Effects of Computer Gaming on High School …...Effects of Computer Gaming on High School...

TitleEffects of Computer Gaming on High SchoolStudents' Performance in Los Baños, Laguna,Philippines

Author(s) Cortes, Maria Daisy S.; Alcalde, Jhoana V.;Camacho, Jose V., Jr.

Citation 国際公共政策研究. 16(2) P.75-P.88

Issue Date 2012-03

Text Version publisher

URL http://hdl.handle.net/11094/24497

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� 75

＊MariaDaisyS.Cortes<e-mail:mariadaisy.cortes@gmail.com>graduatedin2010withaBSEconomicsdegreeat theUniversityof thePhilippinesLosBaños,LagunaandcurrentlyworksatDeutscheKnowledgeServices,TaguigCity1634Philippines.

＊＊assistantprofessor,CollegeofEconomicsandManagement,UniversityofthePhilippinesLosBaños. ＊＊＊associateprofessor/associatedean,CollegeofEconomicsandManagement,UniversityofthePhilippinesLosBaños;

e-mailat<anjoecon@yahoo.com>

EffectsofComputerGamingonHighSchoolStudents’PerformanceinLosBaños,Laguna,Philippines

MariaDaisyS.CORTES＊,JhoanaV.ALCALDE＊＊,JoseV.CAMACHO,Jr.＊＊＊

Abstract

Thisstudyexaminedtheeffectsofcomputergamesonschoolperformanceofhighschoolstudentsin

LosBaños,Laguna,Philippines.Allowance,gender,peergroupandyearlevelpositivelyaffectstudent’s

decisiontoplaywhiletimespentonstudying,yearlevel,previousgrade,numberofbooksandtimespent

playingcomputergamesarefoundtobesignificantinaffectingstudent’sperformance.Resultsshowed

thattheprobabilityofacomputergamertofailis39%,giventhestudenthasmorethanfoursiblings,a

previousgradeofatmost84,lesserteachers,lesserhoursonstudying,livingnearacomputershop,and

spendsmorehoursplayingcomputergames.Moreover,60%ofthestudents’dailyallowanceisspenton

playingcomputergames.

Keywords : investmentinhumancapital,computergames,educationproductionfunction,highschool

performance,Logitregressionmodel

国際公共政策研究 � 第16巻第 2号76

1. Introduction

Education isan importantelementof investment inhumancapitalandeconomicgrowth.Secondary

educationasbeingthelinkbetweenprimaryschooling,tertiaryeducation,andthelabormarket,issignificant

increatingsocialopportunitiesandeconomicbenefits.

Duringthelate19thcenturyandthroughoutthe20thcentury,newtypesofmassmediawereproducedand

consumedsuchasdimenovels,films,comicbooks,radio,recordedmusic, television,videoandcomputer

games,andtheInternet.Eachmediumwasoftenimmediatelypraisedforitspotentialbenefitsandcriticized

foritspotentialharms.Manystudieshavebeenconductedtotestwhethertechnologicaladvances,specifically

computers,areadvantageousordisadvantageoustoindividual’sschoolperformance.

Manyteachers,parentsandotherconcernedorganizationsandpeoplecontinuouslyclamorfora tighter

clampovercomputergaming.Protestmainlyfocusedonhowthetrendisbecomingacauseofdistraction

amongstudentsintheirstudies.Manyentrepreneurssetupcafésnearschoolstocater theyoungsters, the

marketbytheindustryisseeminglytailoredfor.Manystudentsaredesignatingcafésashangoutplaceswhere

hoursarespentplaying–beituntillateatnight,orworse,duringschoolhourswhichmakesstudentsskip

classes.

In2007,complaintshavebeenreceivedfromschoolsalloverManila,Philippines’capitalcityregarding

studentsgettingmoreandmoreaddicted toonlinecomputergaming.This is inspiteof thefact that the

government’sDepartmentofEducation(DepEd)valueshowonlinecomputergamingalsohelpssharpenthe

younggeneration intohighlyproficient individuals innewtechnologiesanddigital trends.DepEdalso

recognizesthatinternetandcomputershopscatertotheresearchneedsofstudents,especiallythosewithout

internetaccessathome.Inaddition,itisviewedthatcomputergamingisashiftfromtheusualvicesofyoung

studentstoday,suchasdrinkingandsmoking.Apparently,computergamecriticsareclamoringthatmany

internetandcomputershopownerscouldnotcare lesssinceitmeantmoreincomefor thebusiness.The

effectsofcomputergamesonstudent’sacademicperformancecanbebothadvantageousanddisadvantageous.

Withtheboomofcomputergames,incomeofcomputershopownersandoperatorsareexpectedtoincrease.

Thiswillmeanhigherrevenuefor thelocal towneconomy.However,additionalrevenuesfromcomputer

shopsaregeneratedattheexpenseoffuturepotentialhumancapitalthrougheducation.Estimatesshowthatin

thePhilippines,onlinecomputergamingmakesuparound80%of the totalusageof Internet in the

Philippines.Also,computergamingconstitutestoaquarteroftheentirebusiness.

Severalstudiesabroad,especiallyintheUnitedStates,supportedtheuseofcomputergamesasatoolin

teaching.However,manystudiesalsoarguedthatcomputergamesposedisadvantagestostudent’sacademic

performance.Severalstudieshavedocumentednegativecorrelationsbetweencomputergameuseandschool

performanceforchildren,adolescents,andcollegestudents.Anotherargumentisthat,computergamesare

� 77EffectsofComputerGamingonHighSchoolStudents’PerformanceinLosBaños,Laguna,Philippines

addictive.Onceanindividualstartedplaying,hetendstospendmuchofhistimeplaying.

Qualityofeducationandschoolperformanceofstudentsaremeasuredbydifferentfactors.Inastudyby

Angeles(2004,28-29),severaldeterminantsofschoolperformanceintheprimaryandsecondarylevelswere

identified.Income,foregoneincome,schoolquality,andhealthare thefactors thataffect thedemandfor

education.Thesefactorshaveapositiverelationshipwithstudent’sperformance,whichmeansthathigher/

bettervaluesofthefactorsleadtohigherdemandforeducation.Ontheotherhand,factorsthataffect the

supplyofeducationareproximitytoschool,accessibilitytoschooling,infrastructureandteacher-pupilratio.

Allmentioneddeterminants,exceptteacher-pupilratio,positivelyaffectschoolperformance.

Withtheemergingtechnologicaladvancements,therearenewfactorsthatmayaffectthequalityofeducated

population(OliverosandSapio,2007,17-18).Severalstudieswereconductedtofindout therelationship

between technologicaladvancements,specificallycomputersandcomputergames,andstudents’school

performance.

Studies indicate thatchildrenwhoplaycomputergamescanimprovevisual intelligenceskills.Parents

believedthatcomputeruseisrelatedtobetteracademicperformanceofthechildren.Itwasfoundthathigh

schoolstudentswhousededucationalsoftwareathomescoredsignificantlyhigheroncomputerliteracytests

thanother students.Computeruseathome isalsoassociatedwith improvements ingeneralacademic

performance.Otherstudiesalsofoundthatstudentswhoowncomputersathomehadhigherover-allgrades,

particularlyinMathandEnglish,thanthosewithouthomecomputers.

Ontheotherhand,astudydoneinTaiwanbyChuangandChen(2007,30)investigatedanddiscoveredthat

digitalgames improvechildren’scognitiveachievementandcan facilitatestudent’scognitive learning

process.Moreover,thefindingsindicatedthatdigitalgameplayingnotonlyimprovesparticipants’fact/recall

processes,butalsopromotesproblem-solvingskillsbyrecognizingmultiplesolutions.However,thequestion

onwhichtypeofdigitalgamesworksbestforstudentswasnotdiscussedinthestudy.

Majorityofstudiesregardingtheimpactsofcomputergamesonschoolperformancewereconductedabroad

orinternationally.Therewereonlyfewattemptsindiscussingthesubjectlocally.Thus,thisstudyanalyzed

the impactsofcomputergamesonschoolperformanceofhighschoolstudents inLosBaños,Laguna,

Philippines.Specifically,thestudy(a.)identifiedthefactorsthatinfluencestudents’decisiontoplaycomputer

games;(b.)establishedtherelationshipbetweenthenumberofhoursdevotedbythestudentsoncomputer

gamesandthelevelofperformanceinschool;(c.)determinedtheprobabilityofcomputergamerstofailin

academics;(d.)estimatedtheaveragecostincurredbycomputergamerswhoplayincomputershopsandthe

portionofthistotheirallowances;and(e.)identifiedeconomicimplicationsbasedontheresultsofthestudy.

国際公共政策研究 � 第16巻第 2号78

2. TheoreticalandConceptualFramework

Productionfunctionreferstothephysicalrelationshipbetweentheinputsorresourcesofthefirmandthe

outputofgoodsandservicesatagivenperiodoftime,ceterisparibus(Costalesetal.,2000,67).Thiscanalso

beappliedforeducationwhereoutputisrepresentedbythegradeandtheinputsaretheresourcesandother

factorsaffectingthestudent’sperformance.

There isnosinglemodel thatcanfullycapture therelationshipsbetweenschool inputsandqualityof

education.However, educationalproduction function remainsagoodanalytical tool todetermine the

significanceofany inputused toenhancestudent learning.Theeffectofnewresources like televisions,

informationtechnologyandcomputersoneducationcanbemeasuredusingtheeducationproductionmodel.

Theeducationproductionfunctionisastructuralrelationshipanddepictedas:

G =gpf(C,FS,MS,Q,S,E)

whereGisgrade, ‘pf’denotesaproductionfunction,C isavectorof fixedchildcharacteristics(innate

ability),FSandMSarefathers’andmothers’education,Q(‘quality’) isavectorofschooland teacher

characteristicsandEIreferstoalleducational‘inputs’underparentalcontrol(e.g.timespentstudyingathome

andeducationmaterialsathome).

Figure 1. Factors affecting school performance.

Charts and Diagrams

Number ofSiblings

Peer group

Gender

Owning a PC

Year levelTime spenton playing

ComputerGames

Schoolfactors IQ

Student’s Performance

Proximity ofcomputer

shops to house

School type

Number ofTeachers

Parent’seducation

Familyincome

Familyfactors

Number of books

Class size

� 79EffectsofComputerGamingonHighSchoolStudents’PerformanceinLosBaños,Laguna,Philippines

Schoolperformance isaffectedbyseveral factors,however, for thepurposeof thestudy; the factors

consideredarelimitedtoschoolfactors,familyfactorsandfactorsaffectingcomputergaming,andIQlevel

(seeFigure1).Schoolfactorssuchasclasssize,numberofbooksandnumberofteachersaffectstudents’

performance.Itishypothesizedthatclasssizeisnegativelyrelatedtostudent’sperformance.Biggerclasssize

willhaveanegativeimpactonschoolperformance.However,numberofteachersandbookspositivelyaffect

students’performance.Schoolscanbeprivateorpublic.Schooltypeaffectsschoolperformanceduetothe

differencesongradingsystemandresourceendowments.Privateschoolshavehigherratioofresourcesthan

publicschoolsrelativetostudents.

IntelligenceQuotient(IQ) level,proxiedbystudent’sfinalgradeduringthesixthgradeinelementary,

directlyaffectsstudents’academicperformance.Holdingallothervariablesconstant,studentswithhigherIQ

leveltendtoperformbetterthanothers.

Familyincome,indirectly,hasahugeinfluenceonschoolperformance.Studentsfromhigh-incomefamilies

aremorecapableofbuyingschoolsupplies,payingtuitionfees,andattendingreviewand/oradvanceclasses

thatmayhelpthemperformwellinclass,resultinginhighergrades.Parent’seducationalsoaffectsstudents’

performance.Parentswithhighereducationalattainmentwillhavehighervaluationoneducationthus;will

motivatechildrentoexertmoreefforts instudying.Havingapersonalcomputerathomewillmeanbetter

accesstocomputergamessincethemachineisfreeandalwaysavailable.Longerhoursofplayinggamesmay

bespentwhenthereiscomputerathome.Timespentonplayingcomputergameslargelyaffectstudents’

scholasticperformance.Asastudentspendmore timeplaying, lesserhoursaredevotedforhomework,

reviews,andotherschool-relatedactivities.Longerhoursofcomputergamingmighthaveanegativeimpact

on schoolgrades.Proximityof computer shops to student’shouse is anotherdeterminantof school

performance.Ifacomputershopislocatednearastudent’shouse,thereisagreatertendencytoplaycomputer

gamesratherthandoschooltasks.

Genderisoneofthemajordeterminantsofcomputergaming.Severalstudieshaveshownthattheprobability

ofmalestudentstoengageincomputergamingishigherthanfemales.Moreover,intermsoffrequencyin

playing,malesaremorefrequentplayersthanfemales.Manystudieshaveshownthatthenumberofsiblings

isalsoadeterminantinplayingcomputergames.Frequentplayersareusuallythosewhobelongtoasmall

familywith1-2children,especiallyifofoppositesex.

Peergroupsaffectindividual’sattitudetowardscomputergaming.Thosewhobelongtoagroupwherein

membersarecomputergamershavehighertendencytobecomeacomputergamerthanthosewhodonot

have.

国際公共政策研究 � 第16巻第 2号80

3. Methodology

3-1 DataCollection

ThestudywasconductedinLosBaños,Laguna,Philippines.Bothprimaryandsecondarydatawereusedin

thestudy.Secondarydatawerecomposedofschoolrecords,municipalrecords,otherrelatedstudies,journals,

books, andotherpublications. Interviews/surveyswere also conducted.Both students and teachers

participatedintheinterviewandsurvey.

DatagatheringwasdonefromOctober-December2008throughpersonalvisitsinrespondents’schools.A

totalof240studentsfrombothpublicandprivateschoolswereinterviewed.Theschoolsincludedinthestudy

wereMaquilingSchoolInc.(MSI),TraceCollege,LosBañosCommunityNationalHighSchool,andLos

BañosNationalHighSchool (LBNHS).Usingrandomsampling,15students foreveryyear levelwere

selectedasrespondentsofthestudy,oratotalof60studentsperschool.

3-2 DataAnalysis

Toidentifythefactorsthatcouldinfluencestudent’sdecisiontoplaycomputer,thelogitmodelbelowwas

employed.Avalueof1isassignediftherespondentisacomputergamer,and0ifnot.ThevariablesinFigure

1illustratethefactorsthatinfluencestudents’decisiontoplayornot.Peergroupisadummyvariable;avalue

of1wasassignedifmorethanhalf(majority)ofthememberswerecomputergamersand0ifnot.

Toidentifyifplayingcomputergamesisasignificantfactorthatcontributestostudent’sschoolperformance,

anOrdinaryLeastSquaresmethodwasconducted.Thedependentvariablewasstudent’sperformance

(measuredbythestudent’spreviousaveragegrades).Explanatoryvariablesincludefamily’smonthlyincome,

parents’education,numberofsiblings,student’speergroup,distancebetweenstudent’sschoolandnearest

computershop,child’syearlevel,numberofhoursspentonplayingcomputergamesanddoingschoolwork,

presenceofcomputersathome,classsize,numberofteachersandnumberofbooks.

Todeterminetheprobabilityofacomputergamertofailinhis/heracademics,thelogitequationwasused.

Samplesizeconsistedofcomputergamersonly.Variablesusedinthemodeldenotethefactorsthataffectthe

student’sprobabilityofpassingandfailing.Thepassingmarkforbothpublicandprivateschoolsis75%,soa

dummyvalueof1wasassignedif thestudentgotbelow75%while0,ifotherwise.Explanatoryvariables

includedhoursspentonplaying,timespentonstudying,distancebetweenhouseandcomputershop,distance

betweencomputershopandschool,family’smonthlyincome,student’sgender,typeofschool,student’syear

level,ownershipofaPC,peergroup,classsize,numberofteachers,numberofbooks,parents’educationand

student’sfinalgradeduringthe6thgrade.

� 81EffectsofComputerGamingonHighSchoolStudents’PerformanceinLosBaños,Laguna,Philippines

4. ResultsandDiscussion

4-1 OverviewoftheRespondents

Resultsshowedthatforty-eightpercentoftherespondentsareclassifiedasnon-computergamerswhile52%

arecomputergamers.Morethan75%ofthetotalnumberofcomputergamersbelongtoapeergroupwhose

membersarealsocomputergamers.Also,68%ofnon-gamersbelongtoapeergroupwhosemembersare,

likewise,non-gamers.

Withregardstoparents’education,23%ofcomputergamershaveparentswhodidnotreachcollegelevel,

30%haveaparentwhoreachedcollegelevel,eithermotherorfather,and47%haveparentswhoreached

collegelevel.Meanwhile,27%ofnon-computergamershaveparentswhodidnotreachcollegelevel,another

31%haveparentswhoreachedcollegeleveland42%haveparentswhobothreachedcollegelevel.

Thesurveyrevealedthat61%ofthetotalnumberofcomputergamershavelessthanthreesiblingswhile

33%havegreaterthanfourbutlessthansixsiblings.Lastly,only6%belongstoafamilywithgreaterthan

sevensiblings.

TheaveragedailyallowanceofcomputergamersisPhP70.69,relativelyhigherthantheaveragedaily

allowanceofnon-gamerswhichisPhP58.28.Twenty-sixpercentofcomputergamershaveadailyallowance

ofmorethanPhP101whileonly3%ofnon-gamershavethesameamountofdailyallowance.(Atthetimeof

thestudy,aPhilippinepeso(PhP)isequivalenttoapproximately1.79Japaneseyen).

Majorityof therespondents(74%)havemonthlyfamilyincomerangingfromPhP0-30,000.Computer

gamersandnon-gamerswhosemonthlyfamilyincomeislessthanorequaltoPhP30,000comprised66%and

84%ofthesamples,respectively.However,itisimportanttonotethat11%ofcomputergamersarewithinthe

rangeofPhP60,000-120,000monthlyincomecomparedtothatofnon-gamerswhichisonly6%.Fromthe

resultsofthesurvey,itcanbeconcludedthatcomputergamershavehighermonthlyfamilyincomethannon-

gamers.

Outof124computergamers,54%ownsacomputerathomewhile theremaining46%doesnothave

computersathome.Also,thesurveyshowedthatmostrespondentswhohavecomputersathomearefrom

privateschool.

Ontheaverage,acomputergamerspendstwohoursperdaydoingschooltaskswhilenon-gamersspend

threehoursfortheschooltasks.Infact,69%ofcomputergamersspendamaximumoftwohoursondoing

assignments,etc.while the largestpartofnongamersspends3-5hours.This isbecause,56outof124

computergamersclaimedthatifnotplaying,theyaremostlikelydoingtheassignments,reviews,projects,

etc.Itisalsoshownthatextra-curricularactivitiesandhouseholdchoresaregivenupwhenplayingcomputer

games.

Ontheotherhand,31%ofthetotalnumberofcomputergamersrevealedthatsleephadtobegivenupaswell

国際公共政策研究 � 第16巻第 2号82

asotherleisureactivitiessuchaswatchingtelevisionjusttoplaycomputergames.

Morethanhalfofcomputergamersarefromprivateschoolswhile theremaining48%arefrompublic

schools,anotherindicationthatmostofcomputergamerscomefromrichfamilies.Firstandsecondyearhigh

schoolstudentsaremorefrequentcomputergamersthanthosestudentswhoarealreadyjuniorsandseniors.

Basicallybecausejuniorandseniorstudentsspendmoretimestudyingtoprepareforcollegeyears.

Gradesincurredbythestudentsduringthesecondgradingperiodwerenoted.Resultsshowedsignificant

differencebetweenthegradesearnedbycomputergamersandnon-gamers.Lowergradeswereachievedby

gamerscomparedtonon-gamers.Thirtyoneoutof124computergamersgotagraderangingfrom70-75.In

addition,29outof31studentsearnedafailingmark(74andbelow).Theaveragegradeofnon-gamersis86,

higherthantheaveragegradeofcomputergamerswhichisonly82.

Thereseemedtobeanegativerelationshipbetweengradesandtimespentoncomputergaming.Infact,80%

ofcomputergamersspend1-3hoursadayplaying.Furthermore,gamerswhoplayfor4-6,7-9,andmorethan

10hoursdailyamountedto14%,5%,and1%,respectively.Theaveragedailynumberofhoursspenton

playingis2.5.

Giventheamountoftimespentonplaying,itisalsoimportanttoknowthetypesofcomputergamesthat

studentsplay.MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRole-PlayingGames(MMORPG)aregamesthatdonothave

endingandisdesignedtobeplayedforever.MMORPG’sareusuallyplayedwiththousandsofotherplayers

onlineatthesametime,addingahighlyaddictivesocialcomponenttothegame.Examplesofendlessgames

areWarcraft,DOTA,RagnarokandCabal.Anothertypeofgameisfightinggamewhichisalsocalledversus

game.That is,oneplayerversusanother.Thegameemphasizesbrutalityoffighting,andlearningof the

fightingmoves.Fightinggamesoftentakea lotofplayinginorder tomasterallof themovesofagiven

fighter.ExamplesofversusgamesareTekkenandStreetfighter.

Role-playinggames(RPG’s)ontheotherhand,areusuallydesignedforonlyoneplayer,unlikeMMORPG’s

andRPG’s,haveanending.Dependingonhowthegamerplaysthegame,theendingisoftendifferent.The

moreagamerplays,thedeeperhegetsintothestory,andthemorepowersthecharactergains.Theplayer

usuallyportraysarole;waitress,musician,etc.Examplesofthiskindofgamearedinnerdash,automaniaand

burgerrestaurant.Therearegameswhicharetypicallyabstractgamesoflogicwithnothemeorcharacters,

theyarecalledPuzzlegames.Playersoflogicgamesmustlineupblocksorgamestosolvemathproblems.

Abstractgamesaresimpletolearnandplay.ExamplesoftheseareZuma,Textwist,andSolitaire.

SurveyshowedthatthemostplayedtypeofcomputergamesistheMassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRole-

PlayingGames(MMORPG),nextisfightinggamesfollowedbypuzzlegamesandlastly,role-playinggames.

ResultsrevealedthatMMORPGandfightinggamesareusuallyplayedbymalegamerswhilerole-playing

andpuzzlegamesarecommonforfemalegamers.Morethanhalfofthemalegamers(53%)frequentlyplay

MMORPG,while33%usuallyplayfightinggames.Ontheotherhand,thereare32%and24%femalegamers

� 83EffectsofComputerGamingonHighSchoolStudents’PerformanceinLosBaños,Laguna,Philippines

whocommonlyplayRPG’sandpuzzlegames,respectively.

4-2 FactorsAffectingtheDecisiontoPlayComputerGames

ALogitregressionmodelwasusedtoidentifythefactorsthatcouldinfluencestudents’decisiontoplay

computers.ResultsoftheregressionaresummarizedinTable1.

Table 1. Factors affecting the decision to play.Parameter EstimateNumberofsiblings -.022Typeofschool -.389Gender .66＊＊

Peergroup 1.95＊

Mother‟seducation -.02Father‟seducation .31Allowance .013＊＊

PCathome .49Yearlevel .69＊＊＊=significant at 1% Prob＞chi2=0.00＊＊=significant at 5% PseudoR2=0.23n=124

Basedontheresultsoflogit,at5%levelofsignificance,factorssuchasallowance,gender,peergroup,and

yearlevelincreasestudents’thedecisiontoplaycomputergames.Allfactorsexhibitedapositivesign.This

meansthat thevariablesimplyadirectlyproportionalrelationshiptothedecision-makingbehaviorof the

students.

Student’sdailyallowanceisasignificantfactorthataffectsdecisiontoplay.Thefactorcanworkintwoways.

First,studentswithhigherdailyallowancemaymeanthattheyarefromarichfamily.Familieswithhigher

incomearemorecapableofbuyingacomputerset.Thus,makingcomputergamingmoreaccessible to

children.However,availabilityofcomputerathomewas found tobe insignificant regressionanalysis.

Secondly,childrenwithhigherdailyallowancecanspendmoremoneyforplaying.Thisalsoexplainswhy

computergamershavehigherdailyallowancecomparedtonon-gamers.Fromthese,itcanbeconcludedthat

studentsfromrichfamiliesaremorepronetocomputergaming.

Thestudyalsofoundoutthatbeingamaleincreasesthestudent’sdecisiontoplay.Thisexplainswhy60%

ofcomputergamersaremalesandonly40%are females.Studentswhobelong toapeergroupwhose

membersarealsocomputergamersaremorepronetocomputergamersthanthosewhosepeergroupswere

nongamers.Thisisbecausetheusualcomputergames,especiallythosewhichareplayedbymales,require

threeormoreplayers.

Yearlevelwasalsofoundtobesignificantintheregressionanalysis.Freshmanorsophomoreismorelikely

tobecomeacomputerplayer.This isbecause juniorandseniorstudentsdevotemore timestudying in

国際公共政策研究 � 第16巻第 2号84

preparationforcollegeeducation(collegeentranceexams).Theresultshowedthatmorethanhalfofthetotal

numberofcomputergamersarefreshmenandsophomores.

4-3 FactorsAffectingHighSchoolStudents’PerformanceinSchool

Resultsoftheregressionanalysisrevealedthatat5%levelofsignificance,factorssuchastimespenton

studying,yearlevel,finalgradeduringGrade6,numberofbooksandtimespentplayingcomputergamesare

foundtobesignificant(Table2).

Table 2. Factors affecting academic performanceParameter EstimateIncome -.0000165Yearlevel 1.37＊＊

Timespentonstudying .47＊＊

Proximityofcomputershops -.0000279PresenceofPCathome .61Timespentonplaying -.91＊

Classsize .01Numberofteachers .14Numberofbooks .30＊＊

FinalgradeduringGrade6 .70＊

Peergroup -.53Mother’seducation -.32Father’seducation .32Numberofsiblings -.13＊=significantat1% R-squared=0.49,n=240＊＊=significantat5% Prob＞F=0.00

Amongthesignificantvariables,onlytimespentonplayingcomputergamescarriesanegativesign,which

indicatesanegativerelationshipwithstudent’sgrades.Thismeans thatonemorehourspentonplaying

computergamesresultsina0.91pointdecreaseinstudent’sgrade.Thiscanbeinterpretedasthetrade-off

whenplayingcomputergames. If thestudentdecidesnot toplay, then therewillbenodeduction in the

grades.Furthermore, if thestudentdecidesnot toplayanddevotemore timetostudy, insteadofa0.91

decrease,anincreaseof0.47pointinthegradewillbeattained.Thatisthereasonwhytimespentonstudying

anddoingschoolworksshowapositiverelationshipwithgrades.

Schoolinputssuchasnumberofbookshaveapositiverelationshipwithgrades.Theregressionresultsshow

that,givingonemorebooktoastudent,increasesgradesby0.30point.Students’finalgradeduringGradesix

wasused,asaproxyvariableforchild’sIQlevel.Aoneunitincreaseinthestudent’sfinalgradeduringGrade

sixcausesa0.70increaseingrades.

Yearlevelisalsoapositivefactor.Ifastudentisajuniororsenior,gradesincreaseby1.37comparedwith

freshmanorsophomore.Accordingtotheinterviewandsurvey,lowerlevelstudentstendtoparticipatemore

� 85EffectsofComputerGamingonHighSchoolStudents’PerformanceinLosBaños,Laguna,Philippines

inextracurricularactivitiessuchasclubs,organization,etc.whilejuniorsandseniorsconcentratemoreon

academicsinpreparationforenrollmentduringcollegeyears.

Acorrelationbetweenthedependentandindependentvariableswasconducted.Resultshowedthatclasssize

andincomewerecorrelatedtothetypeofschoolanddailyallowance.Also, thematrixconfirmedthat the

distanceofthenearestcomputershoptoschoolandtherespondent’shousearehighlycorrelated.Therefore,to

eliminatemulticollinearityinthemodel,variablessuchasclasssize,allowance,anddistancebetweenthe

nearestcomputershopandschoolweredropped.

4-4 DeterminingComputerGamers’ProbabilityofFailing

Anotherlogitregressionwascarriedouttodeterminetheprobabilityofacomputergamertogetafailing

mark.Theresultsofthelogitregressionanalysisareasfollows:

F=3.47-0.67Income-0.84Gender+3.70No_siblings-1.10TOS+0.97Year_lvl+2.81ProxH+0.88

Peer-2.12TimeS+0.60Mo_educ-0.41Fa_educ-1.96NoTe+0.60NoBo+3.27Gr6+4.50TimeP At10%levelofsignificance,factorssuchasnumberofsiblings,finalgradeduringgradesix,numberof

teachers,timespentdoingschoolworks,distancebetweenthenearestcomputershopandrespondents’house,

andtimespentplayingcomputergamesprovedtobesignificant(Table3).

Table 3. Probability of having a failing markParameter EstimateGender -.84TypeofSchool -1.10Numberofsiblings 3.70＊＊

Yearlevel .97FinalgradeduringGrade6 3.27＊＊

Numberofbooks .60Numberofteachers -1.96＊＊＊

Timespentonstudying -2.12＊＊

Proximityofcomputershops 2.81＊＊

Peergroup .88Timespentonplaying 4.50＊

Mother’seducation .60Father’seducation -.41Income -.67＊=significant at 1% PseudoR2=0.72＊＊=significant at 5% Prob＞chi2=0.00＊＊＊=significant at10%n=124

Students’finalgradeduringgradesixshowedapositiverelationshipwithstudents’probabilityoffailing.

Meaning,ifachild’sfinalgradeduringGrade6islessthanorequalto84,theprobabilityoffailinginthe

currentyear is increased.Probablybecausehighschoolyearsconsistofrelativelyhardersubjectswhich

国際公共政策研究 � 第16巻第 2号86

requirestrongerfoundationofbasiclessonsinMath,Science,English,etc.Also,highschoolyearshavemore

extra-curricularactivitiesthatmightlessenstudent’stimeforstudying.

Numberofsiblingshasapositiverelationshipwithprobabilityofgettingafailingmark.Havingmore

childreninthefamilyincreasestheprobabilityofthestudenttogetafailingmark.Accordingtotheinterview,

studentsfrombiggerfamilies,especiallyfemales,needtolookafteryoungersiblingsanddohouseholdchores

thusreducingtimeforassignments,etc.

Thequantityofteachersinaschoolisanapparentfactorforstudents’performance.Thegreaterthenumber

ofteachersemployedbytheschool,theprobabilitythatstudentswillfailisreduced.Thisissimplybecause

anotherentitywillhelpstudentsunderstandthelessonmore.Thisexplainsthenegativerelationshipbetween

thenumbersofteachersandstudents’grades.

Anobviousnegativerelationshipbetweenthenumberofhoursdevotedonstudyingandprobabilityoffailing

wasobserved.Ifachilddecidestospendmorehoursondoingassignments,projects,etc.theprobabilityof

gettingafailingmarkisreduced.Theresultwasconfirmedbythesignificanceofthenumberofhoursspent

playing.That is,morehoursdevotedforplayingincreasestheprobabilitythatastudentwillgetafailing

grade.Anadditionalhourdevoted toplayingcomputergameswillmean lesserhoursdevotedforother

activitiessuchasdoinghouseholdchores,assignments,extra-curricularactivities,etc.

Thedistancebetweentherespondent’shouseandthecomputershop,intheabsenceofacomputerathome,

andtheprobabilitythatthestudentwillfailispositive.Intheinterview,majorityofthestudentswhodonot

havecomputersathometendtogotothenearestcomputershoptoplay.

Theexactvalueoftheprobabilitythatacomputergamerwillgetafailingmarkwasalsocomputedusingthe

equationbelow:

F= 3.47+3.70NO_SIBLINGS+2.81PROXH-2.12TIMES

-1.96NoTe+3.27Gr6+4.50TIMEP

F=3.47+3.70(1)+2.81(.222)-2.12(2.2)-1.96(9)+3.27(1)+4.50(2.4)Z= ln(p/1-p)=-0.44

PF=ez

=0.39(1+ez)

Basedonthecomputations,theprobabilityofacomputergamertogetafailinggradeis0.39.Thisistrueif

thestudent: (1)hasgreater thanfoursiblings, (2)hasafinalgrade6ratingofatmost84,(3)has lesser

teachersatschool, (4)spendsfewerhoursperdayonstudying,(5) livingnearacomputershop,and(6)

spendsmorehoursperdayonplayingcomputergames.

4-5 Averagecostsincurredbycomputergamers

Resultsfromthesurveyshowedthatontheaverage,acomputergamerwhoplaysincomputershopsspends

about60%ofdailyallowanceorPhP39onplaying.Theamountisasignificantportionsinceonly40%isleft

� 87EffectsofComputerGamingonHighSchoolStudents’PerformanceinLosBaños,Laguna,Philippines

formoreimportantexpensessuchasfood,transportation,savings,etc.Giventhat78students(32.5%)spend

PhP39onplaying,theestimatedtotaleffectonthedemandforcomputergamesisPhP1,267.50.

Foodcomprises56%of thedisplacedexpenses.Thismeans that56%of thosewhospendpartof the

allowanceoncomputergamessacrificedtheirfoodconsumption.Savingscover31%,arelativelysignificant

percentage.Given that food is themostdisplacedexpenses,anegative impactonstudent’sacademic

achievementcouldbeobserved.AccordingtoBehrman(1996),betterhealthandnutritionarepositively

associatedwithgains inschooling inmanyareas:enrollmentatyoungerages, lessgraderepetition, less

absenteeism,moregradescompletedandbetterperformanceontestscores.

Someobservationsinthestudyshowedthatthemoneyspentoncomputergamingexceedsdailyallowances

of therespondents.So,asidefromthedailyallowance,somerespondentshaveothermeansofacquiring

moneyjusttobeabletoplay.

5. Conclusion

Computergaming,measuredbynumberofhoursspentplaying,contributestotheprobabilityofastudentto

fail.ThestudyofMañugo(2007,45-46)provedthatthenumberofsubjectsfailedincreasestheprobabilityof

aLBNHSstudenttodropout.Thus,computergamersalsohavethetendencytodropoutofschool;either

repeatoneacademicyearorstopschooling.

Becausecomputergamingposesnegativeeffectonstudent’sperformanceinschool,thereisapossibilitythat

educationinhighschoolwouldhaveatendencytodeteriorate.Ascomputergamingindustrycontinuesto

grow,biggernumberofstudentswill loseinterestforstudies.Thismightmeanthat investmentonhigher

educationwillleadtolowerrateofreturnamongstudents.Thusresourcessuchasmoney,time,schoolinputs,

etc.areprobablygotowaste.

Numberofbookswasalsofoundtobeasignificantfactoraffectingstudent’sgrade.Addingonemorebook

perstudent increasesstudent’sgrade.However, it isapparent thatpublicschools lackbookscomparedto

privateschools.Thus,thegovernmentshouldplaceseriousattemptsingivingmorebooksespeciallytopublic

schoolswhereinadequacyofbooksisapparent.Also,thegovernmentshouldallocatethenationalbudgetsuch

thatitcaterstotheneedsofthepeople,mostespeciallyhumancapitaldevelopmentthrougheducation.

Withhigherallowance,studentsaremostlikelytobecomecomputergamers.Astudentwithhigherdaily

allowancetendtoplaymorewhichleadstohigherdemandforcomputergames.Thiswillgivewidermarket

forcomputershopownersandanopportunity to increase revenues.Likewise,child/children fromrich

families,capableofgivinghigherallowancestochildren,aremorepronetocomputergaming,andeventually

failing.

Basedontheopportunitycostofthestudent’sexpensesoncomputergames,someimplicationmightbe

国際公共政策研究 � 第16巻第 2号88

observedonthenutritionalandhealthstatusofhighschoolstudents.Asidefromfood,savingsisalsogreatly

affectedwhenastudentspendsmoneyoncomputergames.

Itwasalsoproventhatthequantityofteachersaffectstudent’sprobabilityoffailing.Moreteacherswould

meanlowerprobabilityoffailing.However,duetothedemandofteachersabroad,manyteachersdecidetogo

outofthecountrybecauseofhigherincomeandgreaterjobopportunities.Thisresultedinlessnumberof

teacherswhichcanleadtohigherprobabilityofstudents’failing.Thus,agreaterallocationofresourcefor

teacherswouldpotentiallyhelpupgradetheseeminglydeterioratingqualityofeducation.Providinggreater

incentiveswouldkeepteachersintheirjobssoastopreventbraindraininthecountry.

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