Title: Effects of Volunteering
Author: Josh Bonilla
Last saved by: Enrique Murillo
Company: Hewlett-Packard

ATHLETICS AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Running head: ATHLETICS AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

The Effects of Athletics on Student Achievement for High School Students
Joshua Bonilla, Victor Sandoval, Tawsha Canright, Michael Rawls
California State University, San Bernardino 

Abstract
The main purpose of our experiment was to examine the effects of athletics on academia in high school students. We predicted that students’ participation in sports would have a positive effect on their academics. In our study, we examined the different ways of how participating in high school sports would affect students’ academic success. As such, we examined: if grade checks motivated academic achievement, if minimum GPA motivated athletes, if students kept up with their grade checks, if students felt pressure to perform, if student athletes received preferential treatment and if sports gave students a reason to do well academically. We also requested and obtained current GPAs from the high school students.  Student responses were obtained anonymously through written questionnaires.  We analyzed the results to determine if students felt that athletics had an effect, either positive or negative, on academic achievement.   In previous studies it has been evidenced that athletics has a positive effect on academic achievement (Duda, J.L & Nicholls, J.G., 1992).  Results confirmed our prediction that a student’s participation in athletics does have a positive effect on their academics.

The Effects of Athletics on Student Achievement for High School Students
	A day in the life of a high school student is usually attending six periods at school and then being done for the day and heading home. However, there are students that stay after school to put in extra time in their day to participate in team sports. There are many reasons why people decide to participate in sports, and as it turns out, there are many benefits that could be gained by doing so.  One particular gain associated with participating in sports is academic success.
	Most of the studies that have examined academics in relation to athletics look at how sports motivate students to do better in school.  For example, many interpretive studies involve researchers working with open ended questions and extensively reviewing their participant’s responses to find underlying themes in participants’ answers. Research studies of this nature are conducted to see if different aspects of motivation correlate between schoolwork and sports.  
	One previous study that we researched was conducted among different schools in a district in Northern California. In this study Matthew, Jalisha, Jamal, and James were all asked about how sports individually impacted their lives. Matthew always participated in sports. He had behavior issues but was always very strong academically. He played football and basketball. Jalisha also had disciplinary problems despite being an honor roll student. She was raised in a low income, predominantly black neighborhood with her mother and stepfather. Jamal struggled both behaviorally and academically. He felt that sports really structured him and disciplined him in school and kept him excelling in academics while being raised by a single parent. James was a star quarterback on his high school team and sprinter on the track team. Although he struggled early on in his life, his involvement in sports throughout high school helped him improve his social life as well as his grades. The data was collected by multiple interviews conducted by the author of the study. The recording was done through observations, field notes, and taped interviews that were later transcribed. The author also interviewed significant people in the lives of each student such as their parents, friends, coaches, teachers and tutors. Overall, they felt that sports had a positive impact on their lives.
	Another qualitative study took place at a high school in the Midwest.  The participants were 207 consenting sophomore and juniors, both male and female.  All subjects ranged in ethnicity with the two largest being of white and black ethnic backgrounds.  Students selected did not have to be current members on a sports team and all students involved were given a questionnaire in group settings.  The questionnaire was given by a teacher who was trained by one of the authors.  Data was collected through a questionnaire which was administered in a group setting.  The questionnaire took approximately 30 minutes to complete and student responses were indicated on a computer-scored sheet.  Questions were asked using a 5-point Likert-type scale.
	In previous quantitative studies that have been conducted, associations between academics and sports were analyzed.  Assessments were based on several factors including amount of time spent on extracurricular activities, academic grades, tests, and questionnaires.  Some research suggests that too much time spent on extracurricular activities such as sports can have an aversive effect on students because it overwhelms them.  Other research suggests that this type of activity promotes good health which in turn improves academics.
	One study found physical activity to be of benefit to students.  Previous research dictates that physical activity improves health and is also associated with higher academic performance. The questions raised in this study are whether academic achievement is due to the benefits of physical activity or participation on an athletic team. Answering these research questions will give us insight on specific details about whether improved academic outcomes are due to being physically active or being involved in a sports team. The data that was recorded was from Project EAT (Eating Among Teens), which is a survey for middle and high school students. The survey asked students to record their weekly hours of physical activity. It also asked questions about participating in a team sport and their grades.
	As demonstrated, much research has been conducted to see if extracurricular activity influences academics; however, few studies have indicated exactly how much weekly participation is needed for students to actually benefit from it. Simoncini and Caltabioni (2013) reported that for children between five to nine years of age, 90 to 180 minutes of participation in extracurricular activity is correlated with better behavioral developments. In other words, children who participate in moderate amounts of extracurricular activities per week have healthier attitudes and better communication skills to resolve issues with their peers. Likewise, appropriate amounts of participation also existed for teenagers. Fredricks (2012) tested the over-scheduling phenomenon and found that academic performance was positively correlated with amount of participation, meaning that generally, the more time students spent in extracurricular activities, the better they performed academically. However, this plateaus at 14 hours. After 14 hours of involvement in extracurricular activities, grades slowly begin to decline and participation becomes maladaptive. This indicates that extracurricular activities should be promoted because it can help students acquire valuable skills but participation should not be more than the student can handle. Too much participation will adversely affect the student so it is important to create a balance of school and extracurricular participation.
            As mentioned before, student involvement in extracurricular activity is crucial because it pressures students to perform in many ways. In particular, research has demonstrated that students feel a sense of motivation to achieve well in academics in order to be deemed eligible to participate in school activities (DeMeulenaere, 2010). Because eligibility rests contingently on meeting a specified minimum GPA, students can be denied participation if their grades are not adequate. In addition, DeMeulenaere (2010) also revealed that students are also faced with the pressures from their peers. Performing well in school can jeopardize their reputations. For example, one African American girl ran the risk of being considered white by her friends for getting good grades. Interestingly, these student- athlete realized that by shedding some blame on their school’s academic requirements, they were able to succeed in school and evade teasing from their peers. In addition, many students felt that their stardom as an athlete overshadowed their perception as a nerd (DeMeulenaere, 2010). Lastly, students who had promising prospects of playing sports in college felt pressured to maintain their grades too.
 DeMeulenaere (2010) also examined different ways in how students participating in sports had effects in their academics. One of the specific aspects he examined in his research was how sports motivated students in their academics. Sports would give students structure in the way they organized their schedules (Demeulenaere, 2010). He discovered that sports in a sense motivated students to structure their schedule in a specific way. It made students organize their day according to their academic work but also practicing for their sport after school and then going home to do their homework. One of the students in the study felt that being in a sport in high school motivated him and kept him busy to stay out of trouble (Demeulenaere, 2010). Furthermore, the student athlete felt too tired to go out because he might have been too busy with going to school during the day, practice in the evening and then coming home to do homework. This served as a push or motivation for the student athlete to stay organized in their daily schedule with many things occurring in their days.
 Demeulenaere (2010) also noted that students participating in sports served them as an incentive to perform at a higher rate in the classroom. He explained that student athletes being able to participate in a sport is rewarding to them by getting good grades academically. One of the students discussed that the anger he had because he did not make grades and was benched. The student explained how his anger in not being able to play motivated him to work on his academics to improve his grade point average to be eligible to play (Demeulenaere, 2010). When a student athlete values and enjoys participating in a sport in high school, it not only motivates them to do well in the classroom but it also can serve them as an incentive in which they are eligible to play by meeting grades academically.
	Student athletes participating in sports in high school also can build their confidence. Demeulenaere (2010) explains that when some of the students feel like they have pride because they are a student athlete, it gives them confidence. For some student athletes, knowing that they are good at a sport can build confidence which can lead them to do well in academics. Participating in sports in high school for students can be a confidence builder for them to do well in their classes they might be struggling with. One of the student athlete’s tutors in the study explained that when athletes are able to find pride in a sport they may participate in at school it gives them the confidence and motivation to be open to participate in other challenging activities such as their academics (Demeulenaere, 2010). One of the students, who was a freshman at the high school in the study, found confidence in the participating in a sport. Demeulanaere (2010) noted that the student athlete found that he built confidence in himself by joining the track team and running with students from other grades such as seniors, juniors and sophomores. It definitely built confidence in the student in high school. As a freshman in high school, being able to make relationships with the other older teammates on the team probably gave him confidence to make other friends in high school and engage even more in other activities. 
	The reason why this study is important is to find out if sports will motivate students to do well in the classroom. The idea of the student athlete has been stigmatized over the years. From the image of the all-American football captain to the big dumb jock, we have placed stereotypes on athletes. It is important for us to understand student athlete participation in classrooms and what causes them to do well. In 2011, the Fontana School district made a decision. They either had money to keep their counselors, or sports program. They chose the sports program eliminating 68.5 jobs. Given this action it lead us to question “Are sports programs important to foster student achievement so much that they are more important than counseling”. This prompted us being former high school athletes to do some research on the topic. We asked questions about student achievement in sports and in the classroom. We looked at the qualifications for athlete participation in sports to see if that motivates them in the classroom.
	The way the educational-sports system is setup is with a system of qualifications to make sure that the students are performing like they should in the classroom. The minimum required GPA is between 2.0 and 2.5 (depending on the district) and students have to fill out weekly required grade checks in order to participate in practice or games. Students have to qualify to play sports and if they do not then they do not play. This makes the students want to do well in the classroom in order to play. This is how the system of motivation is supposed to work. This study shows how sports motivators affect how well students work in the classroom. 
	The research will help us to understand motivators within student athletes to cause them to participate in the classroom. This can also help coaches and teachers to work together with an effective process that will help them motivate student-athletes to do well in class. This study will show the motivators that cause student-athletes to want to do well in class. This will also give people in district authority who deal with student-athletes important information so that they know what motivates students. The overall goal of this study is to find ways to properly motivate student athletes to do well in the classroom.

Design and Methodology
Subjects
	The sample of student participants was 28 high school students.  Five coaches of varying sports were also surveyed.  All participants were from two different local high schools.  Participants from one high school included students from multiple sports while participants from the second high school were all members of the football team.  All participants, including students and coaches, answers were collected anonymously.  Consent was obtained through permission of the school principal and coaches.  
Data Collection
	Student athletes and coaches were given a 7 question questionnaire.  The questionnaire was randomly distributed based solely on whether or not they were a student athlete.  Student athletes’ participation was voluntary.  At one location the football coach distributed the questionnaire to the entire team.  The questionnaire focused on motivation, GPA qualifications, work ethics, and pressure to perform.  The questions were stated as such:  “How do grade checks motivate you to do well in the classroom?” “Do you feel the minimum GPA provides motivation for you or other students to do well in the classroom?” “Do you have grade checks?  How often do you fill them out?”   “Do you feel pressured to perform at a higher rate in the classroom because you are a student athlete? If yes, how?”  “Do you feel like you receive preferential treatment because you are a student athlete? If so, how?”  “Do you feel that sports give you a reason to do well in the classroom when your friends are not? If so, why?”  “What is your current GPA?”
	The process of data collection involved collection of questionnaires from student-athletes and coaches.  The surveys were completed on a volunteer basis from both students and coaches.  No names were used to protect the identity of participants and guarantee their anonymity.  
	The researchers felt the information asked on the survey was the most relevant to make conclusions about the relationship between academic achievement and participation in athletics.  The coach survey was slightly altered to provide for a coaches perspective in relation to the research.  
Data Treatment
	The purpose of the study was explained to the participants before completing the questionnaire.  The questionnaires were given to student-athletes during the school day and the coach’s questionnaire was completed at their convenience.  With the exception of the high school football team, athletes were verbally asked what sport they participated in.  This information was asked to determine if a variety of sports were represented in the research.  The participants were thanked for their input upon handing in their questionnaire.  

Results

Question topic | Student (28 responses) | Coach / Teacher( 5 responses)

Grade Checks
Question 1

Grade checks motivate student achievement (96% in favor of)

Grade checks do not motivate student achievement (80% in favor of)

Minimum GPA
Question 2

Minimum GPA motivates students (79% in favor of with 7% “sometimes”)

Minimum GPA does not motivate students to do well (60% in favor of)

Work Ethic
Question 3

Students do keep up with grade checks (79% in favor with 7% “sometimes” response

There is a difference in work ethic. Students had better work ethics (100% in favor of)

Performance pressure
Question 4

Students feel pressured to perform (71% in favor of)

Coaches are pressured to help student athletes more than other students (80% in favor of)

Preferential treatment
Question 5

Students do not receive preferential treatment (80% in favor of)

Students do not receive preferential treatment for their academic work (40% in favor of with 60% declining to respond)

Academic responsibility
Question 6

Sports give students a reason to do well (100% in favor of)

Academic success is more acceptable for athletes as compared to non-athletes (60% in favor of with 20% declining to answer and 20% unsure)

Table 1
GPA Ranges

2.0 – 2.4 | 2.5 – 2.9 | 3.0 – 3.4 | 3.5 – 4.0
7% | 29% | 50% | 14%

Table 2

	We went over each question as we gave it to the students in survey form. Question 1 asked, “How do grade checks motivate you to do well in the classroom?” The student responses indicated that 96% felt that grade checks did motivate them to do well in the classroom, and 4% said that grade checks do not motivate them. Question 2 asked “Do you feel minimum GPA provides motivation for you or other students to do well in the classroom?” 79% said yes it does provide motivation, 7% felt it did sometimes, and 14% said no it did not. Question 3 asked “Do you have grade checks? How often do you feel them out?” 79% said yes they do have grade checks and they fill them out regularly. 7% say that they sometimes have grade checks and they sometimes fill them out. 14% say that they do not fill grade checks out at all.
	Question 4 asked “Do you feel pressured to perform at a higher rate in the classroom because you are a student athlete? If yes how?” The students responded with 71% saying yes they did feel pressure to perform. 29% feel that they are not pressured to perform. Question 5 asked “Do you feel like you receive preferential treatment because you are a student athlete, if so how?” The students responded with 80% saying that they did not receive preferential treatment. 20% of the students said that they did receive some kind of preferential treatment for being a student athlete.  Question 6 asked “Do feel sports give you a reason to do well in the classroom when your friends are not, if so why?” The students respond with 100% of the students felt like sports gave them a reason to do well in school. 7% of the students have 2.0 -2.4 GPA. 29% of the students have 2.5-2.9 GPA. 50% have a 3.0-3.4 GPA. 14% have a 3.5-4.0 GPA. The overall average GPA for all students surveyed is a 2.96. 
	For the coaches we asked them a similar set of questions. We categorized them the same as the student questions but the questions we asked them were not the same . For the first question, we asked, “Do grade checks motivate students to do well in the classroom?” 80% felt that they did not motivate students while 20% felt like they did. Question 2 asked “Do you feel the minimum GPA provides motivation for students to do well in the classroom?” The coaches responded with 60% saying that they did not while 40% felt as though they did. Question 3 asked “Do you see a difference in the work ethic between student athletes and non-student athletes. 100% of them felt that student athletes had better work ethic. Question 4 asked, “Do you feel pressure to help student athletes in the classroom more than other students?” The coaches responded with 80% saying that they did feel pressured to help students in the classroom while 20% felt as though they did not. Question 5 asked, “Do your student athletes receive higher marks than other students on their academic work?” 40% felt that they do not receive higher marks on their academic work while 60% declined to answer. Question 6 asked “Is academic success more acceptable of athletes as compared to non-athletes? (We have found that the title of “nerd” is not bestowed upon student athletes. They in effect are given a pass among their peers because they must keep their GPA’s high in order to play sports. )” 60% said that they were more accepted among their peers. 20% declined to state, and 20% was unsure.
Discussion
	In this study, we found several interesting trends regarding student-athletes and their academic performance in school. In general, we found that extracurricular involvement in sports was correlated with reasonably modest to high GPAs. The average GPA for the student-athletes in our study was a 2.96. These findings are consistent with Fredricks (2012) who also found that participation in extracurricular activities promoted academic success. To get a better sense of how extracurricular activities facilitated academic success, we turned to our data and analyzed it extensively. In doing so, we found that many of our participants were in fact motivated by the minimum GPA required by their schools. This idea of GPA’s motivating students is consistent with DeMeulenaere (2010) who also found that sports motivated students to do well academically. One reason why we believe the minimum GPA motivates student-athletes in the classroom is that it particularly inspires struggling students to really put forth the effort to become eligible to play for team sports. Because in most schools, the minimum GPA is set at a tangible threshold of 2.0, we believe that students who are just under this GPA make sufficient efforts to reach this limit. In addition, there were also students in our study that stated the minimum GPA requirement not only motivated them to do well academically but also “forced” them to do well because “they didn’t want to get cut from their team.” These findings are also congruent with research conducted by Demeulenaere (2010) who found that the possibility of being cut due to poor grades was a big motivator for students-athletes. Furthermore, some students felt that by being cut from the team, they would not only be letting themselves down but they would also be letting their coaches and their fellow teammates down as well. Lastly, we also discovered that students took great pride in being able to succeed academically while playing sports. One student in particular said that when they succeed in both in school and in sports, they feel “accomplished and victorious.”  Therefore, by students being aware of the GPA required to be eligible in the study, they felt that it motivated them in the classroom to work to maintain that GPA.
          In addition, our research also sought to examine whether student athletes felt like they received preferential treatment by their teachers and coaches. We expected to see preferential treatment given to students who were athletes but we actually found mixed feelings regarding this. Most students felt that being a student athlete did not entitle them to preferential treatment from the teachers/coaches. However, there were a handful of participants who did feel like they were given leniency. For example, some teachers allowed student-athletes to turn in papers late without being docked points. In addition, some participants felt that in instances where their teachers were also their coaches, they were given more slack. DeMeulenaere (2010) indicates that athletes build close relationships with their coaches and that they receive a lot of support from them. Furthermore, based on the answers provided, it seemed like students felt that they were receiving support from their coaches rather than preferential treatment which are completely two different things. Our terminology may have been a little ambiguous and therefore confusing to the participants answering this question. As such the student athletes in the study did not feel like they received any preferential treatment. They did however feel that coaches did impact their lives. Coaches spend plenty of time with their athletes. During that time, coaches may help their students by advising them, tutoring them, and giving them breaks from practice to finish a test from class. Students may have felt that although their coaches helped them out significantly, they did not necessarily view this preferential treatment.  
            In our data, we also found that students offered some additional insight in how they might have felt pressured to perform academically. Many students stated they did not feel a pressure to perform, but instead felt an obligation to be role models to other students. We also discovered that students also stated that they felt sports gave them a reason to do well, so they can show they are able to manage school and sports concurrently. Some students also noted that sports gave them something to do and they felt school could be boring without being able to participate in sports.
Recommendations for Further Research
	In our recommendations for further research, we feel it would be beneficial to look at the differences among students at different levels.  For example, looking at differences of the effect of athletics and academic achievement among freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors could provide for a more detailed look into this type of research.  Conducting this type of research could provide insight into if the effect athletics can have and whether it is a significant effect throughout all years of high school.  
	In our research, we use questionnaires to gather data, but we feel an added interview piece with students could provide more information about the student’s opinion, motivation, or pressure to perform.  It could also be useful to interview coaches and teachers to gain additional information from their point of views.  
	Our questionnaire was anonymous and we did not ask about gender, but we feel that male and female students can have different motivational factors and opinions in regards to academics.  It could be beneficial to analyze the research in regards to gender to see if there are any correlating and differing factors.
	Our study was limited to two locations, but we felt additional research could be conducted among several high schools in multiple different socioeconomic areas to see if the effect of athletics on academics changes due to a student’s socioeconomic status.  A student’s socioeconomic status could have significant effects on this research both negative and positive and it would be interesting to find out which effect it would have.
Conclusion
As it was previously believed, the students were motivated by the guarantee that they will play sports and that it had a positive effect on their academics. Sports became a positive motivator for the students to do well in the classroom. There was a fear of some kind of negative consequences if they did not perform in the classroom. This shows us that student athletes look for some kind of motivation in order to do well in the classroom. Contrary to the common stereotype students do not receive preferential treatment from teachers and coaches. This means that students are doing the necessary work and not skating by in class. The coaches that we surveyed also felt as though student athletes have a better work ethic than non-student athletes. 100% of the coaches responded that student athletes had a better work ethic. One statistic that stood out in our survey was on the question 6 when 100% of the students said that they felt that sports gave them a reason to do well in the classroom. Our study has shown that sports are a great motivator for students to do well in the classroom. It also teaches students to have a great work ethic, and with the support that teachers and coaches give them it motivates them to do well without any type of special treatment.

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