Analysis of Young Athletes’ Values in the Province of Davao Del Sur, Philippines

Abstract

Skills are not the only important thing to learn in sports but are also values, character, and sportsmanship. Values shape the athlete’s character, development, and discipline which can influence both their sports performance and also behavior. This study examined the level of values among young athletes specifically in the four indicators which are personal development, academic and athletic balance, achievements, and support system. This research is quantitative study, conducted in Davao del Sur using simple random sampling among 203 Grades 4 to 6 students from various schools and focuses on identifying the core values developed by these students through sports. The researchers used an adapted research questionnaire as an instrument in this study by Flanagan et al. (2006) which uses a five-point Likert Scale.  The results showed that the 4 indicators got very high when values were analyzed in their Personal Development (x̄=4.20, SD=0.78), Academic and Athletic Balance (x̄=4.38, SD=0.82), Achievements (x̄=4.43, SD=0.75), and Support System (x̄=4.45, SD=0.79). Most of the indicators also shows no significant difference when grouped according to the demographic profile of the respondents. Therefore, these results showed that the level of values among athletes does not merely differ when grouped according to age, gender, grade level, and type of sports. This study helps in understanding these differences that could contribute to better support systems for young athletes both in educational and athletic settings.