REEL TIME: The Effects of Television Exposure to

the Academic Performance of Children

A Research Submitted to the Department of Psychology

College of Arts and Sciences
Our Lady of Fatima University

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Research Methodology

Cristobal, Siena Elise M.

Delos Santos, Jaeny
Villagracia, Jedajane C.

July 2012
 CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction

Over the years, we have seen the rapid growth of the appearance of

television, from the simple box type black and white screens to the now high-tech

flat screen televisions. Apart from the growth of the hardware system, we have

also seen the growth of programs being shown and produced from time to time

for television viewers of all ages; cartoons, and animated shows for children and

movies and dramas for the adults. Over the years as well, experts have been

debating from time to time about the effects of television viewing to children.

There has been conducive studies on television viewing, correlating it with

violence in children, television viewing and the impact it has on a family’s

relationship, television advertisements and its impact on child consumers, and

more importantly, television viewing and cognitive development.

With the introduction of educational programs pioneered by the Sesame

Street in 1969, researchers and experts have kept a close eye on the

development of children who are exposed to the television at a young age.

Experts do agree that programs like these have been beneficial in helping

children learn new skills and pro-social programs are known to have taught the

values of cooperation, self-control, helping, sharing and understanding.

(Alexander, 2012). Even so, the debate continues as to whether television

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viewing may affect or interfere in the education of children. Achievement,

intellectual ability, grades, and reading show complex relationships with

television viewing. For example, the relationship between television viewing and

academic performance is not clear cut. Children who spend a great deal of time

watching television do poorly in school but children who spend a moderate

amount of time with TV perform better than non-viewers. (Alexander , 2012).

Some experts believe that the causal mechanism of the impact of TV viewing on

academic achievement is within the framework of the displacement theory; which

suggests that as children spend more time watching TV, they spend less time

participating in ―valuable‖ activities such as reading and doing homework.

(Chernin, Linebarger, 2005).

Equipped with this information, and knowing that television is one

important element in the development of the Filipino consciousness (Tan, 1994)

the researchers have decided to take the research to local soils to see how big

the impact of television is to the Filipino children. How involved are parents in

regards to their children’s television habit? Does the displacement theory as

stated in the study conducted by Chernin and Linebarger (2005) apply to children

in the Filipino community?

According to the U.S. Department of Education’s 2007 ―Trends in

Mathematics and Science Study‖(TIMMS) South Africa, Philippines, Chile,

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Indonesia and Iran scored the lowest in terms of science and mathematics.

(Wesley ,2007)

London based research and ratings from Quacquarelli (QS) released its

2011/2012 index of top-rank universities, with four Philippine universities rated

outside the 300 world’s best - The University of the Philippines (332), Ateneo de

Manila University (360), De La Salle University (551-600 bracket) and the

University of Santo Tomas (601+ bracket). (Quismundo,2011).

Although there may be many contributing factors as to why we (The

Philippines) fare very badly in the annual rankings of studies like these, we

researchers feel that television viewing maybe one important contributing factor,

and hopefully by narrowing the study down, we will be able to come to a deeper

understanding as to whether television is really good or bad for children in terms

of academic achievement.

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Statement of the Problem

This study aimed to answer the following questions.

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of the following variables:

1.1 Age

1.2 Gender

1.3 Exposure to television

2. What is the level of academic performance of the respondents?

3. Is there a significant difference in the academic performance of the

respondents when grouped according to their exposure to television?

4. Does too much television exposure hamper a child’s school performance?

5. Does the restriction on television time improve a child’s school

performance?

6. How relevant is the respondent’s restricted television time to his study

habit?

Hypothesis of the Study

The Key Hypothesis of this study is:

Ho: There is no significant difference between the academic performance of the

respondents with restricted Television Time and respondents without restricted

Television Time.

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Significance of the Study

The researchers intended to come to a deeper understanding as to

whether television exposure is really good or bad for children specifically those

ages 7-9 in terms of academic performance. Moreover; this study addressed

itself to parents, and educators that they may be more aware about the

importance of involving themselves in a child’s exposure to television; Students

that they may be more conscious about their study habits and limitations in

leisure time; Interested practitioners and researchers in our field that they gain

insight in the on-going study as to whether there is a correlation between

television viewing and academic performance.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The scopes of the research are students from Our Lady of Fatima

University – Grade School Department who are within the crucial age range of

cognitive development. We will be including respondents who are in the Grade 1-

3 classes. Thus the limitations of the study are children aged 7-9 who are

currently enrolled in the mentioned educational institutions and the study will be

based on the respondents’ grades from the first grading period as well as the

hours spent on television viewing. The respondents are children who either have

restrictions on their television time; our classification of the respondents in this

category are those that have 2 hours or less of television viewing during school

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days; or respondents who do not have restrictions on their television time;

meaning respondents with more than 2 hours of television viewing per school

day.

Definition of Terms

Television – popular media form, where the broadcasting of a still or moving

image via radiowaves to receivers that project the view of the image happens.

Cognitive development – the process of acquiring intelligence and increasingly

advanced thought and problem-solving ability from infancy to adulthood.

Correlation– The act of correlating

Educational programs – television programs with informational or instructional

content

Pro-social programs – according to Alexander (2012) children and tv, these are

television programs that teach values of cooperation, self-control, helping,

sharing and understanding

Restricted Television Time – Television viewing of not more than 2 hours a day

Unrestricted Television Time – Television viewing that exceeds 2 hours a day

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Academic Achievement/Performance – Intellectual ability, grades, and the

child’s ability to function as an active student, participating in recitations and

other school activities.

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 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

History of Local Television

Television was introduced to the Philippines in 1953, with the opening of

DZAQ-TV Channel 3 of Alto Broadcasting System in Manila, owned by Antonio

Quirino, the brother of the incumbent Philippine President, who was set to run for

re-election the following year. The Station operated on a four-hours-a-day

schedule (6-10pm) and telecasted only over a 50-mile radius.

In the 90s, there are 137 television stations nationwide. The major

television networks were ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, Associated

Broadcasting Corporation, GMA Network, Inc., Intercontinental Broadcasting

Corporation (IBC), Radio Philippines Network (RPN), and People’s Television

Network, Inc.

The biggest networks are ABS-CBN and GMA Network. ABS-CBN has 11

originating stations, 14 TV relay stations, and 8 affiliate TV stations. GMA

Network has two originating, 40 relays and seven affiliate stations.

The 1994 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey reported

that about 45 percent of total households nationwide have access to television

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sets and that household population aged 10 years old and over exposed to

television reaches about 57 percent.

Satellite and cable technologies have virtually made universal access to

broadcast media possible. For example, ABS-CBN television reaches

approximately 90 percent. The network is linked with the Pan American Satellite

(PANAMSAT), which provides its programmes to all cable operators and direct-

to-home markets within the satellite’s footprint. Through a cable television

system, it can reach Filipino communities in the San Francisco Bay Area of the

United States. Similarly, GMA Radio Television Arts Network reaches the entire

country through its 30 stations nationwide. Filipinos in Southeast Asia, Hawaii,

Guam, Saipan, Canada, and the United States can tune in to GMA-7, either

through Mabuhay satellite or cable television systems.

Until recently, UHF television broadcasting was unheard of. Only those

who could get access to the Far East Network of the U.S. Armed Forces Radio

and Television Service, beamed to the U.S. bases in Clark Air Base and Subic

Naval Base, were familiar with the bandwidth. Southern Broadcasting Network

(SBN Channel 21) and Molave Broadcasting Network (Channel 23) were the first

commercial stations to broadcast on the UHF band in mid-1992. SBN 21 features

"global-oriented" programmes from the World TV, a local VHF channel, while

Channel 23 carries MTV programming as received via satellite from Hong Kong’s

Star TV.

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 Others followed after the initial success of these stations: Byers

Communication’s Channel 68 became the first Pay-TV channel; Rajah

Broadcasting TV 29 the first home shopping channel; and radio Mindanao

Network Channel 31 the first all-movie channel. The two UHF stations are in

Baguio City and Cebu City.

The most phenomenal growth, however, has been in cable television. The

growth of early cable television, introduced in 1969, was stunted during the

Marcos regime, because of a decree granting exclusive franchise to a business

ally of the former president to install and operate cable TV nationwide. This

decree was abolished by President Aquino in 1987. The introduction of satellite

programming by TV networks ABS-CBN and GMA in 1991 spurred interest in

cable television. Provincial community antenna TV (CATV) systems have been

set up to receive broadcast signals from stations originating in Manila. Metro

Manila is now one of the most advanced urban centres in Asia with respect to

cable TV, where two major cable systems, Skycable and Home Cable, offer 60

channels or more. (Tuazon, 2011)

Television Today and Children

According to a study conducted by Ariel R. Chernin, BA and Deborah L.

Linebarger, PhD, in the United States, despite the widespread use of computers,

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 and the internet, television (TV) remains the dominant form of media in children’s

lives. A recent nationally representative survey found that 8- to 18-year-olds

watch an average of 3 hours of television a day compared with 1 hour a day

spent on recreational computer use. Younger children (infants to 6-year-olds)

watch an average of 1 hour of TV a day while they read (or are read to) for an

average of 39 minutes per day. (Chernin, Linebarger,2005)

Reading or being read to, watching TV, studying, and doing household

chores are four very important activities that is presumed to affect a child’s

cognitive and social development. (Journal of Marriage and Family ©, 1997)

What if among the four activities, your child tends to spend more time on

watching TV and tend to devalue the other three activities? There is absolutely

no question that children and teenagers who spend greater amounts of time with

television perform less well on standardized tests of achievement. This inverse

relationship— the greater the viewing, the lower the achievement—holds for the

three basic skills (i.e., reading, writing, and mathematics) and for other subjects

as well (e.g., science, social science, and history).

(http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/6412/Academic-Achievement-and-

Children-s-Television-Use.html). Why is this so? Why is this inverse relationship

considered to be so true? Here is the reason,in general, while watching

television, your child is probably not doing any of the following:

 Asking questions

 Solving problems

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 Being creative

 Exercising initiative

 Practicing eye-hand coordination

 Scanning (useful in reading)

 Practicing motor skills

 Thinking critically, logically, and analytically

 Practicing communication skills

 Playing interactive games with other children or adults (helpful for developing

patience, self-control cooperation, sportsmanship)

(http://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/What-Children-

are-NOT-Doing-When-Watching-TV.aspx)

How Much TV?

In a study conducted in Korea, where the TV habits of children ages 6-7

and 8-9 were studied to see if it affected their cognitive development, Overall, for

math score at ages 8-9, watching TV during ages 6-7 and 8-9 has a negative

total effect, mostly due to a large negative effect of TV watching at the younger

ages 6-7. For reading score, there is evidence that watching no more than 2

hours of TV per day has a positive effect, whereas the effect is negative outside

this range. (Huang and Lee ,2010).

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 The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under

age 2 watch no television while children age 2 and older are limited to no more

than 2 hours of daily viewing. (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of

Public Health ,2007)

If you allow TV time, choose age-appropriate programs. Involve older

children in setting guidelines for what to watch. Use guides and ratings to help,

but beware of unproven claims that programs or DVDs are educational. Even

cartoons produced for children can be violent or over stimulating. Limit TV time to

no more than two hours per day. Less is better. (Seattle Children's Hospital

,2009)

Television as a medium depresses the creative imagination and the

development of the individual’s memory. (Tan ,1994) Instead of letting your

children watch television when they are bored, why not encourage books, art and

music? These other forms of activities will help harness a child’s imagination and

creativity.

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Conceptual Framework

In the light of the theories cited in the Archives of Pediatrics and

Adolescent Medicine, specifically the editorial posted in 2005 entitled The

Relationship Between Children’s Television Viewing and Academic Performance

by Ariel R. Chernin, BA and Deborah L. Linebarger, PhD, this study aimed to

correlate the relationship between restricted television time and unrestricted

television time to the Academic Performance of Children ages 7-9. High

Academic Performance means a General Point Average that is within the

acceptable range of 90-100 and 85-89. Low Academic Performance means a

General Point Average that is within the range of 80-84 and 79 below.

Figure 1, shows the conceptual framework of this study. The articles in the

current issue of the ARCHIVES generally found a negative association between

children’s overall TV viewing and academic performance, (Chernin and

Linebarger) They also stated that 3 articles they’ve studied all discuss the impact

of TV on academic achievement within the framework of displacement theory,

which suggests that as children spend more time watching TV, they spend less

time participating in more ―valuable‖ activities, such as reading and doing

homework.

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Research Paradigm

Fig.1

Restricted Television Time Unrestricted Television Time

<2 hours per day >2 hours per day

High Academic Performance

(85 to 100)

Low Academic Performance

(84 to 79 and below)

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 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research study is about the Effects of Television Exposure to the

Academic performance of Children. This chapter presents the research design,

sampling technique, research instrument, data gathering procedure, and

statistical treatment of data employed in this study.

Research Design

This research study employed the descriptive-correlational

approach. Descriptive research involves gathering data that describes events

and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the data collection (Glass

& Hopkins, 1984). Three main purposes of this research design are to describe,

explain, and validate findings. It will include the processes of gathering of data,

induction, analysis, classification, enumeration, measurement and assessment of

the data. It is very significant in this study that descriptive method should be used

since the study itself demands for the description of such as the television

exposure, the television restriction, and the phenomenal change over time, in

relation to the intuitive behaviors and responses of the respondents. Correlational

type of research will incorporate the need to look for relationships between

variables (e.g. television restriction and academic performance of the selected

17
respondents) It could give three possible results, namely positive correlation,

negative correlation, or no correlation.

Research Setting

This research study was performed in Our Lady of Fatima University –

Grade School Department. It is a private educational institution in Quezon City

and that handles intensive classes for children in Primary Grade Levels (Grades

1 – 3). It is an institution where children possibly receive strict restriction to

electronic media exposure, specifically to the television, from their parents or

guardians.

Research Subjects

The population of interest for this study is children of ages 7 – 9 with

significant restriction and without restriction to television exposure enrolled in

Primary Grade Levels for the school year of 2012 - 2013. The specified target

population that is available for this study comprises 100 students who were

enrolled at Our Lady of Fatima University in 1st to 3rd Grade Levels.

The variables are the following: (1) the presence and absence of the

restriction to television exposure – as the independent variable; (2) the

respondents’ academic performance – as the dependent variable.

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Sampling Technique

The sampling technique used was non-probability judgmental sampling

method. The researchers used a non-probability sampling technique since the

population of the potential respondents or samples in the selected institutions is a

very specific group of people and is relatively small in number. Judgmental

sampling is a method of purposely handpicking individuals from the population

based on the researcher’s knowledge and judgment.

Research Instruments

Data instruments employed for this study were through (1) questionnaires

(2) interviews (3) acquisition of documents such as the records of the

respondents’ academic grades for the first grading period of this school year –

2012-2012 (4) naturalistic observation.

The primary source of the data came from two researcher-made

questionnaires. One type is intended for interviews with the primary respondents

since they are children. The interviews held were the tool to classification of the

respondents into two groups: the group of respondents with television restriction

and the group without the television restriction. The researchers asked the

primary respondents the questions verbally and assessed them where they

should be grouped into. Another type of the questionnaire was handed to the
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respondents’ parents or guardians. This is essential for the researchers to

confirm the data gathered from the primary respondents’ reports during the

interview.

Combined the two types, the researchers gathered answers to: who

restricts the respondents, what are their restrictions, when their restrictions are

applied or practiced, why there is a need to restrictions to television exposure,

and so on.

The acquisition of the necessary documents presented as the key to

quantitative measurement of the respondents’ academic performance (e.g.

determined by their academic grades.

Also, the researchers made use of the naturalistic observation which was

applied during class discussions. The researchers coordinated with the school

administration and asked for class schedules or routines wherein the

participation of the students is mostly required. So that, the researchers were

also able to observe which of the groups are more likely to perform more and

better during class discussions. The naturalistic observation method was utilized

for three meetings with the respondents during regular class discussions.

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Validation of Instrument

Questionnaire for Approval

Factor 1 Television Hours
Criteria This refers to the total number of hours the respondent spends on watching
television.
Question 1 2 3
1 Do you spend 2 hours a day watching television? U N E
2 Do you spend more than 2 hours a day watching television? U N E
3 Does your parents tell you how many hours of television you U N E
are entitled to in a day
4 What time do you watch television U N E
5 When do you watch television, morning, afternoon or evening U N E
6 Are you allowed to watch television during school days U N E

Comment
Factor 2 Academic Performance
Criteria This refers to the respondent’s performance in school activities, in class
and in extra-curricular activities
Questions 1 2 3
1 Do you take part in sports or other activities in school.
2 Do you study your lessons at home. U N E
3 Do you always pass your assignments on time. U N E
4 What is your favorite subject. U N E
5 Do you always recite in class. U N E
6 Do you always get a ―star‖ from your teacher U N E
7 Do you get medals during recognition day. U N E

Comment

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 Questionnaire

Name:

Age:

Year Level:

Gender:

To be filled up by researcher. Kindly encircle the relevant answer or fill up as

accurately as possible.

PART 1

1, Do you spend 2 hours a day or less watching television?

Yes No

2. Do you spend more than 2 hours a day watching television?

Yes No

3. Do your parents tell you how many hours of television you are entitled to in a

day? (To determine if parents are hands on on implementing television

restriction)

Yes No

If Yes, how many hours? ____

4. What time do you watch television?

5. When do you watch television?

Morning Afternoon Evening

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6. Are you allowed to watch television during school days?

Yes No

PART 2

1. Do you take part in sports or other activities in school?

Yes No

2. Do you study your lessons at home?

Yes No

3. Do you always pass your assignments on time?

Yes No

4. What is your favorite subject?

5. Do you always recite in class?

Always Never Sometimes

6. Do you always get a star from your teacher?

Always Never Sometimes

7. Do you get medals during recognition day?

Yes No

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July 23, 2012

Dear Sir/Madam:

Greetings!
The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect data for the fulfillment of the
research methodology’s project. The objectives of this questionnaire are :
1. To determine the number of hours the students spend on watching
television in a day.
2. To determine the relationship between television hours and academic
performance.

Kindly evaluate the following questions based on the content domain and criteria
presented below. Consider each of a number of listed components of the
proposed questions and select only one of the three different responses in which
best represent your judgment. You are allowed to add additional themes or
components which you believe should been included in the questionnaire. The
categories are:

2-Essential (thorough knowledge, insight and/or skills related to the

component is an important requirement).

1- Necessary but not essential (background information on the component will

be adequate).

0 -Unnecessary (knowledge, insight and/or skills related to the component will

normally not be required at this level).

We appreciate the time and effort you had contributed to the completion of this
research.

Thank you.

Respectfully yours,

Siena Elise M. Cristobal

Lead Researcher

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Data Gathering Procedures

The researchers requested permission from the principal and grade

school instructors of Our Lady of Fatima University – Grade School Department

for the use of the students’ time for interviews with us and for further observation

of the students. They were requested to answer the questions first, and be

observed during class discussion. During the interviews, researchers were the

one to facilitate the questionnaires to the students. Afterwards, the students were

categorized accordingly. As for the naturalistic observation, the students were

evaluated for their academic performance during class discussions. The

researchers then observed which group would perform better in class.

Statistical Treatment

For the analysis of the data gathered, the following statistical tools are

used:

1. The mean of academic performances of the grade school students to

determine which group perform better. (Children with restriction to television

exposure vs. Children without restriction to television exposure)

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2. The standard deviation was used to determine the homogeneity or scatters of

the two groups

3. Standard Error Difference

SEdiff = SD1 + SD2

4. Computed t-test value

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