Benjamin Gibson, Yasmin Stoss, Heather Jackson, Russell Fox, & Dr.

Chris Dula

East Tennessee State University

It is known that factors within the classroom influence GPA , however, there is also growing interest regarding the effects of non-academic factors.• Self-Efficacy• Extracurricular Activities• Church Attendance• Home Environment• Family Conflict• Television• Video Games

Television and Video Games have to be negative influences……right??

While previous research on the effects of television have found negative effects..

• Owaidat & Badran (1996) found significant differences between means of a student's achievement and T.V. watching duration.

• Mossle (2010) found the more time students spend on consuming media and the more violent its contents are, the worse are their marks at school, even when controlling for vital factors such as family, educational, or immigrant background

other literature shows that the issue is more complicated than previously thought.

• Caldas (1999) found that TV viewing had a moderate negative effect on the academic achievement of Caucasian participants, but had either no effect or a slight positive effect, on the achievement of African American participants.

Ambiguity surrounding this interaction merits further investigation.

Television

Vs. Vs. Vs.

Television: Educational vs. NoneducationalTelevision: Educational vs. Noneducational

Some previous research supports a negative relationship between video games and academic achievement..

• Anand (2007) found that the amount of time a student spends playing video games has a negative correlation with students' GPA and SAT scores.

• Jaruratanasirikul (2009) found that excessive playing of electronic games is associated with school grades below 3.00.

while other research supports a weak or no relationship.• Vaupel (2002) found that a “sample of middle school aged children engaged

in video game play with mildly rated (E for Everyone) recreational video games without blood, gore, and carnage for a limited time (60 minutes), brain wave activity and ability to perform certain academic tasks did not appear to be disrupted.”

• Eow (2009) concluded that “..the findings in this study suggest some interesting yet ultimately weak associations between playing computer games and students’ academic achievement.”

Ambiguity surrounding this interaction merits further investigation

Vs. Vs. Vs.

The benefits of extracurricular activities have been established through previous research. For example, Cooper et al. (1999) concluded that “Generally, more time in extracurricular activities and other structured groups and less time in jobs and television viewing were associated with higher test scores and class grades.”

Weis & Cerankosky (2010) speculated that “video games may displace after-school activities that have educational value and may interfere with the development of reading and writing skills in some children.”

The objective of the current study was to assess relationships between television use, video game use, total extracurricular activities, and academic achievement.

H1: It is hypothesized that a significant negative relationship will exist between television use and academic achievement (GPA).

H2: A significant negative relationship between video/computer game use and academic achievement (GPA) is also expected.

H3: It is anticipated that television use will have a significant negative relationship with total extracurricular activities.

H4: It is also hypothesized that video/computer game use will have a significant negative relationship with total extracurricular activities.

Participants

Data comes from the GEAR UP Tennessee Program. • $2.7 million, federally funded, state initiative aimed at

increasing educational expectations of students and their families, enhance academic preparation, provide effective professional development, and encourage community engagement.

Participants were 410 8th and 9th grade students from rural middle schools in the Southeastern United States. • 207 (50.5%) were male and 203 (49.5%) were female.• 191 (46.6%) were 8th graders and 219 (53.4%) were 9th

graders.

Procedure

One week prior to data collection, student’s parents were given a packet containing information about the study and an opt-out consent form. Students who did not have opt-out forms sent back to the school by their parents/guardians were allowed to participate after gaining their assent; participation was voluntary and could be stopped at any time.

Participants were excused from one class period and asked to participate in a brief survey. Grades were attained directly from the schools’ offices with the consent of parents and assent of students.

Measures A general survey was used to gather self-reported information on

age, sex, living arrangements, extracurricular activities, and grade level in school (self-reported).

Extracurricular Activities Participation in Extracurricular Activities was assessed by asking the question: “So

far this school year, which of these after-school activities have you done? (Mark all that apply)” Respondents were then given the following answers: Sports team/cheerleading, Chorus or Band, Dancing/Gymnastics, School Clubs, Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, and Tutoring.

Television• Television use was assessed by asking students “During the school year, about

how many hours PER DAY do you watch TV?” Answers included, “Zero,” “1 hour,” “2 hours,” “3 hours,” “4 – 5 hours,” and “6 or more hours.”

Video/Computer Games • Television use was assessed by asking students “During the school year, about

how many hours PER DAY do you watch TV?” Answers included, “Zero,” “1 hour,” “2 hours,” “3 hours,” “4 – 5 hours,” and “6 or more hours.”

H1: Supported. Television use was significantly negatively related to GPA. • (r = -.098, p < .05)

H2: Supported. Video/Computer game use and GPA were significantly negatively related.• (r = -.151, p < .05)

H3: Not Supported. Television use was not significantly related to total extracurricular activities.• (r = -.051, p =.306)

H4: Supported. Video/Computer game use and total extracurricular activities were negatively related.• (r = -.116, p < .05)

Results

Table 1 TelevisionVideo/Computer

GamesExtracurricular

Activities GPA

Television 1 .135* -.051 -.098*

Video/Computer Games .135* 1 -.116* -.151*

Extracurricular Activities -.051 -.116* 1 .324*

GPA -.098* .151* .324* 1

* p < .05

# of Hours of TV per day

# of Hours of Video/Computer Games per day

Figure 1

Figure 2

These results showing a negative relationship between television use as well as video/computer game use and GPA suggest that while these activities have a negative relationship with grades, the effect is more clearly seen when students watch/play an excessive amount (6+ hours per day).

The results showing no significant relationship between television use and total extracurricular activities versus a significant negative relationship between video/computer game use and total extracurricular activities could be explained by the universal appeal of television as opposed to the more selective appeal of video games.

The sample consisted of middle and high school students from a rural area, which may not be representative of the population. This may limit generalization of results to other geographical regions or urban zones.

All measures were self-report instruments. This type of instrument is especially vulnerable to response biases, such as self-report bias. Students may be motivated to present themselves in a more favorable manner.

The issue of generalizability can be addressed through the unique properties of the GEAR UP project.

Research from Sariff and Sargent (2006) found that weekend television and video game use were not associated with school performance. Therefore, future research should differentiate between use of television and video game during the weekday as well as during the weekend.

Future research should also attempt to differentiate between different types of video games and television programs. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), for example, has rating from E (Everyone) to M (Mature) that could be used to categorized video games, while the TV Parental Guidelines system could be applied to television programs.

Anand, V. (2007). A study of time management: The correlation between video game usage and academic performance markers. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10(4), 552-559.

Caldas, S. J., Bankston, C. (1999). Black and white TV: Race, television viewing and academic achievement. Sociological Spectrum, 19(1), 39-61.

Cooper, H., Valentine, J. C., Nye, B., & Lindsay, J. J. (1999). Relationships between five after-school activities and academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(2), 369-378.

Eow, Y. L., Wan Zah, W. A., Rosnaini, M., Roselan, B. (2009). Form one students’ engagement with computer games and its effect on their academic achievement in a Malaysian secondary school. Computer & Education, 53(4). 1082-1091.

Jaruratanasirikul, S., Wongwaitaweewong, K., Sangsupawanich, P. (2009). Electronic game play and school performance of adolescents in Southern Thailand. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(5), 509-512.

Mossle, T., Kleimann, M., Rehebein, F., & Pfeiffer, C. (2010). Media use and school achievement – boys at risk? British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28(3), 699-725.

Owaidat, A. A., & Badran, Z. (1996). The effect of TV watching habits and duration on the academic achievement of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in Jordan. Dirasat: Educational Sciences, 23(2), 379-396.

Sharif, I., & Sargent, J. D. (2006). Association between television, movie, and video game exposure and school performance. Pediatrics, 118(4), 1061-1070.

Vaupel, C. A. (2002). The effects of video game playing on academic task performance and brain wave activity. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 63(5-B), 2642.

Weis, R., & Cerankosky, B. C. (2010). Effects of video-game ownership on young boys’ academic and behavioral functioning: A randomized, controlled study. Psychological Science, 21(4), 463-470.