Testing A Mixed Model Of Relationship Between Sports Participation And Academic Achievement

Previous research has shown the importance of several factors associated with positive outcomes for adolescents' academic achievement.The literature shows that sports participation influence adolescent academic achievement.Nature of the relationship of sports participation with academic achievement is uncertain due to inconsistent findings found by the previous research.However,the mechanism through which sports participation influence adolescent academic achievement needs more clarity.Thus,in this study,I aim to test the role of parental support,self-esteem and motivation on the relationship between sports participation and academic achievement of the students.An increasing number of studies being conducted to investigate the relationship of various factors with academic achievement of the students,but the results are different for different studies due to studies conducted in different regions such as Asian or European countries.Also I consider that this theoretical model may be affected by the culture difference in terms of that the culture of any place or people is said to have profound impacts on human behavior.This research is an overview of a cross-cultural study conducted in two Asian or collectivist countries(China and Pakistan)and one European country(Spain),This thesis includes four separate studies which combine three investigations and a comparison study.Nine hundred and three university students from three countries(China,Spain and Pakistan)took part in this investigation and completed several questionnaires(parental support,sports participation,self-esteem and motivation)that had already been used in studies conducted with Asian and European samples.The data was analyzed by using statistical methods that included descriptive statistics,reliability analysis,exploratory factor analysis,and structural equation modeling.Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin(KMO)and Bartletts test were used also to test the sample adequacy.In Study I,300 Chinese students from three universities were approached to participate.The response rate was 85%.This was a cross-sectional,correlational study.The results from testing the theoretic model supported the hypothesis that parental support(?=0.44,p<0.05 and?=0.19,p<0.05)and self-esteem(?=0.19,p<0.05 and ?=0.29,p<0.05)would mediate the relationship of sports participation and academic achievement.Motivation was also found to be positively associated with the academic achievement of the students(?=0.52,p<0.005).In Study ?,300 Pakistani students from three universities were approached.The data collection procedure was similar to that of the Chinese sample.Findings from the structural equational modeling indicated that self-esteem and parental support fully mediated the relationship between sports participation(?=0.18,p<.005),(?=0.09,p<0.05)and academic achievement(?=0.22,p<0.05),(?=0.20,p<0.05).Motivation was also found to be positively associated with the academic achievement of the students(?=0.39,p<0.005).In Study ?,400 Spanish students were involved.The findings from Study 3 showed that sports participation and self-esteem fully mediated the relationship between parental support(?=0.15,p<0.001),(p=0.18,p<0.05)and academic achievement(?=0.21,p<0.05),(P=0.40,p<0.01).Motivation was also found to be positively associated with the academic achievement of the students(?=0.13,p<0.05).Finally,based on the results of these studies,the fourth study provided cultural reflections on similarities and differences in testing the theoretic model among the Chinese,Pakistani,and Spanish samples.It is found that the test models of China and Pakistan show the same mixed interpretation model of complete parallel structure.However,in the case of the Spanish sample,the model test results show different intermediary mixed structure as compared to China and Pakistan.According to the results of this thesis,a significant mediating role of parental support was found in both collectivist countries(China and Pakistan)showing the close relationship of individuals with their parents whereas a significant mediating role of self-esteem and a positive relationship of motivation directly with academic achievement were found in all three countries.Results also confirmed that the current study variables are correlated with each other directly,indirectly or through mediation.The results from this research provide an insight of cultural consideration for when we link the relationship between sports participant and academic achievement with some psychological factors,such as parental support,self-esteem,and motivation.Also,to prevent academic exclusion and inadequate physical activity from university students,designing programs for parental support and self-esteem development should be encouraged to help improve sports participation.