as to establish relationships among items and item responses, and to check
item response reliability (Gay, Mills, & Airasian, 2009; Mertens, 2014).
Reliability estimates of teachers’ perceived skill in classroom assessment
were estimated using Cronbach’s Alpha, which was α = .95 indicating high
levels of internal consistency (Bueno, 2017). The researchers sought
permission and approval of the school president to allow the data gathering
from teachers. The researchers took into account the ethical issues such as
the confidentiality of the data gathered and the anonymity of the
respondents in the administration of the questionnaires. The data gathered
were analyzed using Mean, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation at .05
level of confidence.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Skills on Classroom Assessment. The results of the previous study

revealed that primary school teachers, particularly those with a certificate,
need more skill training in assessment applications, statistical applications
and criterion referenced testing. Primary school teachers reported relatively
higher discrepancies on use than perceived skill for statistical applications and
objective items, and secondary school teachers reported more skill than use of
statistical applications and objective items (Koloi-Keaikitse, 2012). The
elementary school teachers (EST) are very skilled using assessment results for
decision-making about individual students, assessing individual student
participation in whole class lessons, assessment of problem solving skills,
using assessment results for decision-making about individual students, using
assessment results when planning teaching, communicating classroom
assessment results to others, including student improvement in the calculation
of grades, using assessment results when evaluating class improvement,
writing true or false questions, and providing written feedback comments
along with grades. Moreover, the EST are skilled in writing multiple-choice
questions, writing essay questions, and writing test items for higher cognitive
levels. However, the EST are moderately skilled in conducting item analysis for
teacher-made tests, revising a test based on item analysis, using portfolio
assessment, using peer assessments for student assessments, using a table of
specifications to plan assessments, developing rubrics for grading students’
assignments, and calculating variability (standard deviation) for teacher-made
tests. Thus, the overall mean assessment is 3.88. This means that the
elementary school teachers are skilled in conducting classroom assessment of
students’ learning.
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The Junior High School Teachers (JHST) are very skilled in writing essay
questions, calculating central tendency for teacher-made tests, assessing
individual student participation in whole class lessons, assessment of problem
solving skills, using assessment results for decision-making about individual
students, using assessment results when planning teaching, communicating
classroom assessment results to others, including student improvement in the
calculation of grades, using assessment results when evaluating class
improvement, writing true or false questions, and providing written feedback
comments along with grades. Moreover, the JHST are skilled in writing
multiple-choice questions, writing test items for higher cognitive levels,
conducting item analysis for teacher-made tests, and revising a test based on
item analysis. However, the JHST are moderately skilled in using portfolio
assessment, using peer assessments for student assessments, using a table of
specifications to plan assessments, developing rubrics for grading students’
assignments, and calculating variability (standard deviation) for teacher-made
tests. Thus, the overall mean assessment is 4.00. This means that the junior
high school teachers are skilled in conducting classroom assessment of
students’ learning.

The Senior High School Teachers (SHST) are very skilled in writing essay
questions, calculating central tendency for teacher-made tests, assessing
individual student participation in whole class lessons, assessment of problem
solving skills, using assessment results for decision-making about individual
students, using assessment results when planning teaching, communicating
classroom assessment results to others, including student improvement in the
calculation of grades, using assessment results when evaluating class
improvement, providing written feedback comments along with grades, and
writing true or false questions. Moreover, the SHST are skilled in writing
multiple-choice questions, writing test items for higher cognitive levels,
conducting item analysis for teacher-made tests, revising a test based on item
analysis, using portfolio assessment, using peer assessments for student
assessments, and using a table of specifications to plan assessments. However,
the SHST are just moderately skilled in developing rubrics for grading
students’ assignments, and calculating variability (standard deviation) for
teacher-made tests. Thus, the overall mean assessment is 4.23. This means that
the senior high school teachers are very skilled in conducting classroom
assessment of students’ learning. In order to gather information about
teaching and learning, teachers use a variety of assessment instruments such
as written tests, performance assessment, observation and portfolio
assessment (Airasian, 2011; Stiggins & Bridgeford, 2014; Popham, 2008).
Ndalichako (2014) observed that most primary school teachers prefer to use
tests and examinations to evaluate students’ learning. However, use of
multiple methods of assessment is recommended due to its potentiality in
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yielding valuable information regarding students’ strengths and weaknesses
in their learning (Gonzales & Fuggan, 2012). There are various methods that
can be used to assess students learning such as portfolios, projects,
performance assessment such methods offer rich information about teaching
and learning. Portfolio is generally defined as a collection of student work with
a common theme or purpose (Wolf, 2011; Arter & Spandel, 2012; Damian,
2014; Popham, 2008).

The key characteristic of portfolio assessment is that it highlights student

effort, development, and achievement over a period of time and emphasizes
application of knowledge rather than simply recall of information (Price,
Pierson, & Light, 2011). The main advantage of using portfolio is the
engagement of students in assessing their own progress and achievement and
in strengthening collaboration with their teachers through establishing
ongoing learning goals (Popham, 2008). Portfolios encourage self-reflection
and awareness among students as they review their previous assignments and
assess strengths and weaknesses of both the processes as well as the final
products (Sweet, 2013). The main challenges associated with use of portfolios
are the reliability of scoring, time required to produce the product and to
develop a credible scoring system. The findings of the present study affirmed
the investigation on teachers’ assessment practices across teaching levels and
content areas, as well as teachers’ self-perceived assessment skills as a
function of teaching experience and measurement training (Zhang & Burry-
stock, 2003). Thus, classroom assessment has received increased attention
from the measurement community in recent years. Since teachers are
primarily responsible for evaluating instruction and student learning, there is
a widespread concern about the quality of classroom assessment (Mullis &
Martin, 2015). More research has confirmed this general picture. Elementary
teachers appear to be unaware of the assessment work and do not trust or use
their authentic assessment results (Florez & Sammons, 2017). Both in
questioning and written work, teachers' assessment focuses on low-level aims,
mainly recall. There is little focus on such outcomes as speculation and critical
reflection (Ndalichako, 2013), and students focus on getting through the tasks
and resist attempts to engage in risky cognitive activities (Chih-Min, S. & Li-Yi,
W., 2016). Although teachers can predict the performance of their pupils, their
own assessments do not tell them what they need to know about their
students' learning (Bombly, 2013).

B. Classroom Assessment Practices. Proper choice of classroom

assessment method allows teachers to diagnose problems faced by students in
attaining desirable learning outcomes and in devising appropriate remedial
measures to redress the situation (Looney, Cumming, Kleij, & Harris, 2017). In
a nutshell, classroom assessment can be viewed as a totality of all the
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processes and procedures used to gather useful information about the
progress in teaching and learning which facilitates in regulating the pace and
strategies of teaching. Frequency of assessment is also considered important
in facilitating retention of material learned (Panadero, Brown & Courtney,
2014). They observed that the frequency of assessment has a mediating effect
on student engagement in learning. Research by Pryor and Crossouard (2010)
showed that when the frequency of testing is increased, there is increased
student involvement in responding to questions and in discussing the subject
matter. Other scholars maintained that frequent testing helps students to
monitor their learning and reinforces their engagement with the course as a
result of immediate feedback provided (Lysaght & O’Leary, 2013). It has also
been established that frequent testing has positive impact on future retention
of material learned (Looney, 2014). Since retention of material is one of an
important components of master learning (Panadero, Brown & Courtney,
2014), it can be inferred that frequent testing contributes to mastery learning.

The Elementary School Teachers (EST) are always using multiple-choice

questions, essay questions, test items for higher cognitive levels, assessment
of problem solving skills, using assessment results for decision-making about
individual students, writing true or false questions, and always providing
written feedback comments along with grades. The EST oftentimes assess
individual student participation in whole class lessons, use assessment results
when planning teaching, communicate classroom assessment results to
others, include student improvement in the calculation of grades, use a table
of specifications to plan assessments, and assessment results when evaluating
class improvement. Moreover, the EST sometimes calculate central tendency
for teacher-made tests, conduct item analysis for teacher-made tests, revise a
test based on item analysis, use portfolio assessment, use peer assessments for
student assessments, and develop rubrics for grading students’ assignments.
Thus, the teachers seldom calculate variability (standard deviation) for
teacher-made tests. The overall mean assessment is 3.64. This means that the
elementary school teachers oftentimes use these assessment tools for
students’ learning.

The Junior High School Teachers (JHST) are always using multiple-choice
questions, essay questions, true or false questions, writing test items for higher
cognitive levels, problem solving skills, assessment results for decision-
making about individual students, and always providing written feedback
comments along with grades. The feedback provided by teachers' written
responses to students' homework was studied in an experiment with students
involving teachers in schools (Wyatt-Smith & Klenowski, 2013). They trained
the teachers to give written feedback which concentrated on specific errors
and on poor strategy, with suggestions about how to improve, the whole being
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guided by a focus on deep rather than superficial learning (Wyatt-Smith &
Looney, 2016). Analysis of variance of the results showed a big effect
associated with the feedback treatment in the final achievement. The
treatment also reduced the initial superiority of boys over girls and had a large
positive effect on attitudes towards the subject (Xu & Brown, 2016). Moreover,
the JHST oftentimes calculate central tendency for teacher-made tests, assess
individual student participation in whole class lessons, use portfolio
assessment, use assessment results when planning teaching, communicate
classroom assessment results to others, include student improvement in the
calculation of grades, use a table of specifications to plan assessments, and
assessment results when evaluating class improvement. Furthermore, the
teachers sometimes conduct item analysis for teacher-made tests, and revise
a test items, use peer assessments for student assessments, and develop
rubrics for grading students’ assignments. The portfolio movement is more
closely associated with efforts to change the impact of high-stakes, often
standardized, testing of school learning (Young, & Jackman, 2014). There is a
vast literature associated with the portfolio movement. Much of it is reviewed
by DeLuca & Klinger, 2010), set out some of the issues in education. A portfolio
is a collection of a student's work, usually constructed by selection from a
larger corpus and often presented with a reflective piece written by the
student to justify the selection (Cizek, Schmid, & Germuth, 2013). Others
(Alkharusi et al., 2012) emphasize that it is valuable for students to understand
the assessment criteria for themselves, while Brookhart (2011), points out
that the practice of helping students to reflect on their work has made teachers
more reflective for themselves. However, there is little by way of research
evidence that goes beyond the reports of teachers, to establish the learning
advantages. Attention has focused rather on the reliability of teachers' scoring
of portfolios because of the motive to make them satisfy concerns for
accountability, and so to serve summative purposes as well as the formative
(Koh, 2011). In this regard, the tension between the purposes plays out both
in the selection and in the scoring of tasks. Lyon (2011) describes scoring
approaches based on a multi-dimensional approach, with the criterion that
each dimension reflects an aspect of learning which can be understood by
students and which reflects an important aspect of learning. However, the
Junior High School Teachers seldom calculate variability (standard deviation)
for teacher-made tests. Thus, the overall mean assessment is 3.73. This means
that the JHST oftentimes use these assessment tools for students’ learning.

The Senior High School Teachers (SHST) are always using multiple-choice
questions, essay questions, true or false questions, writing test items for higher
cognitive levels, problem solving skills, assessment results for decision-
making about individual students, and always providing written feedback
comments along with grades. Moreover, the SHST oftentimes calculate central
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tendency for teacher-made tests, assess individual student participation in
whole class lessons, use portfolio assessment, use assessment results when
planning teaching, communicate classroom assessment results to others,
include student improvement in the calculation of grades, use a table of
specifications to plan assessments, and assessment results when evaluating
class improvement. Furthermore, the teachers sometimes conduct item
analysis for teacher-made tests, and revise a test items, use peer assessments
for student assessments, and develop rubrics for grading students’
assignments. However, the Senior High School Teachers seldom calculate
variability (standard deviation) for teacher-made tests. Thus, the overall mean
assessment is 3.83. This means that the SHST oftentimes use these assessment
tools for students’ learning. More than one assessment method should be used
to ensure comprehensive and consistent indications of student performance
(Alkharusi et al., 2012). This means to obtain a more complete picture or
profile of a student’s knowledge, skills, attitudes, or behaviors and to discern
consistent patterns and trends, more than one assessment method should be
used. Student knowledge might be assessed using completion items; process
or reasoning skills might be assessed by observing performance on a relevant
task; evaluation skills might be assessed by reflecting upon the discussion with
a student about what materials to include in a portfolio. Self-assessment may
help to clarify and add meaning to the assessment of a written communication,
science project, piece of art work, or an attitude. Use of more than one method
will also help minimize inconsistency brought about by different sources of
measurement error. Before an assessment method is used, a procedure for
scoring should be prepared to guide the process of judging the quality of a
performance or product, the appropriateness of an attitude or behavior, or the
correctness of an answer (Zhang & Burry-Stock, 2013). It means further that
to increase consistency and validity, properly developed scoring procedures
should be used. Different assessment methods require different forms of
scoring. Scoring selection items (true or false, multiple-choice, matching)
requires the identification of the correct or, in some instances, best answer.
Guides for scoring essays might include factors such as the major points to be
included in the “best answer” or models or exemplars corresponding to
different levels of performance at different age levels and against which
comparisons can be made (Committee, 2011). Procedures for judging other
performances or products might include specification of the characteristics to
be rated in performance terms and, to the extent possible, clear descriptions
of the different levels of performance or quality of a product (Hendrickson,
2011). Comments formed as part of scoring should be based on the responses
made by the students and presented in a way that students can understand
and use them (Johnson, 2014). It further illustrates that, comments, in oral and
written form, are provided to encourage learning and to point out correctable

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errors or inconsistencies in performance. In addition, comments can be used
to clarify a result. Such feedback should be based on evidence pertinent to the
learning outcomes being assessed. Procedures for summarizing and
interpreting results for a reporting period should be guided by a written policy
(Koloi-keaikitse, 2017).

This means that summary comments and grades, when interpreted, serve a
variety of functions. They inform students of their progress. Parents, teachers,
counselors, and administrators use them to guide learning, determine
promotion, and identify students for special attention and to help students
develop future plans. Comments and grades also provide a basis for reporting
to other schools in the case of school transfer and, in the case of senior high
school students, post-secondary institutions and prospective employers. They
are more likely to serve their many functions and those functions are less likely
to be confused if they are guided by a written rationale or policy sensitive to
these different needs. This policy should be developed by teachers, school
administrators, and other jurisdictional personnel in consultation with
representatives of the audiences entitled to receive a report of summary
comments and grades. The finding of the present study raises the issue of
formative feedback by closely examining teachers’ responses to student's
work. For example, if the teacher asks students to provide more details about
a written work, the practice is characterized as formative; however, a concern
arises as to whether the student know what the instructor meant when he or
she asks for elaboration and more details (Wiliam & Thompson, 2008).
Formative feedback contradicts the traditional evaluative comments teachers
frequently use, such as well done, good, or great work and more. Chappuis and
Stiggins (2013) argue that judgmental feedback not only holds less for value
for improvement and student learning, but it also discourages students from
learning. Black and Wiliam (2013) assert that formative feedback illuminates
students’ strengths and weaknesses, provides some suggestion for
improvement, and avoids comparing one student with his or her peers. In
addition, Black and Wiliam (2013) point out the importance of oral feedback
provided by the teacher, enabling students to reflect on their learning. They
write, “the dialogue between pupils and a teacher should be thoughtful
reflective, focused to evoke and explore understanding… so that all pupils have
an opportunity to think and to express their ideas”. Given the definitions and
characteristics of formative feedback, it is an important component of
instruction that occurs while the instruction occurs and enables the instructor
to adjust instruction based on students’ suppositions respectively.

Thus, reporting of students’ progress takes the form of written reports and
conferences (Roemer, 1999). Conferences are face-to-face events involving
teacher, student and parents in various combinations for different purposes
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(students taking the lead in sharing their learning with their parents serves
the purpose of encouraging them to take responsibility for their learning
(Johnson, 2014). Lastly, those who argue for using traditional assessments
argue that just like other forms of assessments, traditional tests are also
focused on improving the cognitive side of instruction, i.e. the skills and
knowledge that students are expected to develop within a short period of time
(Segers & Dochy, 2001). A study conducted by Kleinert, Kennedy, and Kearns
(1999) revealed that teachers expressed levels of frustration in the use of
alternative assessments such as portfolio assessment. Some major issues that
teachers have against the use of alternative assessments are that they require
more time for students to complete, and for teachers to supervise and assess.
Thus, the teachers are generally also concerned about competencies they have
in reliably grading these forms of assessments and that such assessments are
more teacher-based than student-based. The findings also affirmed that
evaluation and grading are good performance indicators even in the graduate
level, wherein the faculty must be outstanding in elucidating the grading
system to students by using outcomes and other requirements as pointers of
the scholarly level of student performance in every subject (Bueno, 2017).

C. Relationship between Assessment Skills and Practices. Among EST,

the value of R is 0.713 and the coefficient of determination is 0.508. Thus, there
is a moderate positive correlation between assessment skills and practices of
elementary school teachers, which means there is a tendency for a skilled
teacher in the preparation of the assessment tool to frequently use the same
tool in the classroom (and vice versa). Among JHST, the value of R is 0.634 and
the coefficient of determination is 0.402. Thus, there is a moderate positive
correlation between assessment skills and practices of junior high school
teachers, which means by normal standards, the association between the skills
and the practices of teachers would be considered statistically significant.
Moreover, similar result of moderate positive correlation is obtained among
SHST, because the value of R is 0.655 and the coefficient of determination is
0.429. Therefore, teachers adopt a variety of classroom assessment practices
to evaluate student learning outcomes, and spend much classroom time
engaged in assessment-related activities. Teachers typically control classroom
assessment environments by choosing how they assess their students, the
frequency of these assessments, and how they provide assessment feedback.
For these reasons, it is imperative for them to be competent in the various
classroom assessment tools (Koloi-keaikitse, 2017). The findings of the study
affirm that primarily the current practices of assessment were focused on
exams, classroom discussions, classroom assignment, projects, and seminars.
In addition, the study found out that an informal exposure to formative
assessment (alternative approach) existed among the faculty members and
based on students’ responses, overall, as a formal approach, alternative
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assessment was considered as a new paradigm (Ahmad & Mussawy, 2009).
Teachers depend on the classroom assessment information to improve their
instructional methods, and as such, that information plays an important role
in student learning. It is apparent that teachers should be made competent in
the collection, analysis and use of assessment information. Zhang and Burry-
Stock (2003) argued that to be able to communicate assessment results more
effectively, teachers must possess a clear understanding about the limitations
and strengths of various assessment methods. Teachers must also use proper
terminology as they use assessment results to inform other people about the
decisions about student learning. For this reason, teacher educators must find
ways in which they can improve their assessment training methods that can
equip teachers with needed skills for using and communicating assessment
results. This finding equally brings major challenges to school administrators
who rely on teachers to provide them with information about student learning
that they collect from assessment results. It is clear that items that assessed
teachers’ perceived skills about test construction are helpful in providing
essential information about teachers’ perceived skills in classroom assessment
practices. This finding is important because it shows that if school managers
want to know assessment areas that teachers may need to be trained on, they
may not ask them about their perceived skills in test construction, but rather
they may want to establish if teachers are more confident in using assessment
information for improving their instructional methods, or whether they are in
a position to communicate assessment results for better decision-making
about student learning. These results generally imply the need for teachers or
assessment professional development specialists to focus their attention on
assessment training on skills teachers need most and those they have less
perceived skills on. Teachers are one of the key elements in any school and
effective teaching is one of the key propellers for school improvement. This
study is concerned with how to define a teacher’s effectiveness and what
makes an effective teacher in relation to their skills and actual practices in
assessing students’ learning. It draws out implications for policymakers in
education and for improving classroom practice. Thus, the results of this study
suggest that, although most teachers claimed that their training did have a
certain impact on their assessment practices, the changes occurred mostly
while the teachers were novice teachers. This finding also indicates that
teachers are required to attend workshops or courses to acquire updated
assessment knowledge from time to time. Teacher training programs can
equip teachers with assessment knowledge by offering assessment courses to
pre-service teachers and assessment workshops to in-service teachers.

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V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The teachers across levels from elementary to senior high school are very
skilled calculating central tendency of teacher-made tests, assessing
students’ class participation, calculation of grades, using assessment results
in planning, decision-making, communicating and providing feedback,
problem solving, evaluating class improvement, and writing true or false
tests. Moreover, they are skilled in writing multiple-choice tests measuring
higher order thinking skills (HOTS). However, they are moderately skilled in
developing rubrics, and calculating variability for teacher-made tests. All the
teachers across levels are always preparing and employing multiple-choice
question, true or false and essay questions, HOTS, problem solving,
assessment results for decision-making and written feedback along with
student’s grades. Moreover, they oftentimes employ assessment of
individual student’s class participation, results in lesson planning, and
evaluating class and student’s improvement, communicate assessment
result, and table of specifications. However, they sometimes use item
analysis, revise test items, peer assessment, and rubrics in classroom
assessment, and they seldom use the results of standard deviation for
teacher-made tests. There is a moderate positive correlation between the
assessment skills and the assessment practices of elementary, junior, and
senior high school teachers. Additionally, the results showed that items
asking teachers about their perceived skills in test construction and
calculation of statistical techniques such as measures of central tendency
were the least useful in understanding overall perceptions about assessment
skills. Further examination of the results showed that an item that asked
teachers about their perceived skill in portfolio assessment proved to be the
most difficult for teachers to use, an indication that most of the teachers were
less skilled in portfolio assessment. This means using traditional forms of
assessment such as true or false, multiple choice items and essay questions
are more preferred by the teachers compared to the alternative assessments
such as portfolio assessments. Thus, the findings of the study revealed the
perceived strengths and weaknesses of teachers relative to their classroom
assessment skills and practices. These findings have major implications for
teacher educators and school managers. For teacher educators these results
highlight classroom assessment areas that they may need to focus on as they
teach assessment courses. Assessment entails a broad spectrum of activities
that includes collection of information for decision-making. The
responsibility of teachers is to collect information through various
assessment methods that can be used to make informed decisions about
students’ learning progress. The question is: are teachers competent enough
to use or apply assessment information for making students’ learning
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decisions? From these results it was very clear that teachers are less
confident in using assessment information to make informed instructional
and learning decisions. The teachers should continue bringing change and
preparing students for future endeavors though authentic assessment. It is
therefore imperative to understand their teaching practices particularly how
they assess and evaluate student learning outcomes. The gathered
information should be used to highlight the level of teachers’ competences in
conducting classroom assessments towards planning and conducting
teachers’ education and professional development. It is now essential for
researchers, educators, and policy-makers in the Philippine context to have
a clear understanding of the perceived skills teachers hold about certain
classroom assessment practices as it can open avenues informing policy and
practice for addressing the needs that teachers have as they wrestle with
their day-to-day classroom assessment practices. Furthermore, research to
establish why teachers felt least competent and in the use of portfolio
assessment is highly recommended.

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