Research Memo and Survey for Physical Education

Research Memo

Hypothesis: Although many may disagree that physical education is a needed part of the curriculum in schools it is useful. This is the motivation of why I ask, "Should physical education be taken out of schools?" I believe that it will be equal in the amount of respondents who favor P.E. in schools, and those who do not. Those who understand the cost of physical education in a school environment will understand that it may be too much, while others fear the continued unhealthy habits of many high school students will increase the ever-growing childhood obesity rating.

Context: When searching for my target audience, I searched for teenagers in high school between the ages of 14 and 17. I believe that this information would be the most valid because it is more common for physical education to be removed from high school rather than elementary or middle school is for students who are older, and need less guidance and direction. One issue I encountered is that I forgot to put demographics on my survey sheets and had to ask each individual respondent to put their age at the bottom of the paper. My data is partially biased because I did not use a myriad of age groups, but I believe that the data I get will be more reliable and precise information for answering my research question because the data would come directly from the source I am trying to observe.

Question (number)
(1) Do you agree or disagree that schools should include Physical Education in their curriculums?	Agree: 17  Disagree: 8
(2)  On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being very important, and 1 being very unimportant, how imperative is Physical Education to our education system?	1:   2 3:   3 5:   3 7:   6 8:   4 9:   5 10: 2 *2,4, and 6 were not circled.*
(3) What is responsible for the obesity ratings in people under 18? Circle all that apply. (List on survey)	(1): 21                                     (4): 18                                                    (2): 20                                     (5): 1 (3): 8                                       (6): 9
(4) What is the most important fact to a child in school? List in order of most to least importance. Place a number beside each one. -Eating a healthy Lunch -Socializing with friends -Finishing school work -Participating in extracurricular activities.	Rating(s) 1 2 3 4 Eating a healthy lunch 4 2 3 16 Socializing with friends 15 3 4 3 Finishing school work 5 12 7 2 Participating in extra curricular activities 2 8 11 4
(5) True or False: The loss of physical education in certain schools has increased the number of obese children and teens in America greatly.	True: 16 False: 9
(6) What is the percentage of obese children?	A : 1  B : 6  C : 6  D : 12
(7) Is the physical education system in schools important? Why or why not? Explain.	*Open ended question*
(8) How many deaths are caused by obesity each year?	(A):5 (B):7 (C):7 (D):6
(9) What is the number of obese children in America?	A:8 B:8 C:6 D:3
(10) What is the obesity percentage for South Carolina as it relates to childhood obesity?	A:3 B:6 C:11 D:5

Data analysis:

Eighty percent of the people think that lack of exercise is a reason why the childhood obesity ratings are extremely high. This information shows that teenagers know that they aren't getting enough exercise. One way to improve those ratings would be to increase the amount of physical education in schools, so that all schools have physical education as part of their curriculums. Another important fact that was found in this survey is that out of the respondents, sixty four percent felt that certain schools cutting physical education from their curriculums has caused an increase in childhood obesity. The sixty four stated that physical education had a direct effect on the childhood obesity ratings.

When I asked whether or not P.E. was important, the results I received proved that many teenagers think it is. Out of the twenty-five that I surveyed, fifteen reported that they had thought P.E. was important. The information proves that a majority of the students believe that P.E. is a core class and is a vital course. Out of the ten that said that P.E. was not important, seventy percent believed that students should work out on their own time. The respondents failed to consider if P.E. could be used in addition to a regular exercise routine. Two more students failed to explain their reasoning why and one believed it shouldn't be counted because he felt it didn't need to be a class.

There was a general consensus among the respondents of this activity regarding question four. When surveyed, 64% stated that healthy eating during a school day was their last priority. Another important fact regarding this question was the number who thought socializing was the most important part of their school day. Sixty percent of the people who took this survey thought that socializing were their most important priorities. This was followed by finishing school work and participating in an extracurricular activity. Only sixteen percent believed that focusing on maintaining a healthy eating habit while I school was their most important priority. There could be a myriad of factors affecting my data, but I think habits and social and financial background are the two most prominent. I believe that previous habits influence how most people eat. Furthermore, eating healthy is more expensive than buying unhealthy food

Conclusion:

My original hypothesis was incorrect. I previously stated that the number of individuals who favored P.E. and the number of individuals who did not would be equal, but they were not equal. Sixty eight percent of the respondents believed physical education were important while just thirty two percent believed it was unimportant. I can conclude that physical education is an important, influential part of curriculum and can be utilized to decrease childhood obesity ratings while increasing an individual’s strength, confidence, self-esteem, receptiveness relating to sport diversity, and grades.

Follow up:

When creating my second research memo, I will research the relation between physical education and grades. While reviewing the data, I will search for a pattern that may be present in the findings. Physical education is known not also to improve your body physically but mentally as well. It is shown to increase brain activity and energize students. If a clear correlation is found between the two, schools may fully understand the importance of physical education on a student’s learning abilities.