Factors That Affect Grade Nine Students in Northern Canada

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22

Foreign Countries; High Schools; Rural Schools; High School Students; Grade 9; Correlation; Grades (Scholastic); Attendance Patterns; Recreational Activities; Video Games; Telecommunications; Handheld Devices; Interpersonal Relationship; Extracurricular Activities; Leisure Time; Gender Differences; Self Concept; Adolescents

In response to concerns expressed by high school counselors, the researchers developed a quantitative Likert-scale survey to examine the relationships between academic performance (defined as school attendance and final grades) and recreational video gaming and texting. Questions about video gaming and texting were included with other questions about social relations, extra-curricular activities, and leisure-time activities. The focus for inquiry was three high schools in remote communities within a school division north of the 55th parallel in Manitoba, Canada. Complete data sets were obtained for 21 grade 9 students who volunteered with their parents' written permission. The students answered the survey questions in their respective schools at times selected by the school administrators. Administrative secretaries at each school collected the students' academic performance data: attendance records and final marks in English, mathematics, science, and social studies. The researchers determined Pearson-product moment correlations for the linear school performance data, and Spearman rho correlations for the nonlinear Likert-scale survey data -- both with calculations of two-tailed probability of error. In this report, the results are collated into 20 tables that reveal coefficients ranging from good to perfect, based on correlating 165 pairs of variables concerning the following factors separated by gender: video games, texting, school, self-concept, peers, parents, and non-academic activities other than playing video games and texting. In consideration of their findings, the researchers recommend that school professionals advise parents and students of the deleterious effects of playing video games and texting excessively.

As Provided

2020

ED603633