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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:[email protected]>graduatedin2010withaBSEconomicsdegreeat theUniversityof thePhilippinesLosBaños,LagunaandcurrentlyworksatDeutscheKnowledgeServices,TaguigCity1634Philippines.
＊＊assistantprofessor,CollegeofEconomicsandManagement,UniversityofthePhilippinesLosBaños. ＊＊＊associateprofessor/associatedean,CollegeofEconomicsandManagement,UniversityofthePhilippinesLosBaños;
e-mailat<[email protected]>
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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